Some dealerships have a hard time understanding laws, such as those dealing with lemon cars or fraud. Now that Ford dealer just reached a settlement because they fired an employee who became disabled after surgery, we can add disability law to that list of things that dealers struggle with.

According, a former car sales manager underwent spinal surgery and became disabled. When he returned to work he requested to regularly use a cart that he and the other employees had been using from time to time. For those of you that are unfamiliar with the Americans with Disabilities Act, this request would fall under a "reasonable accommodation." It is also highly illegal to fire someone because they request a reasonable accommodation, but that didn't stop Randall Ford.

Once the former sales manager sought legal council with a disability rights attorney, the dealership agreed to a settlement -

In addition to requiring the company to pay $128,750 in damages and back pay to the former manager, the consent decree resolving the case mandates that Randall Ford revise its ADA policy to provide a clear avenue for employees to request a reasonable accommodation. Additionally, Randall Ford will distribute its revised policy to all employees, post notice of this resolution, and provide disability training to all of its employees.

I certainly don't envy those working at the dealerships. Often sales staff are stuck in the middle between customers that see them as "the enemy" and a boss that only cares about getting one more penny from a buyer. It also seems that on some sales floors getting sick or injured could mean you are out of a job.

But seriously...ADA people, deal with it.