Woman With Cerebral Palsy Claims Discrimination From CVS: Lawsuit

ISLIP TERRACE, NY - An Islip Terrace woman with cerebral palsy filed a lawsuit against CVS claiming the company tried to push her out of her job stating she was a "burden," according to court documents.

Dana Paladino started working at the CVS in Islip Terrace just 1.5 blocks away from her home in 2003 as a pharmacy technician.

Last October, she was transferred to the East Islip location, further away from her home.

However the issues began in 2017 when the company hired a new lead pharmacy technician, Michelle Richards, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims that Richards was "displeased with [Paladino's] physical handicap" and told her "either you’re going to quit, or I’m going to get you fired."

Despite numerous doctor's notes and the fact that she had to walk using arm crutches, Paladino stated that Richards forced her to "go back and forth to the register and the drive-through," according to the lawsuit.

As a result of all the walking back and forth, Paladino suffered from her foot splitting open.

In addition, in January she fell in the store and was taken to the hospital. According to the lawsuit, Richards said that Paladino "didn't fall that hard" despite the fact that Paladino had blood all over her face and couldn't lift her arms.

Paladino reported these incidents to several people within the company but the only thing that came out of the complaints was that her hours were reduced, the lawsuit states.

At one point, she risked her hours being reduced to less than 30 hours, which puts her at risk for losing her health insurance, according to the lawsuit.

In February, the district pharmacy manager at the time allegedly told Paladino that she was a "burden to the company and a burden to the store" and told her she would either have to work at another location, change her hours or part ways with CVS, according to the lawsuit.

The company asked her to work from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. which was a problem for Paladino due to her night vision, which limits her ability to see at night, the lawsuit states.

When she mentioned this to another employee, she was told that her "inability to work at night was a preference, not a disability," according to the lawsuit.

Since then Paladino continued to make frequent complaints about the discrimination and retaliation she suffered, resulting in Richards and CVS working towards "reducing her hours and otherwise making her work-life miserable – all because Richards refused to accommodate her disability," the lawsuit states.

CVS is disputing all the allegations filed by Paladino, according to a statement.

"Since the beginning of her employment at CVS, we have provided her with accommodations and we continue to do so," the statement read. "We have also offered her several options for additional reasonable accommodations that would allow her to perform the essential functions of her job."

In addition, Paladino claims the company violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, but CVS is stating otherwise.

In a statement, the company said "CVS Health is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other laws and regulations related to assisting individuals with disabilities."

The statement also mentioned that the company was recognized as a "Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion" on the 2018 Disability Equality Index, receiving a perfect score of 100 for the second year in a row.

"Also, our Human Resources Department includes a team that is exclusively focused on working with our colleagues to help accommodate their disabilities," the company said in the statement. "CVS Health remains committed to providing all colleagues with the opportunity to enjoy a fulfilling work experience and to removing barriers that may deny individuals that opportunity as a result of a disability, religious belief, pregnancy or pregnancy related conditions, conditions related to childbirth, domestic violence or other safety related situations."

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