Buffalo bank settles EEOC allegations it put disabled, impaired workers on 'involuntary leave'
Legal News Line
A Buffalo bank has settled a lawsuit that alleges the corporation failed to provide reasonable accommodations to disabled and impaired employees by putting them on "involuntary leave" until they could have medical authorization to return to work without accommodations.
According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Hudson City Savings Bank (HCSB), which has merged with Wilmington Trust, violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by placing employees on involuntary leave due to their disability or impairment. In one instance, the EEOC said, a bank teller who needed a cam walker boot for tendonitis and bone spurs was placed on leave and then fired due to her condition.
"HCSB's policy was in place since at least 2002 and, knowing of the 'no restrictions' requirement, some employees did not even attempt to request necessary accommodations of their disabilities," EEOC regional attorney Jeffrey Burstein said in a statement. "Wilmington Trust's actions required by the consent decree will ensure that legacy employees will be fully informed that HCSB's longstanding policy no longer applies."
"We hope that this settlement will help inform employers and the public at large that the ADA requires employers to engage in an interactive process and does not allow for such 'no restriction' policies," added EEOC New York District director Kevin Berry. "The consent decree also demonstrates how a successor entity can take action to make sure a predecessor's discriminatory practices do not infect its workplace."
Wilmington will pay $700,000 for lost wages and other damages and will follow a two-year injunction from its leave polices and practices related to denying reasonable accommodations in addition to training its employees on disability discrimination, the EEOC said.
Jackson Energy settle with former dispatcher
6 On Your Side
Meridian-based Jackson Energy has agreed to pay $158,000 to a former dispatcher to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The Idaho Statesman reports Jackson Energy fired Penny Wightman in 2015 while she was recovering from surgery after breaking her wrist.
A week after surgery, Wightman returned to work with restrictions. Soon after Wightman trained another employee to handle her duties, Jacksons forced her to go onto unpaid medical leave until she could work without restrictions. She was fired after she exhausted her leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act.
The EEOC said firing Wightman violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.
In the settlement, Jackson Energy didn't admit violating the act. The company agreed to train managers and employees on the ADA.
University of Montana research on ADA has national implications
The Missoulian
A research center at the University of Montana is brokering answers to contemporary questions about the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
with Disabilities Act of 1990.
The UM Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities is also helping UM law students become sensitive to disability issues regardless of the type of law they practice, said Martin Blair, executive director of the institute.
Last week, Blair discussed three research projects the institute recruited UM law students to tackle as part of a collaboration with the Rocky Mountain ADA Technical Assistance Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He said the questions come from the region, but the answers can have national implications.
For example, UM law student Joshua Thornton examined whether the ADA applies to vacation rental properties such as those listed on VRBO and Airbnb. Earlier this month, the Los Angeles Times cited the study in a story about travelers with mobility issues.
The projects give students the chance to do professional work before they enter the workforce, and they also give them the opportunity to broaden the legal understanding of the ADA and disability policy.
Copy of CUNA brief filed in Wisconsin, Illinois ADA case
CUinsight.com
Credit Union National Association (CUNA) partnered with the Illinois and Wisconsin Credit Union Leagues to continue its aggressive nationwide defense of credit unions facing frivolous lawsuits. The organizations filed a brief Thursday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in support of a credit union facing a lawsuit due to uncertainty with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
“CUNA and the leagues are continuing their aggressive advocacy on behalf of credit unions that are being hit with predatory lawsuits due to uncertainty with how the ADA applies to websites,” said CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle. “We feel this case could be an important milestone in our push back against these lawsuits that are exploiting a law designed to protect disabled Americans.”
The primary arguments found in the case, Carello v. Aurora Policemen CU are:
- That the appellant lacks standing, and had not suffered concrete and particularized harm because he does not meet the eligibility requirements to become a member Aurora Policemen FCU;
- A website is not a place of public accommodation, and therefore the ADA does not apply; and
- Applying Title III of the ADA to websites renders the statute impermissibly vague in the absence of any implementing regulations by the Department of Justice.
Orland Park Introduces Interim ADA Transit Program
Patch.com
The Village of Orland Park PACE Dial-A-Ride Bus Service ends December 28, 2018. Interim service will be provided by a temporary program using the village's recreation department bus.
Beginning Jan. 2, the Orland Park Public Works Department will provide bus service to disabled residents. Pre-registration is required by completing the registration form and providing one of the following forms of disabled identification:
- ADA Paratransit Card
- Handicapped placard or State of Illinois Disabled Persons ID
Complete the required registration form and email it to publicworks@orlandpark.org and/or drop off or mail it to:
Public Works Department
15655 South Ravinia Avenue
Orland Park, IL 60462
Service will begin Jan. 2, from 8 a.m. to noon on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. If a driver is not available that day, there will be no service.