Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Walgreen Co.

Re: Dkt. No.

ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

In the midst of a hypoglycemic attack, Walgreens’s employee Josephina Hernandez grabbed a $1.37 bag of potato chips from the store shelf to stabilize her condition. Walgreens fired her for violating its anti-grazing policy. I must decide if there are material questions of fact for the jury on whether Walgreens is entitled to enforce its uniformly-applied policy against an employee whose alleged misconduct was caused by her disability. There are numerous material issues in dispute and I DENY Walgreens’s motion for summary judgment.

BACKGROUND

Hernandez worked for Walgreens for 18 years. 1 In 1995, about five years after Hernandez started working for Walgreens, Hernandez was diagnosed with Type II diabetes. Walgreens knew that Hernandez had diabetes. In the 13 years that Hernandez worked for Walgreens after being diagnosed with diabetes, Walgreens allowed Hernandez to possess candy in case of low blood sugar, keep her insulin in the break room refrigerator, and take additional breaks to test her blood sugar or eat because of her diabetes. In that 13 year time period, there was only one time when Hernandez asked to take an…