Disability Rights Cases
Disability Rights Cases
Cases
| Case Name | Overview | Federal Court | Case Documents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwind Inc |
On November 14, 2022 the U.S. Attorney's office for the Eastern District of Michigan reached a settlement under Title III of the American's with Disabilities Act with Northwind Investments, Inc. owner and operator of a Burger King restaurant to resolve claims that the restaurant failed to design and construct the facility to be readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, including the toilet rooms. The agreement includes physical access alterations, annual reports to the Department, and $3,000 in compensatory damages for the individual. |
Settlement/Consent Decree |
|
| Next Step Healthcare LLC |
On April 28, 2022 the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts reached a settlement agreement with Next Step Healthcare LLC., under Title III of the ADA, to resolve the allegation that the complainant was discriminated against in their application for admission to the facility based on the use of medications for Opioid Use Disorder. The agreement includes adoption of a non-discrimination policy, training of staff, written notification to the Department of future complaints, and $92,383.00 as a civil penalty. |
Settlement/Consent Decree |
|
| New York University |
On November 22, 2022, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York entered into a settlement agreement with New York University pursuant to Title III of the ADA. The settlement agreement resolves a compliance review regarding NYU's appropriate accessible housing at its various campus housing facilities. The agreement increases the accessibility of NYU’s student housing facilities for individuals with disabilities, and covers all of NYU’s student housing facilities in the New York metropolitan area. NYU has agreed to prepare a plan under which it will survey and make alterations to its student housing facilities within five years, update its student housing emergency preparedness plans, and improve the accessibility information related to student housing on its website. |
Settlement/Consent Decree |
|
| US v ODRC |
On December 22, 2022, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit and the parties entered a consent decree in this suit against the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC) challenging its failure to reasonably accommodate a correctional officer with diabetes under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, alleges that ODRC unlawfully failed to provide the correction officer with a day shift to accommodate his diabetes where it was medically necessary to do so. Under the decree, ODRC will revise its policies and procedures as needed to ensure ADA compliance; provide ADA employment training to employees who make personnel decisions; and report to the United States on its compliance. ODRC will also pay $50,000 in damages to the complainant and provide him with a day shift as a reasonable accommodation for his diabetes unless if become an undue hardship to do so. |
Ohio, Northern District |
Settlement/Consent Decree Complaint |
| 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. |
Settlement/Consent Decree |
|
| Alabama Medicaid |
On December 5, 2022, the United States executed a settlement agreement with the state of Alabama's Medicaid Agency (Alabama Medicaid), under Title II of the ADA regarding access to health services. The agreement will ensure that Alabama Medicaid recipients with Hepatitis C (HCV) who also use alcohol or illicit drugs, including those with a substance abuse disorder (SUD), will be provided equal access to medications to treat their hepatitis. Alabama Medicaid previously maintained a sobriety restriction policy that prevented any person with HCV who had used any alcohol or illicit drugs within the six months prior to treatment initiation from receiving potentially life-saving medication to cure their HCV. Alabama Medicaid has withdrawn the policy and the agreement requires notification to Medicaid recipients and Medicaid providers of these changes and prompt remediation of any instances where the prior policy is applied. |
Settlement/Consent Decree |
|
| George W. Hill Correctional Facility |
On November 1, 2022 the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania issued a letter of findings based on a Title II American's with Disabilities Act investigation of the George W. Hill Correctional Facility. The investigation found that the correctional facility violated the ADA by excluding an individual with HIV from working in the kitchen. The letter includes measures to remedy the violation including a written policy, designation of an ADA coordinator, modifying the facilities grievance procedures, training of staff, and compensatory damages for the complainant. |
Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law |
|
| U.S. v. Regents of the University of California |
On Nov. 21, 2022, the United States filed its Complaint and proposed Consent Decree to resolve allegations that the Regents of the University of California on behalf of the University of California, Berkeley (collectively, UC Berkeley) violates Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. UC Berkeley makes conferences, lectures, sporting events, and other University events available to the public on its websites and other online platforms, including its YouTube and Apple Podcasts channels. It also makes courses available on its UC BerkeleyX platform. The Complaint alleges that much of UC Berkeley's free online content is inaccessible to individuals with hearing, vision, and manual disabilities. Under the Consent Decree, UC Berkeley will make all future and the vast majority of its existing online content accessible to people with disabilities. UC Berkeley will also revise its policies, train personnel, designate a web accessibility coordinator, conduct accessibility testing of its content, and hire an independent auditor. The Consent Decree resolves the Department's findings issued in its letter on August 30, 2016. The court approved the consent decree on December 2, 2022. |
California, Northern District |
Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law Complaint Settlement/Consent Decree |
| The Massachusetts Parole Board |
On December 14, 2021 the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts reached a resolution under Title II of the ADA of an allegation that the parole board in Massachusetts requires prospective parolees with substance use disorder (SUD) who are not taking medicine to start treat their SUD with a particular medication without an individualized assessment or reasonable modification. The agreement includes a new policy for parolees with SUD, training staff, review by the Department of relevant policies or procedures, and annual reports to the Department. |
Settlement/Consent Decree |
|
| 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. |
Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law |