KCC provides $29K over discrimination allegation
WIBW
he Kansas Corporation Commission has provided nearly $30,000 to its former general counsel over allegations of disabilities discrimination.
Celadon Trucking Services, Inc. to Pay $200,000 to Settle Lawsuit
Celadon Trucking Services, Inc., a trucking company headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, has agreed in a consent decree to pay $200,000 to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Taprite Fassco to Pay $72,500 to Settle EEOC Sex, Disability and Retaliation Discrimination Suit
Taprite Fassco Manufacturing, Inc., a San Antonio-based manufacturer of CO2 regulators in the soda and beer industries, will pay $72,500 and furnish other relief to settle a gender, disability and retaliation-based discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Paramedic fired for her diabetes wins disability discrimination suit
Indianapolis Star
A federal jury found that a former paramedic for the Wayne Township Fire Department was discriminated against after she was fired because of her diabetes.
Kristine Rednour, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 12, was awarded $223,500 in a discrimination lawsuit filed in February 2013, about a year and a half after the Fire Department fired her because of her illness and told her she should not have been hired in the first place, according to a federal complaint. The suit alleged that Rednour’s termination violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA.
After a four-day trial and three hours of deliberation in federal district court in Downtown Indianapolis, the jury of eight people decided late Friday that Rednour is entitled to $123,500 for lost wages and benefits and $100,000 for emotional distress.
The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, alleged that Rednour is considered disabled under the ADA’s definition. Kevin Betz, of the Indianapolis law firm Betz and Blevins, which represented Rednour, said federal law requires employers to “engage in an interactive process” with employees with disabilities about how they can be accommodated in the workplace.
In this case, officials decided to fire Rednour despite her qualifications for the job and a recommendation by the Fire Department’s medical doctor that she was able to work, according to court records.
Employers urged to accommodate workers' chronic conditions
Business Insurance
When it comes to workers with chronic conditions, employers should focus on providing accommodations and support rather than managing a disease, an expert said during the Disability Management Employer Coalition's 2015 conference in San Francisco.
During a Monday session on chronic conditions in the workplace, Dr. Glenn Pransky, director of the Center for Disability Research at Liberty Mutual Research Center in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, told workers compensation and absence and disability professionals that to adequately prevent disability and presenteeism, they should look beyond an employee's illness.
Lexology
The Ninth Circuit released a precedent-setting Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) decision yesterday, and it’s a big win for employers. The Court held that an employee who makes “serious and credible threats of violence toward his co-workers” is not a “qualified individual with a disability” and therefore cannot state a claim under the ADA or Oregon disability law. Karen O’Connor, Brenda Baumgart and Andrea Thompson from Stoel Rives represented the employer in this case, Mayo v. PCC Structurals, Inc., and a link to the Court’s decision is here.
ACLU Sues Kentucky Officer for Handcuffing Disabled 8-year-old at school
HNN Huntingtonnews.net
The children, an 8-year-old boy and a 9-year-old girl, were so small that the school resource officer, Kenton County Deputy Sheriff Kevin Sumner in Covington, Kentucky, locked the handcuffs around the children's biceps and forced their hands behind their backs, the lawsuit charges. A disturbing video shows the boy, S.R., being shackled and crying out in pain. S.R. has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and a history of trauma.
Is Everyone Disabled? Temporary Disabilities and the Ever-Expanding Definition of “Disability"
JD Supra
Following the amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)—the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA)—employers were told to refrain from asking employees whether they were disabled. The employer community took this instruction with a grain of salt, knowing that although the scope of employees covered under the amendments was significantly greater, there were certain conditions that did not constitute a disability. More recent case law may be proving that theory wrong and, instead, showing that “all” (or almost all!) employees are disabled.
ADA lawsuits multiply in Hanford, Kings County
Hanford Sentinel
s lawsuits pile up against local businesses, a workshop will be held Wednesday at the Hanford Civic Auditorium to inform business owners about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Education key to service dog compliance
Prescott Valley Tribune
A clearer explanation of the U.S. Department of Justice American Disabilities Act's service dog regulations is likely to make it easier for stores and restaurants to honor the needs of customers with disabilities, advocates and national store chain officials said this week.
20% of Americans are Physically or Mentally Disabled
Apex Tribune
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 20% of Americans are physically or mentally disabled and facing challenges in their lives by living with certain disadvantages. Or, more simply said, 1 in 5 people in the United States suffer from disabilities.
Lexology
QUESTION:
We have an employee who we suspect has an issue with drugs or alcohol, but we don’t know how handle the matter. This employee has been written up a handful of times for missing work and the patterns are always the same: after every pay day, he does not show up to work the next day. What is the correct way to handle this situation? Should we send him for a drug test?
ANSWER:
Unless you have some evidence of alcohol or drug use at work (i.e., slurred speech, inability to function, smell of alcohol, etc.), then there is no need to engage in testing or even address this as a drug/alcohol issue. Doing that would only complicate things. Alcoholism and past drug use are disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), so accusing employees of engaging in alcohol or drug use during non-working hours could land you in legal hot water. You might trigger a duty to accommodate, or even risk a claim that you are discriminating against them because you regard them as being disabled.
It is better to simply focus on the effects of the problem (i.e., tardiness, absenteeism) and then counsel or terminate the individual for his poor attendance rather than raising his suspected alcohol or drug use.
Board Advisory Committee Submits Report on Rail Car Accessibility
The Rail Vehicles Access Advisory Committee (RVAAC) has submitted to the U.S. Access Board a final report on refreshing the ADA Accessibility Guidelines for Transportation Vehicles. The committee's report provides detailed recommendations on updating provisions in the guidelines for fixed guideway systems, including rapid, light, commuter, intercity, and high speed rail. Recommendations from the committee address rail car communications, boarding and alighting, on-board circulation, seating, and rooms and spaces.
Board Releases Next Installment of the Online Guide to the ADA and ABA Standards
The next installment of the U.S. Access Board’s online guide to accessibility standards issued under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) is now available. This material features a series of technical bulletins covering requirements for accessible routes in Chapter 4 of the ADA and ABA Standards, including doors and gates, ramps and curb ramps, and elevators and platform lifts. There is also a bulletin on referenced requirements for accessible means of egress. The documents explain and illustrate requirements in the standards, answer common questions, and offer best practice recommendations.
SD urging employers to hire people with disabilities
Sioux Falls Argus Leader
A new era for employing people with disabilities
Austin American-Statesman
I’ve worked to help people with disabilities find meaningful employment for more than 20 years. Today, I’m more excited than I’ve ever been about the future of our mission. Here’s why:
Twenty-five years ago, our nation gathered the will to write legislation intended to reverse the long-standing, second-class-citizen status of people with disabilities. In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) came into law to make sure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. While we still have a long way to go to realize that vision, the ADA was a monumental starting point and this year, three new pieces of legislation will help us continue that journey in Texas. Before we explore that future, however, it’s important to understand our past, and specifically, the role of sheltered workshops.