Fry’s Food Stores will pay a settlement and update its training for management following a disability discrimination lawsuit from the Arizona attorney general.
The Attorney General’s Office Civil Rights Division in 2025 sued Fry’s on behalf of a deaf former employee. The suit alleged that the grocery chain discriminated against the employee by refusing to provide American Sign Language interpretation for him.
“Instead, Fry's relied on ineffective means of communication — including lipreading, written notes and having family members interpret staff trainings — and cited the employee with insubordination for refusing to sign investigation documents he did not understand,” a press release from the Attorney General’s Office said. “The employee was ultimately terminated, in part for that insubordination, without ever being provided effective communication.”
Under a consent decree from the Maricopa County Superior Court, Fry’s agreed to pay the former employee $120,000 and reclassify records of his firing as a voluntary resignation.
Fry’s also agreed to hold new anti-discrimination training for management and establish a relationship with an American Sign Language interpreting agency.
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