Justice Department Settles Lawsuit Against the City of North Las Vegas, Nevada, Over Disability Discrimination

The Justice Department today announced that it has reached an agreement with the city of North Las Vegas under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  The agreement, filed as a consent decree along with a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, resolves allegations that the city violated the ADA by failing to accommodate, and forcing out, a Parks Department maintenance crew leader with monocular vision.  The Justice Department alleged that the city revoked the employee’s long standing reasonable accommodation, which exempted him from obtaining a commercial driver’s license, even though the employee was able to perform the essential functions of the job with the reasonable accommodation and the accommodation did not impose an undue hardship on the city.

“Revoking a reasonable accommodation is a clear violation of the ADA, absent undue hardship on the employer,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Molly Moran for the Civil Rights Division.  “The Justice Department is committed to knocking down barriers to equal employment opportunities for people with disabilities.  We applaud the city for working cooperatively with the department to promptly resolve this matter.”

The consent decree, which must be approved by the court, requires the city to pay the employee $38,229 for monetary and compensatory damages, provide training to city staff on Title I of the ADA, and file periodic reports with the department.

Title I of the ADA prohibits employers from discriminating against individuals on the basis of disability in various aspects of employment.  These prohibitions include using qualification standards that screen out individuals with disabilities and that are not job-related and consistent with business necessity.  The ADA requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities, where such an accommodation does not pose an undue hardship.

Those interested in finding out more about the ADA may call the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA information line at 800-514-0301 (TDD 800-514-0383) or visit www.ada.gov.