ADA in the News: March 21, 2018

No Relief in Sight from Website Accessibility Lawsuits

Lexology

In February 2017, we reported on a surge in website accessibility lawsuits brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). This litigation trend has accelerated over the past year and shows no signs of slowing down.

Title III of the ADA prohibits discrimination against disabled persons in places of “public accommodation.” Generally, businesses that provide goods or services to the public must provide disabled individuals with the same type of access to those goods and services as they provide to individuals who are not disabled, and must remove certain existing barriers to access. Although the ADA was enacted long before the ubiquity of websites and e-commerce, retail and hospitality businesses are targeted frequently with claims that their websites (and mobile applications) are inaccessible to blind and visually-impaired individuals.

Westport inn and restaurant reach settlement over ADA compliance

Westfair Online

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Connecticut has reached settlement agreements with the Town of Westport and two local establishments, the Inn at Longshore and the Pearl at Longshore Restaurant, related to charges that they were not in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

United States: What All Employers Need To Know About Protecting Employee Health Information

Mondaq News Alerts

Employers obtain employee health information in a number of ways—most commonly, in relation to a work-related injury or when an employee requests medical leave or a disability accommodation. Most employers understand that such information is “confidential,” but may not fully understand what that means or what they should do to protect it.

First of Its Kind Hollywood Disability Inclusion Toolkit Offers Entertainment Professionals Facts & Sources

Digital Journal

As entertainment professionals across all platforms work to become more inclusive of minorities, RespectAbility, a nonprofit organization that fights stigma and advances opportunities for people with disabilities, announces the launch of “The Hollywood Disability Toolkit: The RespectAbility Guide to Inclusion in the Entertainment Industry.” The toolkit, which is available online for free, offers Hollywood professionals the facts and sources they need to get disability inclusion right.

A first of its kind primer for entertainment professionals, it covers a wide array of key issues all in one easy to read place. A Disability FAQ covers topics from the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the definition of a disability to concrete steps to ensure inclusivity and sample inclusion language. The FAQ also covers resources for hiring employees with disabilities and tax and other incentives that employers have to hire people with disabilities.

CUNA and LSCU file brief in ADA Case

CUinsight.com

Credit Union National Association and the League of Southeastern Credit Unions and Affiliates filed an amicus brief in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama defending a credit union hit with a lawsuit alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

CUNA, LSCU file brief supporting CU facing frivolous ADA suit

CUinsight.com

CUNA and the League of Southeastern Credit Unions and Affiliates (LSCU) filed a brief Tuesday in support of a credit union facing a predatory lawsuit alleging noncompliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The brief was filed in Scott v. The Infirmary FCU in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama.

Stapleford '21: Against the disability identity center

The Brown Daily Herald

On March 12, 1990, over 60 physically disabled individuals threw themselves out of their wheelchairs, abandoned their crutches and left their walkers behind, dragging themselves up the 78 steps of the capitol building in Washington, D.C., to protest the delay of the long-awaited passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The passage of the ADA set in motion a dramatic transformation of the accessibility of institutions like Brown. It is the reason why I, as a wheelchair user, can attend today. It put into law the idea that individuals with disabilities have as much a right to live, work and take part in their communities, without compromise, as their able-bodied peers. This desire — to be fully integrated into an accessible, inclusive community — is one of the reasons why I was drawn to Brown.

Westport​ Inn, Restaurant To Make Changes To Comply With ADA, DOJ says

Westport Daily Voice

The owners of an inn and a restaurant in Westport reached resolutions with officials regarding alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

John Durham, the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced Wednesday that his office has reached settlements with the Inn at Longshore in Westport, the Pearl at Longshore Restaurant in Westport, and the Town of Westport to bring the locations into compliance with the ADA.

THE DISABILITY RIGHTS ROLLBACK

Landscape Architecture Magazine

When Congress passed and President George H. W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the landmark legislation had survived broad, hostile opposition from business lobbyists who claimed its cost and liability would run companies into the ground. But with monumental effort and few exceptions, the law has succeeded in opening a once-closed world of transportation, employment, government, communications, and public accommodations to people with disabilities—and everyone else lived. Nearly all commercial businesses that serve the public have had to create full access and remove obstacles to their establishments. Design professionals, not least landscape architects, have been active at the core of this revolution, turning the law’s many dimensional requirements into reality as ramps, doors, railings, driveways, slopes, stairs, and all the rest. For most people, the law is a fact of life, and a welcome one.

