Fry's Food Stores to Pay $120K in Disability Lawsuit Settlement

Grocery chain agrees to overhaul disability practices after firing deaf employee

Apr. 6, 2026 at 8:54pm

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A minimalist studio still life photograph featuring a stack of neatly organized employee documents, a pair of reading glasses, and a pen resting on a clean, monochromatic background, conceptually representing corporate policies and workplace accommodations.A settlement over a disability discrimination case against a major grocery chain sparks a flurry of internal policy changes to improve workplace accommodations.Phoenix Today

Fry's Food Stores, a major Arizona grocery chain, has agreed to pay a former deaf employee $120,000 and implement sweeping changes to its disability accommodation policies after the company was sued for refusing to provide a sign language interpreter and then firing the employee.

Why it matters

This case highlights the ongoing challenges that people with disabilities face in the workplace and the importance of companies upholding the law and providing reasonable accommodations. It also demonstrates the role of state-level civil rights enforcement when federal oversight is lacking.

The details

According to court records, the former Fry's employee, who was born deaf and used American Sign Language as his primary means of communication, worked as a grocery clerk at a Surprise, Arizona location since 2009. The state Attorney General's office said Fry's repeatedly declined to provide the employee with an ASL interpreter, instead relying on lip-reading, written notes, and asking family members to interpret. The company eventually fired the employee after he refused to sign workplace documents he could not understand. The employee filed a discrimination charge, leading to a $120,000 settlement and a consent decree requiring Fry's to overhaul its disability accommodation policies, including hiring ASL interpreters, rewriting non-discrimination policies, and conducting mandatory training for managers and HR staff.

  • The employee filed a discrimination charge with the state's Civil Rights Division on Jan. 31, 2024.
  • A Maricopa County Superior Court judge signed the consent decree on March 27, 2026, resolving the lawsuit.

The players

Fry's Food Stores

A major Arizona grocery chain and subsidiary of Smith's Food and Drug Centers, headquartered in Tolleson, Arizona. Fry's operates around 130 grocery stores statewide.

Arizona Attorney General's Office

The state agency that investigated the discrimination allegations against Fry's and secured the $120,000 settlement and consent decree.

Former Fry's Employee

A deaf grocery clerk who worked at a Fry's location in Surprise, Arizona since 2009 and was fired after the company refused to provide a sign language interpreter.

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What they’re saying

“When the federal government turns its back on civil rights, we will not.”

— Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes

What’s next

The consent decree requires Fry's to report its progress on implementing the new disability accommodation policies to the state twice over the next year.

The takeaway

This case underscores the ongoing need for robust state-level civil rights enforcement to protect the rights of people with disabilities in the workplace, especially when federal oversight is lacking. The substantial settlement and sweeping policy changes at Fry's serve as a warning to other employers that discriminating against disabled workers will not be tolerated.