If an employer, school, or other institution treated you differently because of your seizure disorder, you may have grounds for an epilepsy discrimination lawsuit under federal law. The Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and related statutes classify epilepsy as a disability — including when medication fully controls your seizures — and bar firing, refusing to hire, denying accommodations, or excluding you from services on that basis. Successful claims have produced settlements and verdicts ranging from tens of thousands of dollars to six-figure jury awards, and a 2025 Supreme Court decision made it easier for students with epilepsy to recover damages from schools.
What Counts as Epilepsy Discrimination
The ADA covers private employers with 15 or more employees, state and local governments, and places of public accommodation. Under the 2008 ADA Amendments Act, epilepsy qualifies as a disability because seizures substantially limit neurological function, and that judgment is made without regard to whether medication or surgery controls the condition. A person whose epilepsy has been well-managed for years is still protected.1EEOC. Epilepsy in the Workplace and the ADA
The protection extends to people only “regarded as” having epilepsy. If a manager fires you based on a belief that you have a seizure disorder, the firing is unlawful even if the belief is wrong.1EEOC. Epilepsy in the Workplace and the ADA Federal workers and federal contractors are covered by Sections 501 and 503 of the Rehabilitation Act, which specifically identifies epilepsy as a “targeted disability.”2EEOC. Employment Protections Under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
Common fact patterns behind lawsuits include being fired shortly after a seizure at work, having a job offer withdrawn after disclosing epilepsy on a medical form, and being refused scheduling or safety modifications that would allow you to keep working.
Failure to Accommodate
One of the most frequent legal violations is the employer’s refusal to engage in the “interactive process.” When you tell an employer that you need a change at work because of a seizure disorder, that is enough to trigger a legal obligation to discuss accommodations. You don’t need to use magic words or cite the ADA.1EEOC. Epilepsy in the Workplace and the ADA
The employer doesn’t have to grant your preferred accommodation, but it does have to offer something effective unless doing so would be an “undue hardship.”3Epilepsy Foundation. Employment Accommodation Accommodations the Job Accommodation Network identifies as typical for epilepsy include flexible start times, straight rather than rotating shifts, breaks for medication, leave for treatment or recovery, telework when driving restrictions block commuting, rubber mats and padded edges near work stations, flicker-free monitors or fluorescent light covers for photosensitivity, written checklists and reminders to work around medication side effects, and a private space to rest after a seizure.4Job Accommodation Network. Epilepsy / Seizure Disorder
An employer can ask for reasonable medical documentation. What it cannot do is skip the conversation entirely. Firing someone before any accommodation discussion takes place is itself an ADA violation.3Epilepsy Foundation. Employment Accommodation
When Safety Concerns Are a Legal Defense
Employers sometimes invoke safety as the reason for excluding someone with epilepsy from a job. The ADA permits that only through a narrow “direct threat” defense: the employer must show, with objective and individualized evidence, a significant risk of substantial harm that cannot be reduced through reasonable accommodation. Generalized fears about epilepsy or blanket policies against hiring people with seizure disorders will not survive the test.1EEOC. Epilepsy in the Workplace and the ADA
Driving is where the direct-threat question comes up most often. State licensing laws typically require a seizure-free period of three to six months before issuing or restoring a driver’s license, with some states requiring a full year.5Epilepsy Foundation of Northern California. Legal Rights of People With Epilepsy If driving isn’t an essential function of the job, an employer cannot treat the absence of a license as disqualifying; it must consider alternatives like having a coworker drive or restructuring the task.6Job Accommodation Network. Consultants’ Corner: Epilepsy and Driving
Interstate commercial truck driving sits in a different category. Federal regulations generally bar anyone with a clinical epilepsy diagnosis from operating a commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce, though the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has run a case-by-case exemption program since 2013. The agency approved waivers for 14 drivers in 2024, and approved drivers must report any seizure within 24 hours.7FreightWaves. FMCSA Reviews 11 Epilepsy Waiver Requests From Commercial Drivers8Federal Register. Qualification of Drivers; Exemption Applications; Epilepsy and Seizure Disorders
What Recent Workplace Cases Have Produced
EEOC enforcement actions give a sense of what these claims look like when they succeed.
