Buc-ee's fired a disabled cashier after medical crisis, federal lawsuit says

May 27-Texas' favorite beaver has been slapped with a federal lawsuit that says it discriminated against an employee with a disability.

Buc-ee's, the chain of sprawling travel centers known for their plethora of gas pumps, clean bathrooms and buck-toothed icon, has been accused by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission of failing to provide reasonable accommodation to an employee with a chronic condition.

Dale Witt, who worked at a Bastrop Buc-ee's for three years, said in court filings that he was battling a life-threatening disease when he was fired after asking for accommodations suggested by his physician.

Witt was diagnosed in 2024 with myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune neuromuscular disease. It affected his ability to stand for long hours and, in June 2024, the Buc-ee's cashier asked for his schedule to be changed to shorter hours.

The company initially accommodated the request. However, Witt experienced a near-fatal crisis and was placed on a ventilator for weeks. He took medical leave until October 2024, then informed Buc-ee's managers that he needed further accommodation, including a stool to sit on at the register and for his schedule to be changed to four-hour shifts.

In a letter, he told managers his disease meant he couldn't stand for more than 15 minutes, explaining that his muscles start to shut down when he is physically taxed.

"When this happens my respiratory muscles begin to fail," he wrote, saying he must be able to sit when he begins to feel weak. After four hours of any activity, he said, his body is too weak to do anything until after four or five hours of rest.

Buc-ee's managers agreed to four-hour workdays but denied his other requests, the EEOC said. The company said Witt could break up his 20-minute break into several shorter breaks.

Sitting while working was not an option Buc-ee's would explore, the commission says.

Witt was fired two days before Christmas 2024. The EEOC says his employment was terminated because of his disease in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The agency's suit alleges two violations: failure to provide reasonable accommodation and terminating him because of his disease.

"Employers must understand that disability accommodations are not optional suggestions; they are legal obligations," said Norma Guzman Director of the EEOC San Antonio Field Office.

Buc-ee's declined to comment on the litigation.

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