Britt is a paraplegic. While planning a recent trip, she reserved an accessible room at the Best Western where she and her boyfriend would be staying. A room that she could move around in, and that would not require her boyfriend to lift her into bed and onto the toilet. You know, allow her some independence and dignity. When they actually checked in to the hotel, though, they learned that the accessible room had been assigned to another traveler. Worse: according to staffers, this traveler was a regular guest who wasn’t disabled, but just likes having a bigger room. [More]
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Judge Allows Closed-Captioning Lawsuit Against Netflix To Proceed
By 6.22.12
Netflix recently asked a court to dismiss the lawsuit brought by the National Association for the Deaf that alleges the company violates the Americans with Disabilities Act by not including closed-captioning on many of its streaming videos. But earlier this week, the judge in the case ruled against Netflix, allowing the suit to move forward. [More]
Scalpers Use ADA Loophole To Snatch Up, Resell Tickets Meant For Disabled
By 5.9.12
At some sporting and concert venues, seating spaces reserved for people with disabilities can sometimes be prime spots. So it’s sadly not surprising that unscrupulous scalpers are taking advantage of a loophole in the Americans with Disabilities Act that makes it legal for them to buy up blocks of these seats and then resell them to people without disabilities. [More]
Frequent-Flying, And Complaining, Rabbi Can SueDelta
By 8.8.11 — Updated: 9.8.16
A lawsuit by a rabbi, who says that Northwest Airlines booted him from its frequent flyer program for complaining too much, can go forward. The case had initially been dismissed by a lower court that said federal deregulation law pre-empted the man’s claim, but the 9th circuit reversed that decision on Friday. [More]
AirTran Fined $500,000 For Lousy Wheelchair Service
By 8.31.10
The Transportation Department has served AirTran a $500,000 civil penalty for repeated failures to accommodate disabled travelers, reports Associated Press. The airline was also cited for not providing adequate responses to customers who complained, and for not properly filing complaints with the government. The biggest issue, however, was that it doesn’t always provide wheelchairs to disabled passengers in a timely manner. AirTran says it’s working on implementing a wheelchair tracking system at its hubs. [More]
Continental Refuses To Believe Woman's Service Dog Is Real
By 8.18.10
Continental sure has a lot of skeptical employees when it comes to customers with disabilities. Jessica tried to buy a ticket yesterday and was told no, because the ticket agent didn’t believe that Jessica’s self-trained service dog was legit. [More]
Hershey Will Help You Learn To Eat Right
By 7.21.10
Hershey has joined Mars, Coke and Pepsi as a sponsor of the American Dietetic Association, which bills itself as “world’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals,” and says its goal is to “optimize the nation’s health through food and nutrition.” Hershey? Nutrition? Actually, it’s the Hershey Center for Health and Nutrition, which is devoted to “the sweet science of chocolate.” Hey, we can live with that. [More]
Continental Gate Agent Tells Passenger She Thinks Her Mental Illness Is Fake
By 1.29.10
Laura has a pretty good description of what an anxiety attack feels like to her: “First, your chest starts to feel tight, like you are wearing a corset. You can’t breathe properly, your heart rate starts to skyrocket, causing a pounding feeling. It’s very out-of-body. You can’t figure out what’s going on. It’s like being trapped by your brain into a tight corner.” If the skeptical gate agent for Continental had ever experienced this–or had just been given adequate training for dealing with passengers with disabilities–maybe she wouldn’t have told Laura her doctor’s note looked fake, or asked her to stay put when Laura said she needed to get her meds. [More]
Isis Bridal Tells Woman With MS To Get Out
By 5.19.09
Ooo, you nasty! With your service animal! Get out of here! That’s the new informal slogan of Isis Bridal & Formal in Dallas after news broke that they kicked out a 62-year-old grandmother with multiple sclerosis, because they were worried her service dog would get service dog cooties all over the dresses.
Circuit City Designates Handicapped Parking Spots "Web Order Pickup" Zone
By 3.30.08
Legally Blind Woman Sues Fast Food Restaurants For Rudeness
By 2.11.08
A legally blind New York woman sued several fast food restaurants for ridiculing her when she asked for help reading their menus, but a federal judge threw out the suit on the grounds that “ADA laws don’t regulate ‘rudeness or insensitivity’ of workers.” Last week, however, an appeals court overturned that ruling and now the suit—” believed to be the first of its kind—could go before a jury this year.”
Steak 'N Shake Manager Denies Drive-Thru Service To Deaf Mother
By 1.27.08
A Steak ‘N Shake manager refused to serve Karen Putz, a deaf mother of three, after she asked to place her order at the drive-thru window as allowed by the Americans with Disabilities Act. The manager claimed it was “policy” to force Karen to order like any other customer:
“You’ll have to drive around again so I can take your order through the speaker,” the guy said.
Gum Company Paid ADA For Study That Earned It Their Seal Of Approval
By 9.28.07
For the first time ever, the American Dental Association is putting its seal on some Wrigley’s chewing gum products—they’ll now say that the ADA considers them products that are “clinically proven to help prevent cavities, reduce plaque acid and strengthen teeth.” The ADA and some health professionals say that this is a perfectly acceptable application of the seal, because a full study was carried out that proved the products work. The only problem is, the study was privately funded and the gum companies partially paid for them.
Capital One Hates Deaf People
By 11.15.06
What’s in your wallet? I said, what’s in your wallet? Oh, forget it. From a reader:
