A new piece of federal legislation would delay consumers’ ability to hold businesses legally accountable for failing to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) — a move that some critics say could allow companies to never comply with the ADA in the first place. [More]
americans with disabilities act
Lawsuit Claims Uber Is “99.9% Inaccessible” To People With Mobility Disabilities
By 7.18.17
How hard is it for someone to get a wheelchair-accessible Uber in New York City? According to a new lawsuit, it’s pretty much impossible. [More]
Virgin Atlantic Apologizes To Woman Kicked Out Of Lounge Because Of Her Service Dog
By 5.12.17
The seemingly endless parade of airline apologies continues apace today, with Virgin Atlantic admitting one of its employees shouldn’t have told a disabled woman she couldn’t enter the airline’s airport lounge with her service dog. [More]
Government Accuses Walmart Of Illegally Firing Worker With Down Syndrome
By 1.19.17
The federal government has accused Walmart of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by firing an employee with Down Syndrome who could not adjust to having her schedule changed after 15 years on the job. [More]
Lawsuit Claims Chick-Fil-A Discriminates Against Job Applicants With Disabilities
By 12.28.16
An autistic man who was interested in working at an Illinois Chick-fil-A claims in a lawsuit against the fast food chain that he was dissuaded from applying for a job after the restaurant’s manager said people with disabilities wouldn’t do well there. [More]
Deaf Customer Sues Taco Bell For Discrimination, Claims She Was Denied Service
By 7.15.16
A New Jersey woman is suing Taco Bell for discrimination, claiming that she was denied service at two separate drive-thru locations because she’s deaf. [More]
Discrimination Lawsuit: Starbucks Fired Deaf Worker Who Asked For Sign Language Interpreters
By 10.20.15
An Arizona woman who worked as a Starbucks barista for seven years has filed a lawsuit against the company for allegedly discriminating against her because she’s deaf. She claims she repeatedly asked for reasonable accommodations to help her on the job and was repeatedly denied, and that she was finally fired because of her disability. [More]
Target Must Pay $2.8M To Settle Claims Of Unfair Hiring Practices
By 8.24.15
Target Corp. must pay $2.8 million to settle allegations that thousands of people lost out on a chance to be employed by the company because of certain discriminatory pre-employment assessments. [More]
Yet Another Uber Passenger With Service Dog Allegedly Left At The Curb
By 7.27.15
Divit is a guide dog, who has been trained to keep his owner safe and independent and to have impeccable manners in public. Yet Divit’s owner says that they were left at the curb on their way to a vet appointment, simply because the driver assigned to their ride didn’t want to have a dog in the car. Even a service dog, which in theory is allowed to go anywhere that its owner or trainer does. [More]
Carnival Must Upgrade Ships, Pay $350K After Disability Violations
By 7.23.15
Ships operated by the world’s largest cruise provider are about to become more easily accessible for passengers with disabilities, as Carnival Corp. and the Department of Justice reached an agreement to resolve an investigation into complaints that the cruise line failed to adequately provide accommodations for those with disabilities. [More]
Uber Claims Disability Laws Don’t Apply To Technology Companies
By 5.22.15
Uber’s massive fleet of cars don’t belong to the company, and its drivers aren’t employees. Does that mean that they aren’t a public service, as other transportation options are, and that they don’t have to follow federal or state laws that require buses and taxis to accommodate everyone. [More]
Judge: Uber Must Face Lawsuit Claiming Discrimination Against Blind Passengers With Service Dogs
By 4.21.15
Months after the National Federation of the Blind claimed in a federal civil rights lawsuit that some of Uber’s drivers have discriminated against blind passengers by refusing to pick them up when they had guide dogs — and in one case, allegedly putting a service dog in a car’s trunk — a judge has ruled that the ride-hailing company must defend itself against the suit. [More]
USPS Apologizes To Deaf Woman After She Says Worker Refused To Communicate With Her By Writing
By 3.10.15
The United States Postal Service is apologizing to a deaf woman in Florida after she said workers at her local post office refused to accommodate her by providing service through writing, instead allegedly mocking her and making her feel humiliated. [More]
Bank Of America To Pay $155K To Settle Claim It Discriminated Against Hearing-Impaired Customer
By 3.3.15
Financial institutions have a somewhat checkered past when it comes to accommodating consumers with hearing disabilities. There was Citibank’s demand that a hearing-impaired customer call them to clear up a suspicious transaction only to be hung up on repeatedly or there was the Chase rep that didn’t think deaf people could have credit cards. Now this week, Bank of America agreed to settle allegations it denied a loan modification after ignoring a customer’s request that the bank email her rather than force her to talk on the phone. [More]
Kmart To Pay $102K For Refusing To Hire Dialysis Patient Who Couldn’t Give Urine Sample
By 1.29.15
Kmart must pay $102,000 to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on behalf of a Maryland man who says the company reneged on a job offer when he couldn’t provide a urine sample for a drug test because of his kidney disease and dialysis. [More]
Florida Lawmakers Want To Punish People Who Use Fake Service Dogs
By 12.16.14
While there are many Americans with legitimate needs for service animals, and who are legally allowed to take those animals into restaurants and stores where they would normally be banned, there are some people who exploit the service animal label without any bona fide medical or therapeutic need. Now some Florida legislators are looking to penalize these fakers with fines and possible jail time. [More]
Disabled-Access Lawsuits Against Small Businesses Increasing
By 10.16.14
Everyone who likes to eat hot dogs should have the right to enter a restaurant and order some hot dogs. Recently, though, a 60-year-old luncheonette in Miami was sued when a man who walks with a cane sued, claiming 30 separate accessibility violations. Was the man even a customer of the hot dog stand? Turns out that doesn’t really matter. [More]
Starbucks Employee Asks Woman With Service Dog To Leave Because There’s “No Proof” He’s A Service Animal
By 9.2.14
Starbucks is once again making headlines for an employee’s reaction to a customer with a service dog. And once again the coffee shop seems to be in the wrong – and apologizing. [More]
