Disability

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As everyone knows, Naomi Osaka made news last week in a big way. One of the things that I saw is that labor and employment bloggers were using it as an analogy for how they would deal with something like this under title I of the ADA, such as here184192212213215215. Sports commentators, such as here185193213214216216 for example, were also talking about it in employment law terms. What you do not find is anybody talking about the situation in terms of the applicable rules that actually apply. Since Naomi Osaka is an independent contractor, the question is whether title III…
Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day holiday weekend. Today’s blog entry talks about the latest update from the EEOC with respect to Covid-19. All the labor and employment law bloggers are blogging on it, so I decided to blog on it as well and offer my own perspective. As with previous blog entries of mine on the subject, what I have done is cut-and-paste the new sections of the guidance and then underneath the section put in my own comments. So, the blog entry is not divided into the usual traditional categories. The only new piece to the EEOC…
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Once again – as in past Memorial Day editions – I’m firing up the grill with hundred dollar bills in honor of the money wasted on lawyers, who are the only ones who really benefit from most ADA and FHA litigation. There are, however, some cases dealing addressing important substantive issues, and few in which Courts seem ready to turn the ADA and FHA into laws to help people instead of laws to make lawyers rich. Homeowners Associations and the FHA As a purely legal matter, HOA Boards and their managers should take note of McGrath v. Dunecrest Condominium Ass’n,…
Today’s blog entry explores a variety of issues dealing with vindicating rights under the ADA in the face of a collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The case of the day is Murphy v. United Parcel Service,186188204208207 Inc., a decision from the Eastern District of Wisconsin on March 23, 2021. As usual, the blog entry is divided into categories and they are: facts; CBA need not be exhausted prior to filing an ADA claim; CBA does not require arbitration of the claim; plaintiff has standing; failure to accommodate claim do not require an adverse action; sufficient allegations exist with respect to plaintiff…
Three cases in the last thirty days look at ADA standing and reach different conclusions about what the Constitution and the ADA require. For victims of serial litigation and for courts interested in the coherent application of the text of the ADA and similar statutes these are crucial cases.² Standing on air in the Seventh Circuit. In Laufer v. T & C Inn, LLC, 2021 WL 1759263, at *4 (C.D. Ill. May 4, 2021) the District Court adopted a view of standing that is very similar to that in the Ninth and other circuits. Under this standing theory a disabled…
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I apologize for not having posted a new blog for several weeks, but I have been busy on other projects, including the video posted at Industry experts explain what digital accessibility awareness means to them for Usablenet’s celebration of Global Accessibility of Awareness Day. All the videos are worthwhile, but if you don’t have time to listen, my comments in a nutshell are simple. A business is aware of digital accessibility if it understands that those with disabilities can an do use digital resources like websites and mobile applications, that accessibility gives businesses access to and a competitive advantage in…
I have a ton of cases in my pipeline. However, sometimes breaking developments jump the pipeline. This is one of those situations. As everybody knows, the CDC came out with new guidelines regarding mask wearing, which can be found here185198205. Everybody and anybody is talking about them, and the guidelines have big implications for the world of the ADA and persons with disabilities. A couple of days before the guidelines came out, I read an article saying that the CDC should do exactly this type of thing as a way to encourage people to get vaccinated. Since the guideline…
Today’s case of the day deals with two questions. First, just how does association standing work? Second, what is the burden of proof when it comes to figuring out whether something is readily achievable per title III of the ADA?   The case is Schalamar Creek Mobile Homeowners Association, Inc. v. Adler decided by the 11th Circuit on May 7, 2021, here185188199200. It is an unpublished decision. So, check your jurisdiction on how persuasive the decision might be. As usual the blog entry is divided into categories, and they are: facts; association standing; burden of proof readily achievable; and…
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On October 7-8 I’ll be joining Jason Taylor of Usablenet and Jeremy Horlick of ADA Site Compliance at American University’s Digital Accessibility Legal Summit in a panel discussion of accessibility overlays, widgets and plug-ins titled “The Great Accessibility Overlays Battle.” You can find the complete program at www.accessibility.legal. As you know, the use of widgets and overlays has generated some controversy, with makers of this software claiming they can create an accessible website and every credible consultant claiming they cannot. You can read my blogs about his subject at Is there a silver bullet for ADA website accessibility? Sorry, …
Today’s blog entry deals with the question of what happens when an employer demands that an employee move to a different job without evaluating or completely assessing whether that employee is capable of performing his or her current job’s essential functions with or without reasonable accommodations. The answer to the question says the Fourth Circuit in Wirtes v. City of Newport News18618619620367207, a published opinion decided April 30, 2021, is that the employee survives summary judgment. This case is different than the usual reassignment situation where the person wants to be reassigned and the employer resists. Here, the employee…