ADA in the news

Lowe’s Home Centers to Pay $55,000 To Settle EEOC Disability Discrimination Lawsuit

According to the EEOC's lawsuit, Lowe's failed or refused to accommodate a department manager who is disabled because of a spinal cord injury that substantially limits the use of his right arm. The employee was hired by Lowe's as a customer service associate in 2006 and promoted to a department manager in 2008. The company was aware of his disability at the time he was selected for promotion, and he successfully worked as a department manager for six years. The employee's disability prevented him from using power equipment that requires the use of two hands, but he delegated that task to associates under his supervision. EEOC's lawsuit claimed that in June 2015, Lowe's notified the employee that he could no longer be provided with a reasonable accommodation, and demoted him to a non-supervisory associate position. As a result of the demotion, his hourly rate of pay was cut by more than $4 an hour.

The EEOC alleged in its suit that the company's refusal to accommodate the department manager, a qualified individual with a disability, and subsequent decision to demote him to a lower-paying position violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The EEOC sued in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division (Civil Action No. 4:17-CV-02589-M) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

The three-year consent decree settling the suit, signed by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Barbara Lynn, calls for Lowe's to provide monetary relief to the employee, as well as to conduct training on the ADA for employees, managers and human resources personnel at the Cleburne Store.

"It is important for companies like Lowe's to carefully make decisions regarding reasonable accommodations to ensure its employees with disabilities can perform their work successfully," said Suzanne Anderson, supervisory trial attorney for the EEOC's Dallas District Office. "The early settlement of this litigation assures that this employee will continue serving as a productive member of the Lowe's team."

In an Action Arising Out of Americans With Disabilities Act Violation, What Constitutes Standing, and Is Notice Required?

Legal Examiner

In Brito v. JP Antlers, LLC, No. 17-cv-01956-CMA-NYW, (D. Colo. 2018) the United States District Court D, Colorado, answered those questions.

Plaintiff Carlos G. Brito (“Brito”) is paraplegic and requires the use of a wheelchair.  Defendants JP Antlers, LLC and Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, LLC (“Defendants,” collectively) own and operate a hotel, located at 4 S. Cascade Avenue, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80203 (“Premises”). On August 14, 2017, Brito sued for injunctive relief under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), after encountering “multiple violations of the ADA that directly affected his ability to use and enjoy the Premises. Brito lives near the Premises, has frequented the area and intends to return. Defendants moved to dismiss, alleging Brito did not exhaust his administrative remedies and lacks standing.

Credit Union Prevails in ADA Case

Credit Union Times

Herndon, Virginia-based Northwest Federal Credit Union prevailed Friday in a lawsuit brought against it over the accessibility of its website, according to documents filed in a Virginia District Court. 

District Judge Claude Hilton ruled that credit union websites are not public places of accommodation and that that plaintiff had no standing in the case because we wasn’t eligible to join the credit union. 

“Title III of the ADA prohibits discrimination in public accommodations based on disability. The statute provides for a list of entities that are considered public accommodations. Notably absent from the list is the term ‘website,’” the court wrote. “Not only is ‘website’ not found on the list, but the statute does not list anything that is not a brick and mortar ‘place.’ Over the years Congress has extensively amended the ADA; however, at no point did Congress choose to add websites as a public accommodation.”

The judge also noted that Northwest FCU’s field of membership is limited to current or former employees of the CIA or their immediate families or household members. Northwest FCU said it had no comment on the ruling.

Officials examine website accessibility amid federal disability investigation

GW Hatchet

As the Department of Education investigates GW for alleged disability discrimination based on the accessibility of its websites, officials say they’ve formed a task force to examine the issue.

The complaint, which launched an investigation that began in April, has prompted a federal probe of the University’s policies and procedures regulating online accessibility. Experts said the inquiry may require GW to change how it manages website features so that students with disabilities aren’t put at an academic disadvantage.

Serial ADA litigant strikes hotel

The Daily Post

A quadriplegic attorney notorious for filing lawsuits that accuse small businesses not complying with the American with Disabilities Act has targeted a Mountain View boutique hotel, according to court documents.

Carmichael attorney Scott Johnson filed the suit Jan. 9 against Hotel Avante, 860 E. El Camino Real, alleging that the three-star hotel doesn’t have adequate handicapped parking spaces.

Johnson also claims that while the hotel has wheelchair-accessible rooms, they aren’t distributed among the different classes of available accommodations and there aren’t wheelchair-accessible rooms with two beds, violating the ADA.

Delta Cracks Down on Emotional Support Animal Guidelines

Care2.com

Delta Airlines is raising hackles with an announcement that will tighten guidelines for service and emotional support animals in the cabin. The air carrier claims that “untrained animals in flight” are causing safety risks for passengers and crew. Meanwhile, advocates insist that Delta is behaving in a discriminatory fashion.

The situation highlights growing resentment towards “fake” emotional support animals, as well as the challenges in regulating public spaces to make them safe for everyone.

It’s important to distinguish between service and emotional support animals, though neither are pets. Service animals are trained to perform specific tasks that a disabled person cannot complete independently; you may have heard of guide dogs, but service animals can also assist D/deaf people, mentally ill people, people with seizures and people with mobility disorders, among others.

By law, they must be allowed into all public accommodations, though it is legal to ask which tasks the animal performs — and to eject service animals that are not behaving. Service animals must be dogs or, in special cases, miniature horses. They receive protections under both the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA).

Woman sues Indianapolis in dispute over coworker's body odor

Indiana Daily Student

woman is suing the City of Indianapolis after she was fired from her job in the magistrate court for trying to remedy complaints about a coworkers’ body odor.

The woman, Amber Bridges, had worked in the court since 2010, according to court documents. Another employee’s persistent body odor became a source of complaints from some workers in 2016, so Bridges, as lead staff at the court, notified her supervisor. 

She also took action by installing air fresheners around the office. Other employees also bought and installed air fresheners to mitigate “obnoxious chronic body odor” and “improve professional demeanor and productivity.”

Bridges’ supervisor was aware of her buying air fresheners, according to court documents, and did not say she disapproved.

However, in May 2017, Bridges was told the coworker with body odor problems had filed a complaint about her for installing the air fresheners. The coworker said it created an “uncomfortable and hostile work environment” toward her.

Bridges’ supervisors also told her employees were “afraid” and she could not be trusted in a leadership role any longer. She was fired May 11.

Now, Bridges alleges in a lawsuit filed in December that she was fired for her association with someone with a disability — the coworker with body odor.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, people cannot be fired for having an association with a person with a disability. This could be a family member with a disability but also can include any association or relationship an employee has with someone with a disability.

Body odor can be considered a disability in some cases, according to the Job Accommodation Network, a resource about workplace disability issues.

Court documents state that city officials fired Bridges because her issues with the coworker “distracted from the overall professional demeanor” of the court and because she allegedly abused her supervisory powers and instigated gossip. 

Bridges, in the lawsuit, instead asserts that her firing was actually because of her association with the coworker, making it unlawful under the ADA. 

Bridges is seeking from the city compensation, punitive damages and coverage of her legal fees. She is also demanding the city “adopt appropriate policies related to the hiring, training and supervision of its employees.”

Woman claims local hotel didn't follow required ADA regulations

WOAI

A type 1 diabetic claims a local hotel failed to follow the Americans with Disabilities Act, when she requested help during her visit.