The manager's alleged response to the accommodation request says it all
"We do not accommodate restrictions." That alleged statement from a DHL Supply Chain manager is now at the center of a federal lawsuit.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed suit on March 31 against Exel Inc., operating as DHL Supply Chain (USA), in the Northern District of Georgia. The case alleges the company violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by refusing to accommodate a temporary worker with sickle cell disease, firing her, denying her a permanent position, and retaliating against her for seeking help.
At the center of the case is Jessica Grier, who was placed at a DHL Supply Chain warehouse in Forest Park, Georgia, through staffing firm ManpowerGroup US, Inc. The facility houses, packages, and ships vaccines for Sanofi. Grier had worked there since 2021, primarily on the line and in quality control — roles based in the main warehouse, kept at 72 degrees.
That changed around January 2, 2023, when a new operations supervisor took over and assigned Grier to work as a picker inside a large walk-in cooler. For someone with sickle cell disease, prolonged exposure to extreme temperatures increases the chance of a sickle cell crisis.
Grier told her supervisor about her condition and asked to limit her cooler time or be moved to another role. The supervisor sent her home until she could return with a doctor's note and rejected a co-worker's offer to swap into the cooler, saying if Grier "can't pick, she needs to leave."
Grier returned with a doctor's note on January 5 confirming her diagnosis, stating she should avoid extreme cold and heat, and that she could perform her job duties with an accommodation. The next day, ManpowerGroup emailed Exel's operations manager about providing one. The response, according to the filing: "Confirmed we do not accommodate restrictions."
When Grier showed up on January 9, her name was not on the printed schedule. Someone had handwritten it in — assigned, once again, as a picker. That same schedule listed six line positions and five quality control positions, any of which could have kept her out of the cooler.
On January 19 — less than two weeks after she asked for help — Grier was let go. Exel made the decision to end her assignment and remove her from the facility.
Four days later, the filing alleges, the operations manager addressed remaining workers and said words to the effect of: "if you look around and notice that familiar faces are no longer here, it is because we don't do medical accommodations, so either come to work and do what you're told to do, or don't come at all."
The workers who stayed on were hired into permanent roles by Exel in February and March 2023. Grier, according to the EEOC, was denied that chance.
The filing also raises joint employer liability, alleging Exel controlled Grier's daily assignments, schedule, supervision, and had the authority to end her placement — even though she was employed through ManpowerGroup.
The EEOC is seeking back pay, compensatory and punitive damages, and a court order requiring the company to adopt policies that ensure equal employment opportunities for workers with disabilities. A jury trial has been requested. No determination has been made in the case (EEOC v. Exel Inc. d/b/a DHL Supply Chain (USA), Case 1:26-cv-01720).
