The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has settled a disability discrimination case with Kmart Corporation on behalf of a job applicant who sought reasonable accommodation in relation to a required pre-employment drug test.  After learning that he would have to undergo a urine test, the applicant informed the company's hiring manager that his kidney disease and dialysis prohibited him from providing a urine sample.  He requested permission to undergo a blood test, hair test, or other form of drug test as a reasonable accommodation.  The request was denied and the applicant was not offered a position with Kmart.  The EEOC filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland on the applicant's behalf, alleging that the denial of the applicant's request for an alternate drug test violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  The ADA requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation to disabled applicants and employees absent a showing of undue hardship.

The parties ultimately settled the case, signing a two-year consent decree that included a $102,048 monetary settlement, and non-monetary relief including revisions to drug testing policies and forms and training on equal employment opportunity, including reasonable accommodation as it applies to drug testing procedures.