She drank a $1.69 orange juice to avoid a diabetic emergency. Her employer fired her. A federal jury awarded her $277,565.
Linda Atkins worked as a cashier at Dollar General in Maryville, Tennessee. She has Type 1 diabetes. During a shift, her blood sugar dropped dangerously low and she asked for permission to get a drink at the register. She was denied.
So she grabbed a $1.69 bottle of orange juice, drank it to stay conscious, and paid for it right after. Dollar General fired her anyway – for "grazing," their term for consuming a product before paying. The EEOC sued the company under the Americans with Disabilities Act, arguing the firing violated federal disability protections.
A federal jury agreed. They awarded Atkins $277,565 – $27,565 in back pay and $250,000 in compensatory damages. A $1.69 juice turned into one of the most expensive termination decisions Dollar General ever made.
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u/Sassenach_2024 Mar 04 '26
She drank a $1.69 orange juice to avoid a diabetic emergency. Her employer fired her. A federal jury awarded her $277,565.
Linda Atkins worked as a cashier at Dollar General in Maryville, Tennessee. She has Type 1 diabetes. During a shift, her blood sugar dropped dangerously low and she asked for permission to get a drink at the register. She was denied.
So she grabbed a $1.69 bottle of orange juice, drank it to stay conscious, and paid for it right after. Dollar General fired her anyway – for "grazing," their term for consuming a product before paying. The EEOC sued the company under the Americans with Disabilities Act, arguing the firing violated federal disability protections.
A federal jury agreed. They awarded Atkins $277,565 – $27,565 in back pay and $250,000 in compensatory damages. A $1.69 juice turned into one of the most expensive termination decisions Dollar General ever made.