A Starbucks employee who was also unfortunate enough to be a dwarf was terminated after asking for a stool to perform her job.  Starbucks claimed the stool would present a danger to other employees or customers.  The EEOC has filed a federal lawsuit against Starbucks under the Americans with Disabilities Act for refusing to provide a reasonable accommodation to the employee and terminating her.

I try to give the benefit of the doubt to all parties–at least initially–but I’m not certain what Starbucks was thinking.  This may be a good case of “what not to do” when confronted with a request for a reasonable accommodation.

What should Starbucks have done?  At the very least, it should have had a discussion with the employee before apparently acting so rashly.  At the most, it should have provided the stool and let her complete her tasks and keep her job.