Ripon Advance
Bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA) would relieve the financial burden on small businesses complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) while honoring the bill’s original intent.
Calvert and U.S Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) introduced H.R. 620 to crackdown on abusive ADA lawsuits. The measure would provide business operators notice of ADA violations, 60 days to outline improvements being made to address them and 120 days to remove the infraction.
'Hamilton' Lawsuit Turns Spotlight on Broadway Accessibility
Variety
A lawsuit brought against the producers of “Hamilton” and the owners of the theater in which it’s playing has turned attention to issues of accessibility for disabled Broadway theatergoers — an often-overlooked subject where real accommodation and good intentions can meet murky questions of demand and execution.
The class action suit filed earlier this month in the Southern District Court of New York alleges “systemic civil rights violations” against blind and visually-impaired theatergoers, an accusation prompted when plaintiff Mark B. Lasser, a blind theatergoer from Denver, Colo., contacted the “Hamilton” box office about audio description services and was told none were available. That violates the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to the suit.
Lexology
With the recent proliferation of web accessibility demand letters and lawsuits, businesses often ask whether settling a claim with one plaintiff will bar future lawsuits brought by different plaintiffs. One federal judge recently said no.
ADA Title III Lawsuits Increase By 37 Percent In 2016
Mondaq News Alerts
The number of federal ADA Title III lawsuits continue to surge, fueled by new plaintiffs, new plaintiffs' lawyers, and website accessibility claims.
Our 2016 lawsuit count is complete, and the results no less remarkable than prior years. In 2016, 6,601 ADA Title III lawsuits were filed in federal court — 1,812 more than in 2015. This 37 percent increase continues the upward trend in the number of filings, which we've been tracking since 2013. In 2015, there were 8 percent more Title III lawsuits filed than in 2014.
Serial litigants sue Harrah's over ADA issues
Las Vegas Sun
A disabled person with a history of suing businesses in Las Vegas has filed an Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuit against Harrah’s Las Vegas.
Robert P. Spretnak, a Las Vegas attorney listed on the court documents, filed the federal suit Sunday on behalf of Michele Joseph in U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada.
The lawsuit alleges that Harrah’s has multiple violations of the ADA involving parking, accessible routes to the business from parking, access to goods and services, public restrooms, guest rooms, and policies and procedures.
Lexology
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (Judge Bates) has denied AARP’s request to block the implementation of the EEOC’s final wellness regulations pending a decision on the merits. As we have discussed previously, the regulations address the extent to which an employer may offer incentives to participate in a wellness program without violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). The final rules have taken effect as of January 1, 2017.
EEOC v. Flambeau, Judicial Restraint, and (Uncertain) Future of Employer-Sponsored Wellness Programs
The National Law Review
On January 25, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued it much-anticipated decision in EEOC v. Flambeau, Inc. This case involved the regulation of employer-sponsored wellness plans and programs. Since 2006, the rules surrounding wellness programs had been modestly well settled—for tax and benefits purposes. But little was known about the impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). At issue in Flambeau is which of two ADA provisions—the voluntary employee health program exception or the safe harbor for “bona fide benefit plans”—also apply to wellness plans. The lower court, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, ruled against the EEOC, applying the more flexible bona fide benefit plan exception. The EEOC appealed.
The Seventh Circuit’s decision on appeal is a model of judicial restraint. (This is the doctrine that holds that cases ought to be decided on the narrowest grounds possible.) Flambeau “won” on appeal only in the narrow sense that it avoided liability. The Court did not reach the statutory or regulatory issues before it. Rather, it disposed of the case on procedural grounds.
The Hazy Truth Regarding Workplace Drug Testing
Lexology
John has been a good technician throughout his relatively short tenure at your dealership. But today he is a bit careless as he test-drives the customer vehicle he just finished working on. As John returns the car to the dealership, he pulls in front of a dump truck traveling faster than he expects, and the rear end of the customer’s car is nearly ripped off.
As you run to the scene of the accident, you see John step out of the car unharmed. You also hear the familiar sounds of Bob Marley coming from the car radio and detect a distinctive smell wafting out of the vehicle. Your immediate reaction (after ensuring no one is hurt, of course) is that you are going to send John for a post-accident drug test.
While this has long been a standard practice throughout the country, will sending John for a drug test put your dealership at risk in today’s pro-marijuana landscape? Would your opinion change if you knew John was a card-carrying medicinal marijuana patient?
Drunk at Work: What HR Can Do About Employees Drinking on the Job
SHRM
Spate of inquiries about on-the-job drunkenness raises questions about protocol
US Employment Litigation Round-Up for December 2016/January 2017
Lexology
A Review of Key Cases and New Laws Affecting Employers
Employers increasingly ask new hires about their medical history . Here's why.
Alaska Dispatch News
Increasingly, employers are asking new hires for information about their medical history.
Florida Federal Court Holds That a Website is Not a Place of Public Accommodations
JD Supra
A Florida Judge Holds that SeaWorld’s website is not a place of public accommodation covered by Title III of the ADA but the decision has its limits.
Disabled woman says tow company stranded her because of her service dog
The Denver Channel
For Belinda Williams, her service dog, Galen, is more than her best friend, he's her lifeline.
"If my muscles are in spasms, he'll take a rope and pull on it in order to help me sit up. He can do bracing to help me get up from low positions. He can also create extra space around me so that I don't feel crowded," Williams said.
It's why she was so shocked Friday night when she says APT Towing showed up, then refused her service because of her dog.
"I explained he's a service dog, the ADA requires he have this access," Williams said. "He said he was going to talk to his dispatcher and the next thing I know, he's just driving away."
SCOTUS Nominee Judge Gorsuch & the ADA
Lexology
Last night, POTUS nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch to the SCOTUS. Employers may be wondering how Judge Gorsuch will interpret the ADA’s reasonable accommodation requirement. There is some guidance from his 2014 opinion, Hwang v. Kansas State University (10th Cir. 2014). In Hwang, an assistant professor diagnosed with cancer challenged the University’s inflexible leave policy that allowed no more than six months’ leave. Judge Gorsuch evaluated the employee's Rehabilitation Act claim (which prohibits disability discrimination by recipients of federal funds) and declined to declare the policy unlawful notwithstanding language in an EEOC Guidance manual suggesting that employers “must modify” such a policy. Judge Gorsuch noted that when read in full context the EEOC Guidance manual stated that such a policy needed to be modified only where an employee can demonstrate that additional leave would be a reasonable accommodation. The court noted that the EEOC manual also contained language stating expressly “that an employer does not have to retain an employee unable to perform her essential job functions just because another job she can perform will open up then.” The EEOC also specifically said that “six months is beyond a reasonable amount of time.”
Former AccuWeather employee sues company, says he is a victim of discrimination
Centre Daily Times