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Law360 (May 26, 2020, 7:43 PM EDT ) Giant Eagle Inc. refused to accommodate a Pittsburgh-area woman's respiratory-related disability through its enforcement of a company policy requiring all shoppers to wear face masks due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Pennsylvania federal court.
Kimberly Pletcher says she was forced to leave a Giant Eagle location in Elizabeth, Pennsylvania, at the end of April after employees at the grocery store told her that, despite her claims that she has a medical condition that makes it difficult for her to breathe, she was required to wear a face mask in order to shop.
"In essence, at its public business, Giant Eagle treats its 'guests' who cannot wear a mask due to a disability like 'lepers' rather than as 'guests,'" Pletcher said in her complaint.
Gov. Tom Wolf announced in mid-April that the state's Department of Health was issuing an order requiring that businesses allowed to remain open through the pandemic require their customers, with certain exceptions, to wear face masks when on their premises.
The order did not apply, however, to children under the age of two and individuals who are unable to wear a mask due to medical conditions.
The order said that individuals with medical conditions would be allowed to enter the premises and would not be required to provide documentation of their disability.
But Pletcher says in her complaint that Giant Eagle had issued an even stricter policy than the state's, requiring all shoppers to wear masks with no exceptions for medical conditions.
When Pletcher visited the Giant Eagle location in Elizabeth at the end of April, she says, employees confronted her about her not wearing a mask and she was ultimately forced to leave the store without making a purchase.
She says that Giant Eagle attempted to justify its policy through its curbside pickup and delivery offerings, and by offering to have employees shop for anyone who feels they're unable to enter the store without a mask.
In the end, however, she says that the company's policy constitutes a violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act because she was denied "full and equal enjoyment" of the store's facilities.
"Giant Eagle cannot violate state and federal law and exclude disabled people from its public accommodations because their disabilities prohibit them from wearing masks," she said.
A spokesperson for Giant Eagle declined to comment on the allegations when contacted on Tuesday.
Thomas Anderson, an attorney with Thomas Rhodes & Cowie representing Pletcher, meanwhile, said that Pletcher's case was only one of about a half dozen he was pursuing over the mask policy.
Pletcher is represented by Thomas Anderson of Thomson Rhodes & Cowie.
Counsel information for Giant Eagle was not immediately available.
The case is Pletcher v. Giant Eagle Inc., case number 2:20-cv-00754, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
--Editing by Abbie Sarfo.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
