Dive Brief:
- Employee benefits administrator Alight Solutions violated the Americans with Disabilities Act when it denied a worker with diabetes a reasonable accommodation and then fired him, a May 29 lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleged.
- Per EEOC’s complaint, the worker, a customer care representative, requested additional break time to monitor his blood sugar and recover from diabetic episodes and offered to extend his work time to account for the breaks. Alight used an electronic monitoring system to track employee activity, did not account for the breaks and eventually fired the worker for using additional break time, EEOC said.
- “Allowing a diabetic employee a small amount [of] additional break time to manage his condition, and ensuring the company’s tracking systems did not unfairly penalize him for those breaks, falls within the ADA’s core protections,” Catherine Eschbach, acting EEOC general counsel, said in an agency news release.
Dive Insight:
It’s not uncommon for employers to run into trouble with the ADA when it comes to accommodating workers with diabetes, for whom breaks are a common need.
In December 2023, UPS paid $150,000 to settle an EEOC lawsuit alleging the company refused to accommodate and then fired a worker with brittle diabetes, an especially difficult-to-manage and less predictable form of the condition. The employee had requested breaks to check his blood sugar and to eat or drink something, if necessary. According to EEOC, the HR supervisor referred to the worker as a liability and fired him on his second day.
EEOC in March 2025 came to a settlement of the same amount with a construction supply company that denied a worker snack breaks.
Workers with diabetes may also require service dogs; SHRM remains embroiled in a lawsuit filed by a candidate with Type 1 diabetes who alleged the organization rescinded her job offer after she requested to have her service dog accompany her to the office. The dog is trained to detect and alert her to dangerous changes in her blood glucose level, according to the lawsuit.
There are multiple types of diabetes — including Type 1, Type 2 and gestational diabetes — and the condition has the potential to affect blood glucose, nerves, energy, vision, kidney function and more, according to the Job Accommodation Network. In addition to frequent breaks, the ADA may require employers to allow storage for medication, allow flexibility to sit or stand, and reduce or eliminate strenuous activities, according to the Job Accommodation Network.
EEOC made a point to note that technological advances — like automated monitoring systems — don’t exempt employers from adhering to the ADA’s requirements. “The ADA’s protections remain in place even as new technologies become available,” Eschbach said.
Alight told HR Dive it disagreed with EEOC’s claims.
“Alight is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities,” it said. “The Company denies taking any personnel action based on an employee’s disability status and looks forward to vigorously defending itself in this matter. Alight has been recognized as a top employer for many years, and we take our responsibility for fair employment practices seriously. We do not believe this isolated claim impacts our ability to provide service excellence to current or future clients.”