U.S. Department
of Justice
Disability Rights Cases
Contra Costa County Kids at Work
On October 24, 2022, the United States settled an allegation that Contra Costa County Kids at Work, an infant center and preschool, violated Title III of the ADA when it refused to accommodate and instead disenrolled a two-year-old child with developmental delays and scimitar syndrome from its program. The agreement includes payment of monetary compensation to the complainant, a new non-discrimination policy, review of relevant policies or procedures by the Department, staff training, and reporting to the Department of any future complaints or charges of discrimination.
City of Kyle Texas
On October 24, 2022 the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas entered into a settlement agreement with the City of Kyle, Texas under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regarding the accessibility disparities within the city's rideshare program. The agreement includes a commitment to increase the number of wheelchair accessible vehicles, training for the accessible vehicle drivers, and notifying the public of this change.
New York City Transit Authority's Access-A-Ride Program
The department notified the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) that its Access-A-Ride paratransit program violates Title II of the ADA in a letter of findings issued on October 17, 2022. The paratransit service engages in operational patterns or practices that significantly limit the availability of service to ADA paratransit eligible persons, including significant untimely drop-offs and excessive travel times. That letter demanded that the NYCTA address the violations identified by taking corrective actions, including establishing performance standards for on-time drop-offs and trip length, collecting and maintaining data on requested drop-off times, and conducting analysis of on-time drop-off and travel time performance.
City of Hudson, New York
On October 23, 2019, the United States executed a settlement agreement under Title II of the ADA with the City of Hudson, New York to ensure access to the City’s programs, services and activities for people with mobility disabilities. The agreement requires the City to address the lack of program access at City facilities and programs, and to ensure accessible curb ramps and sidewalks to and between City facilities. On October 12, 2022, Disability Rights Section entered into a two-year extension and addendum to the Settlement Agreement. The extension includes interim deadlines to keep the City on track to achieve compliance with a title II ADA accessibility Settlement.
Estate of LeRoux vs Montgomery County
On October 7, 2022, the United States filed a statement of interest in a private lawsuit alleging that Montgomery County failed to reasonably modify its policies and procedures when responding to Ryan Leroux during a mental health crisis, resulting in Mr. Leroux’s death after police shot 23 bullets at him. The statement addresses the proper construction of Title II and its implementing regulations at the motion to dismiss stage with respect to disability coverage, the County’s knowledge of Mr. Leroux’s need for modifications, and the reasonableness of a plaintiff’s proposed modification.
Town of Limerick Maine
On September 20, 2022 the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine reached a settlement agreement under Title II of the ADA with the Town of Limerick, Maine, to resolve allegations that the town hall is not physically accessible. The agreement includes physical access alterations, adoption of a non-discrimination policy, review by the Department of relevant policies or procedures, and reports to the Department.
U.S. vs Town of Clarksville, Indiana
On April 25, 2022, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against the Town of Clarksville, Indiana for violating Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, alleges that the Town’s police department unlawfully revoked a job offer to a qualified law enforcement officer based on his Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) diagnosis.
On September 15, 2022, the Justice Department entered into a consent decree with the Town of Clarksville, Indiana. Under the decree, Clarksville will revise its policies and procedures for employment-related medical exams as needed to ensure ADA compliance; provide ADA employment training to employees who make personnel decisions; and report to the United States on any ADA employment complaints and on its consent decree compliance. Clarksville will also pay $150,000 in damages to the complainant and provide him with an affidavit stating that the withdrawal of his job offer was unrelated to any action or lack of qualification on his part.
Helping Hands Caregivers LLC
On September 15, 2022 the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin reached a settlement agreement under Title III of the ADA with Helping Hands Caregivers LLC to resolve allegations that the company refused to provide in-home caregiving services to an individual with HIV. The agreement includes adoption of a non-discrimination policy, training of staff, written notification to the Department of future complaints, and $10,000 in compensatory damages for the individual.
