Fry’s Food Stores has agreed to pay $120,000 and undertake sweeping changes to its disability accommodation practices after state investigators found the grocery chain denied a deaf employee the interpreter he repeatedly requested and ultimately fired him for refusing to sign documents he could not understand.
The settlement, finalized through a consent decree signed by a Maricopa County Superior Court judge in late March, resolves a lawsuit brought under the Arizona Civil Rights Act. Fry’s denied any wrongdoing but agreed to the terms to end the litigation.
The employee, whose identity was not disclosed in court records, had worked as a grocery clerk at the Fry’s location near Cotton Lane and Greenway Road in Surprise since 2009. Born deaf, he relies on American Sign Language as his primary means of communication. According to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, the company repeatedly declined to hire an ASL interpreter despite the employee’s requests, instead relying on lipreading, handwritten notes and, on some occasions, asking his family members to interpret on his behalf.
The situation came to a head when the employee refused to sign workplace investigation documents he was unable to comprehend. Fry’s cited that refusal as insubordination and terminated his employment. He filed a discrimination complaint with the state’s Civil Rights Division in January 2024.
Beyond the financial payout, the settlement requires Fry’s to rewrite its nondiscrimination and accommodation policies, provide ASL interpreters for Arizona employees going forward, conduct mandatory disability training for managers and human resources staff, and report its compliance progress to the state twice over the coming year.
Fry’s parent company, Smith’s Food and Drug Centers, operates roughly 130 Arizona grocery stores under the Fry’s brand and is headquartered in Tolleson.
Attorney General Kris Mayes framed the outcome as part of her office’s broader commitment to enforcing civil rights protections at the state level during a period of reduced federal enforcement activity.
