8th Circuit Court: Not hiring candidate who failed strength test isn't “regarded as” bias
HR.BLR.com
The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota) recently affirmed a lower court's dismissal of an employee's "perceived as" disabled claim. Let's examine why.
Lexology
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) yet again delayed the anticipated rulemaking for website accessibility under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The guidelines are now expected sometime in 2018 (delayed from the most recent expected date of April 2016). But, as I will discuss below, that does not mean that businesses transacting business with the public through websites and mobile applications should ignore web-based accessibility entirely until 2018.
Judge dismisses two ADA lawsuits; no fees awarded to Cohen
KeysNews.com
Federal judges recently dismissed lawsuits that claimed two Florida Keys properties had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.
In the orders dismissing the cases, Judges Jose Martinez and Jonathan Goodman also refused to award attorney fees and court costs to Broward County attorney Mark D. Cohen, who has filed more than 800 ADA-associated lawsuits against Florida businesses.
The case against Marquesa Hotel in Old Town Key West was dismissed on Oct. 27, and the one against Bluewater Key RV Resort in the Lower Keys was similarly dismissed two weeks later. The dismissals nullified a settlement hearing that had been scheduled for the Marquesa Hotel case on Friday, Dec. 4 at the federal courthouse in Key West.
Woman claims Wordsworth Academy harassed and fired her because of her disability
The Pennsylvania Record
A Philadelphia woman is suing her former employer over claims she was harassed and terminated because of carpel tunnel syndrome.
Laura Fletcher filed a lawsuit on Nov. 17 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against Wordsworth Academy, The Wordsworth Co. Inc., and The Wordsworth Corp., claiming she was wrongfully terminated.
Fletcher claims she was employed by the company from Sept. 27, 2011, as an administrative assistant, and that she began suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome in 2014. Fletcher alleges soon after reporting her diagnosis to management she was transferred to a different department where she claims she was met with hostility from that department's management. Fletcher claims the workplace abuse continued until her termination on Jan. 15. Fletcher claims she was unfairly targeted for abuse and termination because of her disability and is a direct violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Some state and local governments aren't covered by the ADA when hiring
Chicago Daily Herald
Q: A friend applied for a job with a local government. After a successful interview, but before being offered the job, he was asked to submit a lengthy health survey with information about his health history, hospitalizations, risky avocations (and whether he used safety equipment), drug history and stints in rehab, alcohol use, and a list of his current medications. Refusing to submit the information was not an option. No offer would be made until the application process, including the health survey, was completed.
Is that legal? Wouldn't that make it possible to discriminate against someone with a physical or medical disability?
Disabled settlement moves toward finality
My Columbia Basin
The state of Oregon and the U.S. Department of Justice will announce a settlement today that will change the way Oregon manages people with disabilities. A federal judge will hear also be hearing from people affected by the proposal that would phase out so-called sheltered workshops where people with disabilities work.
The suit charged that Oregon’s practice prevented people with disabilities form working with non-disabled peers, which is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The federal government joined the suit a year after it was filed by sheltered workplace employees and advocacy groups.
United Airlines' seniority system trumped ADA requirements - 7th Circuit
Reuters
United Airlines Inc did not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act when it changed its policy of reserving certain work for injured employees and removed a man with back problems from his job, a divided U.S. appeals court said on Thursday.
Affirming a lower court that granted summary judgment to United, represented by Seyfarth Shaw, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the 2-1 decision said plaintiff Michael Dunderdale had not shown the "special circumstances" required by a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court decision to get around the general rule that employers cannot be forced to flout seniority systems to accommodate disabled workers.
Deaf high school wrestler sues MHSAA over use of interpreter
MLive.com
Royal Oak wrestler Ellis Kempf is deaf and is suing the MHSAA over the way his sign language interpreter is allowed to communicate with him during matches.
Progress for mentally ill shouldn't be slowed
Las Vegas Sun
This year has seen a lot of hoopla and celebrations across America as the nation marked the 25th anniversary of the passage of the American with Disabilities Act. President Barack Obama gave a beautiful speech July 20 about how this historic law guarantees civil rights to those with mental and physical disabilities.