A New Variation of the ADA Accessibility Lawsuit That Specifically Targets Hotels and Other Places of Lodging
Lexology
A new kind of Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) lawsuit, one that combines notions of both website and physical access, has been filed in the Southern District by a well-known ADA Plaintiff, Patricia Kennedy, and this lawsuit targets hotels and other places of lodging specifically.
In the past, people with physical disabilities would come to hotels and file lawsuits under Title III of the ADA based on alleged deficiencies or barriers with physical attributes of the properties- bathrooms, ramps, parking lots, etc. More recently, businesses, including hotels, have been targeted for website accessibility by individuals with vision and hearing impairments. Essentially, these individuals began filing lawsuits alleging that the websites were not properly coded to support the use of their assistive device thereby denying them access to the same online user experience as a non-disabled user.
Q&A with Lauren Oldham: Mental health workplace claims rising
NewsOK.com
Q: Why has there been a surge in mental health disability discrimination claims?
A: One in four American adults will suffer from a mental health impairment, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reports a surge in the number of mental health disability discrimination claims being made as more employees become aware of their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The EEOC recovered approximately $20 million from employers last year for people with mental health impairments who alleged they were denied employment or job accommodations.
Q: What constitutes mental impairment?
A: Mental impairments include but are not limited to psychological disorders, intellectual disabilities, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, and certain learning disorders. Covered mental disabilities almost always include major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and schizophrenia.
Q: What should employers do to ensure compliance?
A: Employers should be diligent in educating managers on how to comply with the ADA, what constitutes mental impairments, and the key steps they must take to fulfill the legal duty to engage in the interactive job accommodation process in good faith. It is recommended this be done in concert with legal counsel who can audit policies and procedures and assist with training.
Q: What are key aspects of the job accommodation process?
A: Employers must grant reasonable accommodations for mental disabilities unless doing so would impose an undue hardship. The process often requires an evaluation of the reasonableness of a requested accommodation, and a proper evaluation should include an individualized assessment of the situation. While employers are required to engage in the interactive process and explore possible accommodations, they are not required to alter or eliminate any functions of the job that are truly essential. Employers are also not required to create a new position for the employee.
Q: What should trigger the process?
A: Employers should begin the process when one of the following occurs:
• An employee discloses a mental impairment and requests an accommodation. Keep in mind, an employee does not have to use magic words such as “disability,” “accommodation,” or “interactive process” to trigger the duty to engage in the interactive process;
• An employer knows or is given a reason to know an employee is disabled and requires an accommodation (even if the employee does not request it); or
• When an employer has a reasonable belief based on objective evidence that an employee's inability to perform an essential job function is due to a mental condition.
Q: What are examples of common accommodations?
A: Some examples of possible reasonable accommodations include altered break and work schedules (e.g., scheduling work around therapy or other appointments), quiet office space or devices that create a quiet work environment, changes in supervisory methods (e.g., written instructions from a supervisor who usually does not provide them), altering shift assignments and permission to work from home.
ADA Litigation Continues With Recent Settlements
Lexology
As the wave of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) litigation against online retailers continues, a handful of companies have settled lawsuits for failing to make their websites accessible to those with visual impairments.
In a microcosm of federal court cases across the country, three different actions were brought in Illinois federal court earlier this year against Empire Today, Grubhub and Kmart. Each of the complaints alleged that the defendants failed to accommodate the visually impaired plaintiffs and sought changes to defendants’ online and mobile technology so that screen reader software could function on the sites and apps.
All three cases settled in late October or early November without the terms of the deals being disclosed. But dozens of suits remain pending against other companies nationwide, with uncertainty high after the Department of Justice halted plans to provide compliance guidance.
In July 2010, the DOJ issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking to promulgate regulations under Title III of the ADA. A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in June 2015 promised “to address the obligations of public accommodations to make goods, services, facilities, privileges, accommodations, or advantages they offer via the Internet, specifically at sites on the World Wide Web, accessible to individuals with disabilities” and to “make clear to entities covered by the ADA their obligations to make their websites accessible.”
Although the agency pushed out the target date to 2018, it continued to bring actions against Web-based entities for perceived violations.
However, the agency moved the regulations to the “inactive” list of its regulatory agenda in August, signaling that no further action will be taken in the near future.
The Company Working to Make Dance More Inclusive
The Atlantic
Opening its 30th season, AXIS has spent decades showing that performers with and without disabilities can make powerful work side by side