Indiana State Board of Nursing
On March 25, 2022, the United States found that the Indiana State Board of Nursing violated Title II of the ADA by prohibiting the use of disability-related medication to treat opioid use disorder (OUD) by nurses enrolled in the Indiana State Nursing Assistance Program. Participation in the program, which assists in the rehabilitation of and monitors nurses recovering from drug or alcohol addiction, is in many cases required for nurses recovering from addiction to maintain, or have reinstated, an active nursing license necessary for employment.
On September 1, 2022, the United States reached an agreement to resolve its findings that the Nursing Board violated Title II of the ADA. The Nursing Board has agreed to permit nurses to participate, on equal terms, in the states’ rehabilitation program while taking medication, including medication to treat OUD, when the medication is prescribed by a licensed practitioner as part of a medically necessary treatment plan and incorporated into a recovery monitoring agreement. The Nursing Board has also agreed to pay damages to the complainant, and to report periodically on its compliance to the United States.
Carey v Wisconsin Election Commission
On August 18, 2022, the Justice Department filed a Statement of Interest in Carey, et al. v. Wisconsin Election Commission, et al., Case No. 3:22-cv-0402 clarifying the obligation to provide assistance to voters with disabilities under Section 208 of the Voting Rights Act and Title II of the ADA. In their motion for preliminary injunction, Plaintiffs argue that Wisconsin law violates Section 208 by barring the assistance they need to return their absentee ballots to be counted and that the ADA requires Wisconsin to make reasonable modifications in policies, practices, and procedures when the modifications are necessary to avoid discrimination on the basis of disability.
United States v Oregon / Lane v. Brown
On August 12, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon found that the State of Oregon has fulfilled the terms of a settlement agreement with the Justice Department and people with disabilities in a landmark case challenging the state’s provision of employment services for people with disabilities in segregated settings. The case, Lane v. Brown/United States v. Oregon, was dismissed as a result.
The settlement agreement, in effect since 2015, resolved the first lawsuit in the nation to challenge a state’s reliance on segregated employment settings for individuals with disabilities, including sheltered workshops, as a violation of the integration mandate of Title II of the ADA. Sheltered workshops are segregated facilities that exclusively or primarily serve individuals with disabilities, and in which people with disabilities have little or no contact with non-disabled persons besides paid staff. People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) in sheltered workshops often earn wages well below minimum wage, sometimes pennies per hour. By contrast, supported employment services assist people with I/DD to prepare for, obtain and succeed in integrated workplaces at competitive wages.
The lawsuit was filed as a class action in January 2012 by individuals with I/DD who were receiving services in Oregon sheltered workshops, when they instead preferred to work in jobs in the community for a competitive wage. In March 2013, the Justice Department intervened in the lawsuit. The department claimed that Oregon was unnecessarily segregating adults with I/DD in sheltered workshops and placing Oregon youth with I/DD at serious risk of segregation in sheltered workshops in violation of Title II of the ADA.
The agreement required Oregon to provide supported employment services and related employment services so that 1,115 sheltered workshop workers would newly receive jobs in the community at competitive wages over the agreement’s term. The agreement also required at least 7,000 people — including more than 4,900 youth exiting school — to receive supported employment services aimed at enabling them to secure and maintain integrated, competitive employment opportunities. At least half of the youth served were to receive individualized employment plans from Oregon’s vocational rehabilitation agency, identifying the services and supports necessary to achieve competitive employment.
Oasis Texas Brewing Company
On August 9, 2022 the Department (through the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas) reached a settlement agreement under Title III of the ADA with RHS Interests, LLC, Comanche Canyon West Commercial Partners, LP, and the Travis County Brewing Company, LLC, regarding allegations that the property’s elevator was inoperable and therefore people with mobility disabilities were unable to use their services or facilities. The agreement includes ensuring that elevators are operable, properly maintained, inspected, and promptly repaired.