In February of 2020, Ms. Ragsdale was hired in the position of Camp Counselor where her primary responsibilities would be to clean kennels, attend to dogs’ needs and ensure the dogs were fed. Soon after her hire, Ms. Ragsdale informed Camp Bow Wow staff that she is a person with a disability, and that she would be using the assistance of a job coach paid through the State’s Vocational Rehabilitation Program. Additionally, she informed management that, due to her disabilities, she sometimes experiences seizures. Ms. Ragsdale requested accommodations related to these disabilities. These accommodations included: 1) working afternoon shifts because she relies on rides from other individuals and was having trouble coordinating transportation to work in the morning. 2) Ms. Ragsdale also requested that she be allowed to take a lunch break along with at least one 10 minute break during her shift in order to mitigate and calm certain symptoms of her disabilities. Unfortunately, management informed both Ms. Ragsdale, and her job coaches, that such a request would not be granted because they did not permit any employees to take lunches or have breaks.
Despite assurances that Ms. Ragsdale would not be terminated, but would instead receive additional training, on or about March 17th, Ms. Ragsdale was informed that her employment was being terminated because her disabilities were “too much to handle,” and that Ms. Ragsdale should not have called the corporate headquarters. The DLC’s complaint asserted violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, including claims for disability discrimination, failure to accommodate, and retaliation.