A Chernobyl-born typist who has no arms is suing grocery chain Kroger for firing him because he couldn’t carry his special bicycle up a flight of stairs or walk it through a pavilion.
Michael Trimble, whose deformed arms were removed at birth, mostly uses his feet to perform daily tasks, including writing and typing on a computer, according to his discrimination lawsuit filed last week in Oregon federal court.
He also uses a specially designed bicycle with extended handlebars that he pushes with his shoulder and left arm stump to get around.
But problems arose after he secured a temp-for-hire job last January as a customer service representative in Kroger’s human resources department.
Colleagues began complaining about Trimble’s bike, which he used to commute from Gresham to headquarters in southeast Portland.
A loss prevention employee asked him to start bringing his bike through the back stairs instead of through the front door.
But when Trimble explained that’d be physically impossible for him — because he has no arms — the woman put her foot down.
“No, that’s what we decided,” the worker told him, according to the suit.
Trimble was also chided for “biking too fast” through an outdoor courtyard and asked to walk his bike through.
“Can’t you just push your bike?” his supervisor asked, according to court papers.
“How can I push my bike? I don’t have any arms,” Trimble replied.
Trimble, who also claims Kroger refused to accommodate his physical impairment with a lower desk and a second computer monitor, was fired that March even though he had top performance ratings.
“Your performance was never brought up or raised as an issue by Kroger. It was all over that bike,” his supervisor allegedly told him.
He’s suing Kroger and Elwood Staffing Services, which does work for the grocery chain, for unspecified damages.
A Kroger rep didn’t immediately return a message.
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