In September 2019, the EEOC sued Gollnick Construction, operating as Colorado Excavating, after it fired office assistant Dora Marquez four days after she had a seizure at work. The agency alleged the company never discussed accommodations. The parties settled under a three-year consent decree requiring $42,500 in back pay and damages, annual disability discrimination training, and an “Epilepsy 101” session from the Epilepsy Foundation of Colorado.9EEOC. EEOC Files Two Lawsuits for Employees With Epilepsy10The Denver Post. Colorado Excavating Settles EEOC Disability Discrimination Lawsuit
On the same day, the EEOC sued Waterway Gas and Wash Company, alleging it fired Tyson Aoyagi about two weeks after a seizure at its Lone Tree, Colorado, location and in retaliation for requesting an accommodation. Waterway settled in July 2022 for $70,000 plus additional relief.9EEOC. EEOC Files Two Lawsuits for Employees With Epilepsy11ADA Great Lakes. Newsletter: Volume 15 Issue 9
In 2013, a federal jury in Denver returned a unanimous verdict for the EEOC against Western Trading Company, an Army-Navy surplus retailer, awarding $109,000 to Tyler Riley, who had been fired because of his seizure disorder.12ADA Great Lakes. Newsletter: Volume 9 Issue 6 And in 2016, Amtrak paid $112,000 to settle an EEOC lawsuit over the withdrawal of a job offer for a machinist position in its Seattle yard, where the agency alleged Amtrak rejected applicant Shawn Moe despite medical verification that his condition was controlled and he had been seizure-free for years.13EEOC. Amtrak to Pay $112,000 to Settle EEOC Disability Discrimination Lawsuit
Discrimination in Schools
Students with epilepsy are protected by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (which covers any school receiving federal funding), Title II of the ADA (public schools and universities), and, in K-12 public schools, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Schools must give students with epilepsy “meaningful access,” which can include excusing seizure-related absences, flexible testing schedules, extra time, quiet spaces, self-administration of medication, and staff trained in seizure response. Available remedies when a school violates these obligations include correcting records to remove unexcused absences and mandatory staff training.14U.S. Department of Education. Section 504 Protections for Students With Epilepsy
A 2025 Supreme Court decision substantially widened the door to damages lawsuits against schools. In A.J.T. v. Osseo Area Schools, the family of a Minnesota teenager with a form of epilepsy that causes severe morning seizures sued the district for refusing to provide afternoon or evening instruction. For years, A.J.T. received more than two hours less instruction per day than her classmates.15Cornell Law Institute. A.J.T. v. Osseo Area Schools16Supreme Court of the United States. A.J.T. v. Osseo Area Schools, No. 24-24917SCOTUSblog. A.J.T. v. Osseo Area Schools
How to File
If the discrimination happened at work, the first step is filing a charge of discrimination with the EEOC. The deadline is 180 days from the discriminatory act, extended to 300 days in states with their own fair employment agencies.18Defeating Epilepsy Foundation. Discrimination in the Workplace The EEOC investigates and, if it finds reasonable cause, attempts conciliation. The agency can then sue on your behalf, as it did in the Gollnick, Waterway, Western Trading, and Amtrak cases, or it will issue a right-to-sue letter. From the date you receive that letter, you have 90 days to file in federal court.19Epilepsy Foundation of San Diego County. Legal Issues
What You Can Recover
A successful discrimination claim can produce back pay and lost benefits, reinstatement or an order to hire, compensatory damages for emotional harm and out-of-pocket costs, punitive damages for especially reckless conduct, and attorney’s fees and expert witness costs.20EEOC. Remedies for Employment Discrimination
Federal law caps the combined compensatory and punitive damages by employer size:
- 15 to 100 employees: $50,000
- 101 to 200 employees: $100,000
- 201 to 500 employees: $200,000
- More than 500 employees: $300,00020EEOC. Remedies for Employment Discrimination
Back pay and front pay fall outside those caps, which is why total recoveries sometimes exceed the listed figures. If you think you have a claim, note the date of the adverse action, preserve any written communications about your epilepsy or accommodation requests, and contact the EEOC or a disability rights attorney well before the 180-day deadline runs.