ADA in the News April 19, 2019

Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, Inc.

Settlement Agreement

Gulf Logistics Operating, Inc., To Pay $25,000 To Settle EEOC Disability Lawsuit

Employer Discriminated Against and Fired Employee Due to Perceived Disability, Federal Agency Charged

NEW ORLEANS - Gulf Logistics Operating, Inc., a Larose, Louisiana company that operates a fleet of off-shore workboats in the Gulf of Mexico has agreed to pay $25,000 and provide other significant relief to settle a disability lawsuit by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.

Board to Hold Town Hall Meeting and Training in Indianapolis on May 21

United States Access Board

The Access Board will hold a town hall meeting in Indianapolis on the afternoon of May 21 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The event will provide an open forum where members of the public can pose questions to the Board or share comments or concerns about accessibility for people with disabilities. There also will be panel discussions with area speakers on accessible recreation and outdoor environments, the Indiana AgrAbility Project, and local compliance initiatives under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

 

Plaintiff With PTSD Not Disabled Under The ADA, Sixth Circuit Rules

JD Supra

The Sixth Circuit’s ruling in Tinsley v. Caterpillar Fin. Servs., Corp., No. 18-5303 (6th Cir. Mar. 20, 2019) is a good reminder that not all impairments rise to the level of a “disability” within the meaning of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”).  In addition to showing a physical or mental impairment, ADA plaintiffs also must show that the impairment “substantially limits one or more major life activities” to have a disability under the ADA.

At BeanZ & Co. Cafe in Avon, Employees With Disabilities Work Alongside Those Without

Connecticut Magazine

There’s a vibe at BeanZ & Co. Cafe in Avon. A very positive vibe. For anyone who’s ever waited in a long line at Starbucks or Dunkin’ when you’re already late, it’s the opposite of that feeling. People are smiling, patient, polite. It’s a beacon of civility in a time when being part of society means picking a side. The employees are the reason. Co-owners Kim Morrison and Noelle Alix are the visionaries.

Morrison and Alix each have daughters in their early 20s with Down syndrome. Alix’s daughter graduated from the Farmington Valley Transition Academy at the University of Hartford last year; Morrison’s daughter will graduate soon. “What we’ve come to learn, and as many parents before us came to learn, is there’s no jobs waiting for them when they graduate,” Alix says. “The estimate is at least 80 percent of individuals with intellectual disabilities are either unemployed or underemployed.”

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