A disabled worker is suing a major U.S. drugstore retailer, claiming unlawful discrimination in her 2014 job loss.
Susan Bovell of Philadelphia sued CVS Pharmacy Inc. of Woonsocket, RI and CVS Corp. of Philadelphia in the U.S. District Court Eastern District of Pennsylvania on July 17, claiming that the defendant violated the Americans with Disabilities Act in August 2014.
According to the complaint, Bovell was hired as a cashier on June 13, 2013, by the CVS located at 7445 Germantown Ave. in Philadelphia. The suit states that the plaintiff had become legally blind two decades earlier as a result of a car accident.
Alleging that she was treated disparately after a change in management, Bovell contends that her new supervisor reduced her hours in May 2014 after he allegedly observed her using a walking cane without reducing non-disabled cashiers’ hours.
The suit states that management suspended her Aug. 18, 2014, and terminated her on Aug. 28, 2014, for not being able to detect counterfeit bills at the cash register, when in fact counterfeit status could only be determined by a special machine. Bovell maintains that she was never trained or taught how to spot counterfeit bills; moreover, she claims, even the machine was not able to determine the status.
She avers loss of wages, earning capacity and opportunity, along with distress and humiliation.
Arguing that she was replaced with a non-disabled person, the plaintiff seeks compensatory and punitive damages of more than $150,000, interest, attorneys’ fees, and court costs. She is represented by Graham Baird of the Law Offices of Eric A. Shore in Philadelphia.
U.S. District Court Eastern District of Pennsylvania Case 2:15-cv-03960-GJP.