Local food processing company Butterball, LLC has found itself named in a federal lawsuit.
According to a press release provided by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the meat processing company located in Mount Olive has been accused of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Butterball, LLC, based out of Garner, reportedly violated federal law when it refused to provide a reasonable accommodation to an employee for treatment for breast cancer and then fired her.
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, a long-term employee informed the company of her cancer diagnosis and need for intermittent leave to receive and recover from chemotherapy treatments. The company referred the employee to its third-party benefits administrator but the leave was never granted. The employee accrued attendance points for cancer-related absences and was fired for violating the company’s attendance policy.
“Absent undue hardship, intermittent leave and exemptions from progressive attendance policies can be effective reasonable accommodations under federal law,” said Melinda C. Dugas, Regional Attorney for the EEOC’s Charlotte District Office. “Even when an employer hires a third-party benefits administrator, the employer remains responsible for complying with anti-discrimination law. The EEOC will continue to hold employers accountable when employee rights are violated under such circumstances.”
Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and prohibits discrimination because of disability. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Butterball, LLC, Case No. 5:26-cv-00202-FL) in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.
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