Here is today's Kansas Commission on Disability Concerns (KCDC) ADA Information Network message.? I hope you have a great holiday weekend.??
Martha
Martha K. Gabehart | Executive Director
Kansas Commission on Disability Concerns (KCDC)
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly
900 SW Jackson, Suite 100 | Topeka, Kansas 66612
(785) 296-6525 (direct) | (785) 260-4027 (cell)
[email protected] | www.kcdcinfo.ks.gov
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This message is from the US Department of Justice.?
On June 26, 2023, the Department of Justice filed a Statement of Interest in D.P., et al. v. School Board of Palm Beach County. This private lawsuit was filed in the Southern District of Florida against the county school board, including its police department, on behalf of parents/guardians and their children with disabilities like Autism and other emotional or behavioral disabilities. The children, some as young as nine and ten years old, were removed from school by police officers after experiencing disability-related behavioral episodes, and then taken in handcuffs to locked psychiatric facilities for involuntary examinations. One of the lawsuit?s claims is that the school board discriminated against the children in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), when it did not reasonably modify its policies, practices, and procedures while interacting with and removing the children from school. The Department filed the Statement of Interest to clarify how Title II of the ADA applies to a school board?s response to children experiencing disability-related behavioral challenges. The Department?s brief explains that public entities like school boards have an obligation under the ADA to reasonably modify their behavioral response by helping the children calm down, involving professionals including a mobile crisis team or a child?s therapist, or calling the child?s guardian, even if the child has not made a request for such modifications while they are experiencing behavioral challenges. Finally, the Department explains that the modifications sought by plaintiffs are not a fundamental alteration of the Title II program or service in this case because the school board employed them in the past and they are consistent with requirements of the state mental health law under which the police officers removed the children from school. The Statement of Interest can be read here (file attached below). To find out more about the ADA, visit ada.gov or call the Justice Department's toll-free ADA information line at 1-800-514-0301 or 1-833-610-1264 (TDD).
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This message is from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.
Date: June 29, 2023
Contact: Mary Jo O'Neill, Regional Attorney, (602) 661-0027
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EEOC SUES WALMART FOR DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION
Store Managers Refused to Accommodate Employee?s Seizure Disorder and
Fired Her, Federal Agency Charges
PHOENIX ? A Walmart store in Bullhead City, Arizona violated federal law by failing to provide a reasonable accommodation for a cashier who has a seizure disorder, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed yesterday.
According to the EEOC, Walmart fired Stevey Wiman because she had seizures that caused her to miss work. Walmart?s attendance policy allows for absences to be excused as an accommodation for a disability. But after being employed for about two months, Walmart?s human resources personnel told Wiman her absences for her seizures would no longer be excused. Wiman submitted a written request for accommodation, asking that her absences due to seizures be excused as provided in Walmart?s attendance policy. Walmart denied her request and fired her.
This alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act and the ADA Amendments Act, which require employers to provide reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities, including making exceptions to corporate policies. The EEOC filed suit, EEOC v. Walmart, LLC, Civil Action No. 3:23-cv-08118-GMS, in U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona after first attempting to reach a settlement through its pre-litigation conciliation process. The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages for Wiman, as well as appropriate injunctive relief to prevent discriminatory practices in the future.
?Federal law requires employers to provide a reasonable accommodation so that employees with disabilities can do their job,? said EEOC Phoenix District Regional Attorney Mary Jo O?Neill. ?Failing to do so absent undue hardship not only violates federal law, but also excludes an entire segment of the population from jobs. As employment for people with disabilities has reached an all-time high, it is important to protect these rights within the workplace.?
Nancy Sienko, Acting District Director of the EEOC?s Phoenix District Office, added, ?Observing federal civil rights laws for employees with disabilities is not a choice or an option ? it?s the law. The EEOC is here to protect the rights of discrimination victims, and we will keep carrying out our mission to do so.?
More information about disability discrimination is available at https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc-disability-related-resources. The EEOC?s Phoenix District Office has jurisdiction for Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and part of New Mexico.
The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.
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