Statement of Interest: North Colonie Board of Education | PDF
Lexology
Employers are generally aware of the obligation under the Americans with Disabilities Act to engage in an “interactive process” with employees who require accommodations in order to perform their duties, but identifying the point at which this obligation is met is far from an exact science. In two recent decisions, the Second and Eleventh Circuit Courts of Appeal clarified that an employer must only offer a reasonable accommodation that does not unduly burden business operations, and need not continue to provide more generous accommodations or investigate alternative accommodations that an employee has not proposed.
Americans with Disabilities Act Continues to Open Doors for disabled travelers
PR.com
As we approach the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), this landmark legislation continues to open up doors for disabled travelers. Not only do chain hotels offer good wheelchair access, but smaller properties, or properties that are exempt from the regulations are now stepping up to the plate.
Arkansas City Traveler
Lawsuits against six Arkansas City properties filed by a disabled Winfield woman have all been dismissed.
However, she has since filed 24 additional lawsuits against businesses, citing similar ADA compliancy issues — including two businesses in Winfield and two businesses in Arkansas City.
The original suits were all filed between Dec. 8, 2014, and Jan. 8, and all cited violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Nursing Center Sued by EEOC for Pregnancy and Disability Discrimination
NHC Healthcare/Clinton, LLC, a licensed nursing center that provides a wide array of skilled nursing, therapeutic and rehabilitative services, violated federal law when it failed to accommodate a pregnant employee and subsequently fired her because of her pregnancy and her disability, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed last week.
According to the EEOC's complaint, around Feb. 21, 2002, NHC Healthcare hired Tonya Aria as a full-time licensed practical nurse (LPN) at its nursing center facility in Clinton, S.C. Aria suffers from paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT), which, without medication, can cause rapid heart rate, numbness in the extremities, tunnel vision, and occasional blackouts. Aria's PSVT is controlled by medication. NHC was aware of Aria's medical condition.
EEOC Sues Dunkin' Donuts for Disability Discrimination
OHM Concessions Group, LLC, which operates Dunkin' Donuts stores at Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI), violated federal law when it refused to provide a regional manager with medical leave and instead fired her because of her disability, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit.
According to the EEOC's lawsuit, Joan O'Donnell successfully performed her job duties as a regional manager at the company's BWI Dunkin' Donuts locations. After O'Donnell was diagnosed with breast cancer, she e-mailed the owner to explain that she was diagnosed with breast cancer and would need surgery. She also talked to her supervisor about her diagnosis and requested four to eight weeks of unpaid leave for surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatment. The EEOC charged that Dunkin' Donuts refused to provide a reasonable accommodation and instead abruptly discharged O'Donnell because of her disability just three days before the start of her medical leave.
New Retail Research Examines Store Access for Disabled Shoppers
Rutgers-Camden NewsNow
Just getting in the door is not enough.
Although advancements have been made to provide accommodations for disabled consumers to access stores, a Rutgers University–Camden scholar says that’s only half the battle.
Business Owners Question Motive Of Disabilities Act Lawsuits
CBS Local
Dozens of small businesses in Minnesota are dealing with a legal headache that’s costing them thousands of dollars.
One lawyer is behind lawsuits targeting at least 70 businesses.
2 Mich. doctors settle in cases involving interpreters
The Detroit News
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Detroit has reached a settlement with the offices of two southeast Michigan doctors after investigations showed they didn’t offer sign language interpreters to deaf patients as required by law.
Court shoots down the EEOC at “Mach” speed based on “sham” conciliation process
Lexology
Amid the flurry of major U.S. Supreme Court decisions that were decided towards the end of the 2014-2015 term, the landmark decision in Mach Mining v. EEOC, No. 13-1019 (U.S. April 29, 2015), seems like ancient history. As we previously blogged about, most recently here and here, the Supreme Court concluded in Mach Mining, in a unanimous opinion authored by Justice Kagan, that federal district courts have the authority to review the EEOC’s conciliation efforts.
After Mach Mining, class action practitioners were left to wonder how lower federal courts would view their job in reviewing the adequacy of the EEOC’s conciliation efforts. On June 29, 2015, Judge Gregory L. Frost of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio applied Mach Mining and “bench-slapped” the EEOC, holding it failed to satisfy its obligation to pursue conciliation, and thus, stayed the case and ordered the EEOC to engage in good faith conciliation.
This decision appears to be the first post-Mach Mining decision to find that the EEOC failed to fulfill its conciliation obligation and boy, is it a doozy!