EEOC sues O'Reilly Automotive

Last edited 12:58 p.m., June 26, 2026 [Editor's note: A company statement has been added.]

Springfield-based auto parts retailer O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (Nasdaq: ORLY) has been sued for alleged disability discrimination by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The complaint, detailed in an EEOC news release issued this week, alleges that O’Reilly Auto Parts failed to properly accommodate a disabled employee at a Belleville, Michigan, distribution center and ultimately fired him.

An O'Reilly Automotive spokesperson provided a statement to Springfield Business Journal.

"While we can’t comment on this particular case, we can tell you that O’Reilly Auto Parts has a robust, reasonable accommodation policy as well as a dedicated team that works with our team members on these requests," the statement reads. "We are committed to complying with the law and arriving at win-win solutions for our team members

The employee, who is not named in the EEOC release, was hired as a commercial truck driver in 2015. By 2022, he had a stroke and multiple seizures and was hospitalized in an intensive care unit. He was on an approved leave of absence until February 2023. Toward the end of his leave, he was advised that he could not drive a commercial vehicle for five years.

The employee reportedly asked to be reassigned within the distribution center, but O'Reilly Auto Parts did not offer him a position. The company, according to the release, cited a policy that prohibits drivers from being reassigned to distribution centers.

“Employers are required under federal law to make reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities, absent undue hardship, including reassignment to an open position,” said Kenneth Bird, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Indianapolis District, in the release. “O’Reilly’s refusal to reassign this employee to an open nondriving position violated the law, and the EEOC will continue to fight disability discrimination.”

The lawsuit alleges O'Reilly Automotive violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. The EEOC is seeking back pay, compensatory damages and punitive damages on behalf of the former employee, according to the release.