U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

The U.S. Access Board has released a summary report on its four-part series of virtual meetings on making autonomous vehicles (AVs) accessible to passengers with disabilities. The sessions featured presentations by invited speakers who shared information and research results on design considerations and solutions for making AVs accessible to passengers with mobility, sensory, or cognitive disabilities. They also provided an opportunity for members of the public to pose questions and to share information and ideas during the session or through an online discussion platform.

Star Cases / Zero Manufacturing to Pay $27,500 to Resolve EEOC Discrimination Charge

A North Salt Lake-based manufacturing company will pay $27,500 to resolve a disability discrimination charge filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC),. The EEOC’s investigation revealed that a qualified individual with a disability was denied reasonable accommodations to perform her job. The reasonable accommodation was in the form of leave.

EEOC Sues Arizona Subway Franchise for Disability Discrimination

RCC Partners, LLC, doing business as Subway 701 in Buckeye, Arizona, violated federal law when it failed to accommodate an employee with autism and ADHD and then fired because he had a disability and/or need for accommodation, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed.

Professional Transportation, Inc. to Pay $60,000 to Settle EEOC Suit

According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC's) lawsuit, in February 2019, a job applicant recovering from opioid addiction sought a position as a van driver at the Professional Transportation, Inc.'s (PTI's) Bluefield, W.V., branch, and PTI subsequently made a conditional job offer to her. However, PTI later rescinded its offer after the job applicant informed the company that she was receiving Suboxone treatment, the EEOC said. A PTI human resources official reviewed information about the possible safety related side effects of Suboxone and then disqualified the job applicant based on her Suboxone treatment without considering whether she actually experiences any side effects from the medication.

EEOC Sues Agropur for Disability Discrimination

Agropur, Inc., a diary processor and U.S. subsidiary of Canadian-based Agropur Cooperative, has been sued by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for failing to provide a disabled employee with a reasonable accommodation, which resulted in her discharge. According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Agropur refused to accommodate the employee’s severe dyshidrotic eczema, a skin condition.

EEOC Sues JDKD Enterprises for Disability Discrimination

JDKD Enterprises, LP, a Sewell-New Jersey limited partnership that owns and operates numerous McDonald’s franchises in New Jersey, violated federal law when it fired a grill cook due to his disability, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it announced.
According to the suit, a grill cook who has autism spectrum disorder worked at McDonald’s for 37 years, including for about ten years at a McDonald’s restaurant in Deptford, New Jersey. Throughout his employment, the grill cook received awards and accolades for his excellent job performance. The grill cook’s disability was apparent, and it included his tendency to speak in a loud voice. The EEOC charges that only two months after JDKD Enterprises assumed ownership of this McDonald’s restaurant in Deptford, it abruptly terminated the grill cook because of his disability, despite his continued excellent job performance.

Dragon Rig / The Modern Group Sued by EEOC for Disability Discrimination

Industrial equipment and services companies The Modern Group, Ltd. and Beaumont, Texas-based Dragon Rig Sales and Service, LLC violated federal law when Dragon Rig refused to hire a job applicant because of his use of prescription medication to treat his anxiety and opioid addiction disabilities, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed.
After assessing his qualifications and work experience, Dragon Rig offered the applicant a job conditioned on his passing a pre-employment drug test, the EEOC said. The applicant provided the drug testing facility copies of his prescriptions and he passed the drug test. Nevertheless, the facility’s medical review officer informed Dragon Rig of the applicant’s medication use and stated that the medication could impair his ability to perform the job and operate equipment safely. The EEOC reported that without conducting any further inquiry, discussion, or assessment of the applicant’s ability to perform the job, the defendant companies withdrew the employment offer. Dragon Rig’s operations manager told the applicant “If you get off that s***, I’ll hire you,” the EEOC said.

U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)

Settlement Agreement between the United States and Brown University

The Justice Department entered into a settlement agreement with Brown University to resolve an investigation conducted under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Under the agreement, Brown will make changes to its undergraduate leave policies and practices to provide students with mental health disabilities equal access to Brown’s educational programs, reasonably modify its policies for undergraduate students with mental health disabilities seeking to return from medical leave, train faculty and staff on the ADA, and pay $684,000 to compensate aggrieved students.

Justice Department Enters Agreement to Ensure Public Transportation for Passengers with Disabilities in the County of Hawai‘i

The Justice Department entered into a settlement agreement with the County of Hawai‘i and the County’s Mass Transit Agency (MTA) to resolve an investigation conducted under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Under the agreement, the County and MTA must make their transit services, including Hele-On, the buses used by the majority of riders, accessible to passengers with disabilities. The agreement requires the County and MTA to ensure that passengers with disabilities have lifts to board buses; paratransit users are provided timely pick-ups and drop-offs; and bus stops are accessible. In addition, the County and MTA must ensure that transit system drivers undergo ADA training and that disability-related complaints are addressed fairly. The County and MTA also must report to the department regarding their compliance with these requirements.

Justice Department Files Statement of Interest in Lawsuit Regarding Self-Service Kiosks in Health Care Setting

The Justice Department filed a Statement of Interest clarifying that Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act requires that public accommodations provide auxiliary aids and services so that individuals with disabilities can fully and equally enjoy all of their services, including services provided through visual and electronic means on self-service kiosks. The Statement of Interest was filed in the Julian Vargas and American Council of the Blind v. Quest Diagnostics Clinical Laboratories, Inc. et al. lawsuit in the Central District of California. Defendants provide health care and diagnostic testing services at over 2,100 patient services centers. Plaintiffs allege that Defendants require patients to use an electronic, self-service kiosk to check in, input personal information, choose where to wait, and perform other tasks. No staff are allegedly present in the check-in area, so patients with vision impairments must ask strangers for assistance or bring companions. The Statement of Interest explains that Title III prohibits public accommodations from denying individuals with disabilities the full and equal enjoyment of their services, including services provided through visual and electronic means, because of the absence of auxiliary aids and services.

Justice Department Settles Lawsuit Alleging Disability-Based Discrimination in Residential Rental Properties in North Dakota | OPA | Department of Justice

The Department of Justice announced that Hampton Corporation Inc. and several related individuals and entities have agreed to settle a federal lawsuit alleging that they violated the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by failing to design and construct apartment complexes and a rental office in North Dakota so they are accessible to people with disabilities. The Department of Justice previously resolved claims against the architect and engineer involved in the design of one of the four apartment complexes at issue in the lawsuit.