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The entrance to a Walmart store is seen in Bradford, Pennsylvania, U.S. July 20, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/
(Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court has revived claims that Walmart Inc unlawfully fired a "people greeter" at a Maine store who was absent or left work early on more than 20 occasions to attend doctor appointments or because of complications caused by medication for a work-related injury.
A unanimous three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said on Wednesday it was unclear whether Margaret Benson's attendance lapses were excusable under Walmart policy because they stemmed from a pelvic injury she sustained while working. The panel said a Maine district court judge should not have granted summary judgment to the retail giant.
The court revived Benson's claim of disability discrimination and her allegation that Walmart unlawfully retaliated against her for complaining that she was being harassed for missing work for medical reasons.
Arkansas-based Walmart, which is represented by Pierce Atwood, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. Neither did Benson's lawyer, Guy Loranger.
Walmart hired Benson as a cashier at a Windham, Maine store in 2013, and the following year she injured her pelvis while working, according to court filings. Benson took a leave of absence after the injury and another about 18 months later.
Around the time of her second leave, Benson filed a lawsuit in Maine federal court accusing Walmart of failing to accommodate her disability. The case was ultimately dismissed.
While the lawsuit was pending, in 2016, Benson returned to work. But Benson was absent or missed at least two hours of a shift 12 times in a two-month period, according to court filings.
After meeting with the store manager, whom Benson claims screamed at her about not properly notifying Walmart of her absences, Benson complained to a human resources official that she felt she was being harassed.
Benson was subsequently late or absent several more times, and was fired about two months after the meeting, according to case filings.
She sued Walmart in Maine state court in 2019, accusing the company of disability discrimination and retaliation in violation of state law.
U.S. District Judge Lance Walker granted summary judgment to Walmart last year, finding that attendance was an essential function of Benson's role as a people greeter and that she was not qualified for the job.
Benson appealed, arguing that many of her absences were authorized under Walmart's attendance policy because they were related to an on-the-job injury and she had given advance notice to her managers.
The 1st Circuit panel on Wednesday said it was unclear whether Benson's absences should have been excused, and whether Walmart's policy applied to illnesses caused by medications prescribed to treat a work-related injury, reviving the lawsuit.
"It is impossible to unequivocally conclude that Wal-Mart internally established that Benson in fact exceeded the store's allowed number of authorized absences, which casts enough doubt in Benson's favor," wrote U.S. District Judge Gustavo Gelpi of the District of Puerto Rico, who sat by designation.
The court also said the window of time between Benson's harassment complaint and her firing was small enough to allow her to pursue her retaliation claim under Maine law.
The panel included Circuit Judges Jeffrey Howard and O. Rogeriee Thompson.
The case is Benson v. Wal-Mart Stores East LP, 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 20-1495.
For Benson: Guy Loranger of Law Office of Guy D. Loranger
For Walmart: Katherine Rand of Pierce Atwood
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