Settlement Agreement: Lakers Aquatic Club, Inc.
Baker Wellness Center to Pay $30,000 to Settle EEOC Disability Discrimination Lawsuit
Baker Wellness Center, Inc., a Baton Rouge-area adult day care and wellness center, will pay $30,000 and furnish other relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed last year by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
The National Law Review
Can an employer simply ignore a request by a disabled employee for an accommodation made in a meeting that could lead to the employee’s termination? A recent federal case from Wisconsin says no. In the case, the former employee, who is legally deaf, was employed as a sales associate in a national retail store. A confrontation between the employee and two store managers, occurring during a meeting in which the employee requested an accommodation related to his participation in the meeting, led to the employee’s termination.
Employee on Extended Medical Leave Cannot Claim ADA Violation for Reduced Discretionary Bonus
JD Supra
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits employers from discriminating against protected individuals with respect to terms and conditions of employment, including compensation. Employers frequently ask whether these restrictions prohibit them from reducing bonuses paid to employees who miss extensive work during the bonus measurement period. According to a new decision from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, employers can reduce discretionary bonuses based on the disabled employee’s absence from work.
In Davis v. N.Y.C. Dep’t of Educ., the plaintiff missed four months of the school year due to medical problems and jury duty. The school received a $3,000 bonus pool for each staff member, and the teachers’ collective bargaining agreement gave an administrative committee the discretion to allocate the bonuses. The plaintiff received a $1,000 bonus and sued for disability discrimination, pointing to two other teachers who had missed extensive time from work for non-disability related reasons, but had received higher bonus payments.
The Second Circuit rejected this claim, affirming summary judgment for the school district. The court first rejected the lower court’s basis for its decision, noting that claims of pay discrimination involving a discretionary bonus can constitute an adverse employment action under the ADA. However, the Second Circuit concluded that in this case, the bonus was not determined in a discriminatory manner. Although the two other absent teachers received higher bonuses, they missed less time than the plaintiff, and the school articulated legitimate reasons for the discrepancy.
This reasoning may not apply to incentive bonus plans that do not contain discretionary elements. Employees taking ADA or FMLA leave can have such bonuses reduced based on their absences, but only if such reduction falls within the terms of the bonus plan. For this and other reasons, employers drafting incentive bonus plans may want to include some discretionary element that would allow adjustment based on reasoned and documented conclusions relating to the employees’ relative contributions to the organization’s success during the bonus measurement period.
Lawsuit highlights importance of ADA compliance
Chain Store Age
Earlier this month, Reebok was hit with a proposed class action alleging that the company’s website violates the Americans with Disabilities Act because it is not accessible to the blind. The plaintiffs argue that Reebok.com contains “thousands of access barriers” that make it difficult — if not impossible — for blind customers to use the site.
Because of this, the plaintiff is asking the court to require Reebok to fix its site and pay damages. Although these types of cases have been on the rise in recent years, they still come as a surprise to people who are used to thinking of the ADA only in terms of things like wheel chair ramps and handicapped parking spaces.
Dealing with Anxiety and the ADA
Human Resource Executive Online
Mental health-related issues present unique compliance challenges to employers, and experts say a recent ruling illustrates how easily an organization can run afoul of the Americans with Disabilities Act -- and what a can be done to avoid doing so.
25 years after disabilities act, advocates focus on jobs
The Boston Globe
When the Americans with Disabilities Act passed 25 years ago, it gave millions of people new tools to live independently. But the sponsor of the landmark law lamented on Sunday that employment levels for people with disabilities remain near the low levels of 1990.
Speaking at the two-day Ruderman Family Foundation’s Inclusion Summit in Boston, former US Senator Tom Harkin said that while many of the ADA’s goals have been realized, economic independence remains a major concern for those with disabilities.
Disabled vet to file discrimination lawsuit against Dothan Holiday Inn
Dothan First
Winner said he was then kicked out of the hotel with his service dog. Now, he said he is filing a discrimination lawsuit, alleging the hotel violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and threw him out because of his race.
Disabled woman sues Audubon Commission, alleging inaccessible property
The Louisiana Record
A disabled woman from Orleans Parish is suing New Orleans and the Audubon Commissioner, alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Tasha Herbert filed a lawsuit Oct. 23 in U.S. District Court Eastern District of Louisiana against the Audubon Commission, the Audubon Nature Institute Inc, and the city of New Orleans, alleging a property in New Orleans is partially inaccessible to people with disabilities.
According to the complaint, Herbert suffers from spinal bifida, and is unable to stand or walk without assistance. She uses a wheelchair for mobility. The suit says Audubon Park and Audubon Riverview, also called “the Fly,” in New Orleans have certain areas inaccessible to her and her wheelchair, a violation of the ADA.
Herbert seeks alterations to the property to make it properly accessible along with unspecified monetary damages, all costs of suit and other relief deemed appropriate by the court.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana case number 2:15-cv-05425-ILRL-MBN.