Voluntary Compliance Agreement: Idaho Pizza Company
Settlement Agreement: Palm Springs Art Museum
ADA Website Accessibility Lawsuits on the Rise: Companies Should Review Their Potential Exposure
JD Supra
With the recent spike in website accessibility lawsuits, companies should review their websites for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) in order to avoid litigation and should consider taking steps to remediate their websites to ensure people with disabilities have equal access to consumer-facing content.
During the last year, there has been a substantial rise in lawsuits filed against many consumer-facing websites alleging violations of Title III of the ADA.1 Plaintiffs in these cases allege that these websites are discriminatory because they are not accessible to people with vision, hearing, or other disabilities. Most of these lawsuits have been filed in federal court (primarily in New York, Florida, and California), and many are styled as class actions. The relief sought is primarily injunctive, prohibiting any additional alleged discriminatory activity, and requiring website remediation to allow people with various disabilities to access the content therein, in addition to awards of attorneys’ fees and costs (there are no monetary damages available in Title III cases). There are also state and local statutory claims being asserted in certain jurisdictions, such as New York, claiming that certain websites violate local human rights laws that guarantee equal access for people with disabilities, and California, where several plaintiffs also allege that a website violates the State’s Unruh Civil Rights Act.
Businesses are tightening policies on emotional support dogs
KHON2
Alaska Airlines is tightening its policy on emotional support dogs. We're learning more businesses are taking similar steps, and state lawmakers are getting into the issue.
Customers traveling with emotional support dogs will now have to provide health and behavioral documents, as well as a doctor's note at least two days before departure. This change starts May 1st and does not apply to traditional service animals.
So what other changes are we seeing here in Hawaii
Ex-Forsyth County firefighter alleges ADA violation in lawsuit
Forsyth County News Online
A former firefighter, last week, filed a lawsuit against Forsyth County which claims that by denying his request to return from medical leave in 2017 the county may have violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.
According to the complaint, in March 2017 Timothy Smallwood, a firefighter who had worked for the county for 15 years, was recommended by his doctor to take a leave of absence for “in-depth” treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
The complaint stated that Smallwood had been diagnosed with PTSD in 2012 and that his “Supervisors were aware of his medical conditions and treatment” since he was diagnosed with the disorder.
It goes on to state that even though the PTSD affected various aspects of Smallwood’s day to day life, “PTSD did not prevent him from preforming the essential functions of his job.”
The release states that on March 24, 2017 Smallwood took 12 weeks of medical leave through the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which guarantees employees up to 12 weeks of job protected and unpaid leave for medical and domestic reasons.
“As plaintiff’s FMLA leave expiration was approaching, plaintiff was informed he would need to request additional leave under the County Medical Leave policy in order to obtain more time to get clearance from his doctor to return to work,” according to the complaint.
Smallwood applied for the new County Medical Leave on June 4, 2017, and, according to the complaint, even though the leave was granted, Smallwood’s employment was terminated on June 15, 2017.
Macy’s To Pay $75,000 To Settle EEOC Disability Discrimination Lawsuit
Macy's will pay a former long-term employee $75,000 to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today. The EEOC's lawsuit charged Macy's with firing an asthmatic employee, rather than excuse a one-day absence the employee needed to address emergency complications arising from her disability. This alleged conduct violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The EEOC filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Macy's, Inc/Macy's Retail Holdings, Inc.; Civil Action No. 17-cv-05959) on Aug. 16, 2017 after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through the EEOC's conciliation process.
According to the EEOC's lawsuit, the asthmatic employee worked for Macy's for nearly eight years, but she was fired after a one-day absence due to needing immediate medical attention for her asthma. Macy's policy permits absences for disability-related reasons. However, in this case, Macy's denied the employee's request to excuse the absence, even though she had to be seen in a hospital emergency room, and fired her three weeks later.
Macy's will pay $75,000 in monetary relief to the employee as part of a consent decree settling the suit and will provide additional relief intended to improve Macy's workplace for employees with disabilities. Under the decree, Macy's will train certain employees on disability law and accommodation requirements under the ADA. Macy's will also monitor requests for accommodation and complaints of disability discrimination at its two Chicago stores and report those to the EEOC.
Hertz to Pay $45,000 to Settle EEOC Disability Discrimination Lawsuit
The Hertz Corporation has agreed to pay $45,000 and furnish other relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
According to the EEOC's lawsuit, Hertz actively recruited Norman "Dan" Newton for a sales position in its car sales division in Denver after spotting his resume online. Newton agreed to meet with the local sales manager for an interview. At the interview, according to the EEOC, the Hertz manager expressed reservations about Newton's mobility because he used a cane. The manager later informed Newton that despite his competitive qualifications, which included over ten years of car sales experience, Hertz hired two other people. Both of those individuals possessed significantly less car sales experience than Newton, and one of them had never previously sold cars, according to the EEOC.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects applicants and employees from discrimination, including refusal to hire, because of a disability, a record of a disability, or because they are regarded as disabled. The EEOC filed its suit in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado (EEOC v. The Hertz Corporation, Case No. 1:17-cv-02298-KMT) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.
The two-year consent decree resolving the case requires Hertz to pay $45,000 to Newton and provide him with an apology. In addition, the decree requires Hertz to adopt and maintain policies and practices that will provide its employees a workplace free of disability discrimination in the future and that will encourage employees to report discriminatory conduct. The company will also provide training to employees at its Hertz Car Sales facilities in Colorado on preventing disability-related discrimination. Hertz also agreed to post a notice in these Colorado facilities notifying employees of the provisions of the ADA and their right to a work environment free of disability discrimination.
What Is A Service Animal? New Arizona Law Clarifies The Question
Patch.com
The new law hopes to clamp down on people who misrepresent their pets as service animals.
Are your workplace policies evolving, or are they obsolete?
The Business Journals
Not all employer policies are affected by state and federal laws, but if your policies haven’t changed over the past one, three, or even five years, there’s a very good chance that at least some of them are out of date. Given recent legal activity, you might want to review the following types of policies first.
Closed Fresno restaurant files counter-suit against former ADA plaintiff
KFSN-TV