Statement by former congressman and author of the Americans with Disabilities Act Tony Coelho:

As the author of the American’s with Disabilities Act and long-time advocate for people with disabilities, I am deeply troubled by Wal-Mart’s internal memo exposed by the New York Times this morning.

This is one of the most profitable companies in the world and this memo shows that in their pursuit for greed and power, they have chosen to cut costs even at the price of human dignity. Wal-Mart’s desire to “dissuade unhealthy people from coming to work at Wal-Mart” is chilling and unconscionable. No company or organization should be able to discriminate against an employee on the basis of age, level of fitness, disability status or potential cost to the company.

It is a sad day when American’s largest employer callously treats its employees as products in its stores. Wal-Mart has a moral responsibility to immediately disavow itself of this memo and not selectively hire Americans on the basis of their potential cost to the company.