Liberty Chrysler Dealership Sued by EEOC for Disability Discrimination
Nevada-based dealership Liberty Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge LLC violated federal law when it fired an employee diagnosed with multiple sclerosis instead of accommodating her disability, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed April 28, 2015.
According to the EEOC, about three months after Shara Rynearson was hired as a commissioned salesperson, she notified her supervisor of symptoms that caused her to go to the emergency room in October 2010: a sudden change in vision, numbness in half of her face, and loss of balance. Later Rynearson showed her employer her hospital discharge documents, which included a diagnosis predicting multiple sclerosis. She also informed her supervisor that the doctors had instructed her not to work until after a medical appointment scheduled for early November to confirm the diagnosis. She later brought in a doctor's note excusing her absence from work and reiterating her explanation. The EEOC found that instead of allowing Rynearson to take medical leave for the diagnosis and treatment of her disability, the company fired her on Nov. 5, 2010.
Consent Decree: Compass Career Management, L.L.C. | Complaint
Yakima County settles ADA claim from Justice Department
Yakima Herald-Republi
Yakima County will have to spend an estimated $750,000 to upgrade its facilities to meet federal handicap accessibility requirements.
Oklahoma Driller to Pay $59K to Settle Disability Discrimination Suit
Insurance Journal
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (H&P), a Tulsa, Okla.-based drilling contractor, will pay a former employee $59,000 to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced.
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, the oil contractor forced a derrick hand at H&P’s Alice, Texas, location off the job because he was taking prescribed medications to treat chronic pain associated with a degenerative disk condition. The company ultimately fired the derrick hand, even though he had been deemed fit to return to work by his doctor.
ADA: Don't rush to scrap essential function
Business Management Daily
It’s not always possible to accommodate an employee’s disability. Employers do have to consider possible accommodations that allow a disabled employee to retain his job.
However, it is unreasonable to expect the employer to entirely eliminate an essential job function.
When Is Telecommuting a Reasonable Accommodation Under the ADA?
JD Supra
Earlier this month, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals shared its perspective on this question and held that telecommuting was not a reasonable accommodation for an employee where her essential job duties required regular and frequent in-person contact with suppliers and customers. In some respects, the court’s conclusion that telecommuting may not be appropriate for jobs requiring regular physical attendance is rather unremarkable. As the use of telecommuting rises, however, the decision’s common-sense approach to the issue is likely to have a lasting impact.
Both sides pleased by ruling in Nate Young case
Mount Desert Islander
A federal judge’s recommendation in former Police Chief Nate Young’s lawsuit against the town of Bar Harbor is seen as a victory by both the plaintiff and the defendant.
Lawsuit: "Detroit Airport Punished Indian Trails & Michigan Flyer for Helping Disabled
PR Newswire
In a federal lawsuit served on Detroit Metro Airport yesterday, Indian Trails, Inc., and Michigan Flyer, LLC, charged the Wayne County Airport Authority (WCAA) with "corrupt and unlawful retaliatory conduct" against the two bus companies due to their support of people with disabilities in suing the airport for discrimination.
The previous lawsuit last September charged WCAA, which operates Detroit Metro Airport, with violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act in relocating the loading area for Michigan Flyer, AirRide, and SMART buses from curbside at the McNamara Terminal to a distant, inaccessible location in the Ground Transportation Center (GTC) in the parking ramp across the road. The plaintiffs in that case—which was settled last October—were Michael Harris, a paralyzed veteran, and Karla Hudson, an East Lansing resident who is blind.
The new lawsuit alleges that, after settling the case brought by Hudson and Harris, WCAA "immediately and severely retaliated" against Indian Trails and Michigan Flyer "in blatant violation of the anti-retaliation provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act." The bus companies maintain that the airport "systematically and relentlessly interfered, disrupted, and undermined their existing business as private companies providing public transportation at DTW."
Disabled resident sues property owner over accessibility issues
The Louisiana Record
An Orleans Parish woman brought a lawsuit against a company for alleged noncompliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
More for Employers to Be Anxious About Under the ADAAA
JD Supra
In 2008, Congress enacted the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA), which expanded the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1991 (“ADA”). Congress passed the ADAAA with the express intent of counteracting several Supreme Court of the United States precedents and “reinstating a broad scope of protection to be available under the ADA.” Last month, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit’s decision in Jacobs v. N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts, 780 F.3d 562 (4th Cir. 2015) showed how broad the ADAAA’s protection can be.
Disability Lawsuits: Hobbling Businesses
CFO Magazine
A law designed to help people with disabilities enriches lawyers instead.
As wheelchair-inaccessible buses show, regulation only gets us so far
The Guardian
In July, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) will be 25 years old and it’s fair to say it constitutes a landmark piece of legislation. Having ushered in a wide range of rights and protections the ADA helped transform the lives of millions of disabled people while also sending a clear signal to society that discrimination would not be tolerated. However, even with a long-established progressive law proven to have had a positive impact, ensuring that it is fully understood and enforced is an ongoing undertaking.
New York Daily News
A disabled Queens man is hell on wheels for the mom-and-pop businesses he's suing.
Jerry Cankat is the plaintiff in 20 federal lawsuits filed in Brooklyn Federal Court in the last year against pizzerias, diners, pubs, and cafes alleging the locations contain “architectural barriers” that prevent him from accessing the premises in his wheelchair.