EEOC Sues Simplicity Ground Services For Pregnancy Discrimination
Simplicity Ground Services, P.C., an airline-ramp and cargo-handling company in Detroit, violated federal law by forcing an employee onto unpaid leave because of her pregnancy, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleged in a lawsuit filed today.
According to the EEOC's lawsuit, Raylynn Bishop was employed as a tow team driver for Simplicity Ground Services, a company responsible for transferring baggage on and off commercial flights at Detroit's Metropolitan Airport. As a tow team driver, her job primarily consisted of driving a vehicle, and her job description contained no lifting requirement. The EEOC alleged that upon learning that Bishop was pregnant and had a 20-pound lifting restriction, Simplicity informed her she must go on unpaid leave and attempted to make her sign an amended job description which added a 70-pound lifting requirement. Simplicity also forced other pregnant employees to take unpaid leave because they were pregnant and refused to accommodate their pregnancy-related lifting restrictions with light-duty work. Non-pregnant employees with similar restrictions, however, were routinely granted light duty.
Student With Special Needs Force-Fed Hot Sauce, Lawsuit Claims
Disability Scoop
A lawsuit filed on behalf of a student with special needs is alleging that a former instructor poured hot sauce into his mouth after he was seen blowing bubbles with his mouth in class.
The alleged assault took place on Feb. 2, 2017 when the student, identified in the suit as N.M., attended Early Bird Preschool at the Pacific Education Center on West Lomita Avenue.
The 11-count complaint was filed earlier this month and accuses Annie Ghazarian, described as a teacher and behavior intervention assistant, of committing the reported assault. She is listed as a defendant along with the Glendale Unified School District.
New York Sees Spike in Frivolous American With Disabilities Act Lawsuits, Report Claims
New York has seen a spike in frivolous lawsuits filed under the Americans with Disabilities Act, a recently released report by a legal reform group says.
In the “Serial Plaintiffs: The Abuse of Title III” report, the Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York maintains that the law meant to protect individuals with disabilities is being exploited by lawyers on the search for settlements.
The number of ADA Title III lawsuits filed in New York has increased each year, according to the report. In 2013, about 225 lawsuits were filed. In 2017, 1,023 ADA Title III lawsuits were filed in the state by more than 170 plaintiffs.
Segregation and inequality persist among Minnesotans with disabilities, study says
StarTribune
Nineteen years after a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling opened the doors to integration, thousands of Minnesotans with disabilities continue to live and work in segregated settings that keep them in poverty and limit their daily autonomy.
These are among the principal findings of the state’s first comprehensive survey examining the quality of life of nearly 50,000 Minnesotans with physical, intellectual and developmental disabilities who spend most of their time in settings such as group homes, nursing facilities and cloistered workplaces known as sheltered workshops.