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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
August 19, 2026
Minnesota Department of Human Rights Secures $115,000 Settlement with Glacier Ice House for Discriminating Against Worker with a Disability
Company leaders cited illness and disability leave as a reason to terminate employee
[St. Paul, MN] The Minnesota Department of Human Rights (MDHR) today announced a settlement agreement with Timberland Inc., doing business as Glacier Ice House (Glacier) in Brainerd, for discriminating against an employee with a disability. Under the Minnesota Human Rights Act, employers are prohibited from discriminating against employees because of a disability. The law also prohibits employers from retaliating against employees for taking disability leave.
“No Minnesotan should have to choose between fighting cancer and fighting for their job. Yet that’s exactly what happened when a worker took disability leave to receive cancer treatment. Instead of being met with dignity, they were met with discrimination,” said Minnesota Department of Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero. “Minnesota has long led the nation in advancing disability rights, and that leadership continues today. This settlement reflects Minnesota’s commitment to building a state where everyone can lead lives of dignity, free from discrimination.”
Case and Investigation
An impartial investigation by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights found that Glacier discriminated against and retaliated against an employee because of their disability, in violation of the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA).
In 2023, the employee took disability leave to receive cancer treatment. During the leave, company leaders ended the employee’s employment as part of widespread company layoffs. However, Glacier allowed other workers without disabilities to transition to other open positions in the company. This employee was not offered the same opportunity. In multiple conversations with the employee, company leaders mentioned the employee’s medical condition as a factor in their employment decision.
Settlement
The Minnesota Department of Human Rights secured a settlement agreement with Glacier that ensures the company will strengthen its policies and training related to employees with disabilities. The Department of Human Rights will receive twice-annual reports from Glacier and monitor its compliance for the next three years.
As part of the agreement, the employee who experienced discrimination will receive a monetary settlement of $115,000.
Enforcing state law preventing disability discrimination
The Minnesota Council on Disability estimates that about one in five – or more than a million people in Minnesota – has a disability. Disability discrimination remains a top reason why Minnesotans reach out to the Department of Human Rights, accounting for more than 40 percent of charges filed last year.
Minnesota has consistently led the country in civil rights, advancing disability protections in the MHRA years before the federal Americans with Disability Act passed. During Commissioner Lucero’s tenure in the Walz-Flanagan Administration, the Minnesota Department of Human Rights has built on that legacy by enforcing state law to ensure Minnesotans with disabilities are not discriminated against in the workplace, schools, housing, or businesses open to the public. In 2024, Governor Walz signed into law additional protections against disability discrimination for Minnesotans with intermittent health conditions like diabetes or epilepsy, and people who have cancer in remission.
Over the past eight years, Commissioner Lucero has secured multiple settlements to enforce disability rights under the Minnesota Human Rights Act with employers, including with Marathon Petroleum Corporation’s St. Paul Park refinery for not accommodating a worker with a service animal and Anderson Corporation for refusing to hire a job applicant with disabilities. The Department also secured major accessibility updates through a settlement that benefits Lyft rideshare users with service animals nationwide.
How to report discrimination
If you believe you have been discriminated against, contact the Department of Human Rights by submitting this online form.
The Minnesota Department of Human Rights is the state’s civil rights enforcement agency and is responsible for enforcing the Minnesota Human Rights Act, one of the strongest state civil rights laws in the country.
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Media inquiries: Please email media.mdhr@state.mn.us.
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