Carolina Creek to Pay $70,000 to Settle EEOC Pregnancy and Disability Discrimination Suit
Carolina Creek Christian Camp, Inc., a Huntsville, Texas-area business offering summer camping and retreats, will pay $70,000 and furnish other relief to settle a pregnancy and disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
The National Law Review
In a case that is sure to alarm employers, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals ruled in Wisconsin Bell, Inc. v. Labor and Industry Review Commission that an employer may be prohibited from disciplining an employee for misconduct or performance issues that are caused by the employee’s disability. The court’s decision in Wisconsin Bellpotentially broadens protections for employees under the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act (WFEA) and represents a stark departure from federal law.
Under the American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA), an employer is generally free to discipline an employee who violates the employer’s conduct requirements that are job-related, consistent with business necessity and consistently applied, even where the conduct is caused by a disability. The EEOC’s guidance on conduct standards for disabled employees has consistently applied this rule.
Charles E. Carlson worked for Wisconsin Bell (now AT&T) as a call center representative in 2010 and 2011. According to his physician, Carlson suffered from bi-polar disorder, which caused Carlson to experience episodes of mania followed by periods of depression. Due to his bi-polar disorder, “relatively minor frustrations” caused Carlson to experience “extreme moods.”
In 2010, Carlson abruptly hung up on nine customers, claiming that he did so because of an on-set of his disorder. Wisconsin Bell nonetheless suspended Carlson for his actions. After returning from suspension, Wisconsin Bell allowed Carlson to use a special code to go “off line” for health reasons. Other employees would typically go off line for 3-5 minutes, including for restroom or other brief health-related breaks. Carlson used the code for 38 minutes, during which time he used Wisconsin Bell’s instant messaging system to talk to co-workers. In so doing, Carlson accidentally sent a message intended for a co-worker to his supervisor and then asked to leave for the day.
After confirming that Carlson was chatting with co-workers, Wisconsin Bell determined that Carlson inappropriately used the code. Carlson claimed that he had an episode after failing a test for promotion and that he was reaching out to co-workers for support, as suggested by his therapist. Carlson was ultimately terminated.
After filing a complaint with the Wisconsin Equal Rights Division (Division) and a hearing, the administrative law judge determined that Carlson’s conduct was caused by his bi-polar disorder. The ALJ thus ruled that Wisconsin Bell’s decision to suspend and terminate Carlson were based upon his disability and violated the WFEA. After several levels of appeal, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals agreed that an employer can be held liable for disability discrimination when it takes an adverse employment action based on conduct by an employee that is caused by a disability.
Unless and until the Wisconsin Supreme Court considers this case, Wisconsin employers should consider the ramifications of the Court of Appeals’ ruling when taking action against a disabled employee. Employers would be wise to engage in the interactive process to identify possible reasonable accommodations that may allow the employee to meet expectations before resorting to disciplinary action.
Workers with gender dysphoria are entitled to protection under the ADA, federal judge rules
ABA Journal
A federal judge in Allentown, Pennsylvania, has refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a transgender woman who claims discrimination by her former employer, Cabela’s Retail Inc., under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
U.S. District Judge Joseph Leeson ruled (PDF) that the ADA protects people with gender dysphoria from discrimination, even though the law specifically excludes gender identity disorder from its protections, report Reuters and the Washington Blade.
Leeson ruled in a suit filed by Kate Lynn Blatt, who had claimed she was fired from a Cabela’s store in Hamburg, Pennsylvania, because of her sex and disability. Blatt’s lawyer, Neelima Vanguri, told Reuters that the decision is the first to allow a transgender person to sue under the ADA for discrimination based on gender dysphoria.
The ADA says the term “disability” does not include “transvestism, transsexualism, pedophilia, exhibitionism, voyeurism, gender identity disorders not resulting from physical impairments, or other sexual behavior disorders.”
Leeson distinguished the non-disabling condition of merely identifying with a different gender from gender dysphoria, “which goes beyond merely identifying with a different gender and is characterized by clinically significant stress and other impairments that may be disabling.”
Leeson said his interpretation of the law made it unnecessary to decide whether the exclusion for gender identity disorders violates Blatt’s equal protection rights.
Blatt had alleged that workers at Cabela’s had subjected her to degrading comments, and that she was not allowed to wear a name tag with her female name or to use the women’s restroom.
Is Your Website ADA Compliant?
Lexology
When a typical business evaluates whether its facilities are in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), it usually considers whether it has provided appropriate physical accommodations, such as wheelchair ramps or bathroom handrails.
Most businesses, however, have not yet considered appropriate accommodations for the use of their corporate websites, including the use of speech recognition software, closed captioning and other assistive technologies.
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and numerous courts have determined that the ADA requires businesses to make their websites accessible to disabled persons. This development has spurred significant litigation and, in some instances, resulted in substantial settlements.
Uber's deregulated business violates equality law | David Perry
Newsweek
Uber has dodged another regulation. Last week, news broke that Uber is getting sued… again, this time by two disabled men in Jackson, Mississippi. The plaintiffs allege that as wheelchair users they are highly independent, but rely on commercial transportation – whether public or private – to get around the city, as neither drives. They take buses. They take taxis. But they can’t take Uber, they claim, because it doesn’t offer Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles (WAVs) to the half million residents of Jackson. This violates both the ADA and California disability law (where Uber is located).
Court: Transgender people can sue under ADA
Washington Blade
A federal court for the first time has ruled transgender people can sue under the Americans with Disabilities Act, despite the law’s explicit exclusion of claims based on gender identity.
U.S. District Judge Joseph Gleeson, an Obama-appointed judge in Pennsylvania, determined in a six-page decision a case filed by transgender plaintiff Kate Lynn Blatt filed against Cabela’s Retail, Inc., can proceed because she meets the conditions of the 1990 law.
Transgender Person Allowed To Sue Under Disability Act For First Time
NewNowNext
A District Court judge has ruled that a transgender woman can sue her former employer for sex discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act, even though the ADA expressly excludes transgender people from protection.
Kate Lynn Blatt claims she was fired from hunting and camping retailer Cabela’s in 2007, after suffering prolonged harassment that included being denied access to the women’s restroom and being forced to wear a name tag with her male birth name.
She is the first trans person to successfully file a suit citing the ADA.
Cracker Barrel settles ADA federal lawsuit
Chicago Daily Law Bulletin
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store has settled a class-action lawsuit brought by a basketball star who claimed handicapped parking spaces at some restaurants are too steep or otherwise violate federal law.
Jacksonville Nears Settlement In Housing Discrimination Lawsuit
WJCT NEWS
A settlement between disability rights nonprofits, the Department of Justice and Jacksonville is well on its way to becoming law after passing its final City Council committee this Tuesday.
The full council is expected next week to approve the agreement that helps the city avoid a lawsuit for violating the federal Fair Housing Act.