Why The Healthcare Industry Should Pay Particular Attention To Drug And Alcohol Issues In The Workplace

JD Supra

While all employers struggle with navigating the ever-changing landscape of drug and alcohol issues in the workplace, healthcare employers should pay particularly close attention.

According to the annual Quest Diagnostics Drug Testing Index, illicit drug use among U.S. employees continues to rise, resulting in the highest drug test positivity rates in the last 12 years. While the statistics on whether healthcare workers are more or less likely to abuse drugs or alcohol are unclear, the American Nurses Association estimates that 1 in 10 nurses experience drug or alcohol addiction. These figures and medical professional’s ready access to narcotics, demands healthcare employers’ attention.

Is Your Workplace PTSD-friendly?

HR Technologist

There has been a recent a surge in efforts geared towards incorporating veterans and former military personnel into the workforce – and the benefits are clear. This is a group of educated, skilled professionals who bring years of experience dealing with high-pressure situations in extremely demanding scenarios. For the employees as well, these allow a smoother transition to civilian life, a shift that’s often complicated by their memories of war.

PTSD or post-traumatic stress disorder is a result of negative, even impairing experiences that could have a debilitating effect on day-to-day lives. These “hidden wounds” could prevent otherwise qualified workers from holding down long-term positions, leading to low retention rates and a perpetually floating workforce.

And PTSD isn’t limited to those in the army. Research suggests that around 7.8% of the American populace will experience PTSD at some point in their lives. This is a massive candidate pool that remains untapped, and are unable to contribute meaningfully to society – even as employers roll out more and more inclusive protocols for the disabled, and those otherwise challenged.

DOT​ employees learn more about challenges for pedestrians with disabilities

Juneau Empire

Employees from the Alaska Department of Transportation &Public Facilities got a different look at downtown Juneau on Tuesday.

As part of a training program funded by the Federal Highway Administration, ADOT&PF employees moved around downtown with the use of wheelchairs, walkers and other items to simulate what it’s like for those with disabilities and limited mobility. This training, ADOT&PF Regional Construction Engineer Vic Winters said, happens every couple of years as part of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to give employees a firsthand look of the challenges faced by those with disabilities on sidewalks and crosswalks.

 

Jury question whether multiple accommodations provided to deaf employee were reasonable
Although an employer used written notes, lip reading, visual aids, and the assistance of a coworker who had basic signing abilities to communicate with a deaf employee, and eventually provided an ALS interpreter for large meetings and trainings, a federal district court in Michigan still found a fact issue as to whether the employer truly provided a reasonable accommodation. A fact issue also existed as to when the employee began requesting an accommodation and whether the accommodations afformed him after he requested an ASL interpreter were effective, said the court, pointing out that the ADA guarantees individuals reasonable accommodations to perform the "essential functions of [their] position," as well as "to enjoy equal benefits and privileges of employment as are enjoyed by its other similarly situated employees without disabilities." Summary judgment was denied on his failure-to-accommodate claim. ( Vardon v FCA US LLC, EDMich, March 7, 2018, Parker, L)

 

Husband's opposition to wife's firing, response to investigation, may have triggered his firing
Sufficient evidence of pretext supported a fired car dealership sales manager's contention that he was really let go because he participated in the investigation of his wife's charge of pregnancy discrimination and FMLA retaliation against the dealership—or because he opposed that discrimination—or that the dealership, which had already fired her, retaliated against him for the fact that his wife had filed a discrimination charge against it. He was let go just six weeks after he participated in the investigation; in addition, there were some shifting reasons for dismissing him on the dealership's part. A federal district court in Kansas denied the dealership's motion for summary judgment on his retaliation claims. ( McKinney v Kansas City Automotive Co Limited Partnership dba Hendrick Lexus Kansas City, DKan, March 8, 2018, Lungstrum, J.)

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