A Kansas Walmart store violated the Americans with Disabilities Act when it refused to provide two deaf employees access to an American Sign Language interpreter while on the job and subjected them to discrimination based on their disabilities, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleged in a lawsuit filed Sept. 8.

EEOC said the employees began working as overnight stockers for the Olathe, Kansas, store in 2019. The workers requested ASL interpreters for use during orientation, meetings and at other times throughout their employment, but Walmart allegedly told the workers it could not provide interpreters, citing affordability concerns.

Instead, Walmart designated a supervisor to interpret for the plaintiffs, per the suit, despite the fact that the supervisor was not a qualified ASL interpreter and had little knowledge of sign language. As a result, EEOC alleged the employees routinely missed out on critical information communicated verbally during meetings, including safety-related meetings.

The plaintiffs also requested that Walmart communicate job-related information — such as assignments — in writing, but company managers “frequently failed to effectively communicate in writing and sometimes refused to communicate in writing at all,” the agency said.

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