08/16/2026
Awesome 👏
She drank a $1.69 orange juice d to save her life, paid for it minutes later, and still lost her job.
Dollar General cashier Linda Atkins, who has diabetes, suffered a dangerous hypoglycemic episode while working at the register. With her blood sugar dropping, she grabbed an orange juice from the cooler, drank it to stabilize herself, then paid for it shortly afterward.
But Dollar General fired her for violating its “grazing” policy, which prohibited employees from consuming merchandise before paying.
Atkins fought back, arguing that the company failed to accommodate her medical condition and discriminated against her because of her disability.
In 2016, a federal jury agreed. She was awarded $277,565 in back pay and damages, and the verdict was later upheld on appeal.
