Does the ADA encompass a hostile work environment claim? (I have mentioned hostile environment before but that was in the context of the Office of Civil Rights and education). According to the Northern District of Oklahoma in Callahan v. Communication Graphics, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 172148 (N.D. Okla. December 12, 2014), the answer
Federal Cases
Police liability for ADA/fourth amendment violations comes to the Supreme Court
By William Goren on
It has been awhile since the United States Supreme Court dealt with an ADA question. A fact I am happy with as predicting what the United States Supreme Court does with an ADA question is impossible since the ADA does not break down along traditional liberal conservative lines.
This particular blog entry focuses on a…
Do places of higher education with training programs and technical standards now have permission to freely discriminate against persons with disabilities?
By William Goren on
In one of my most popular blog entries, ADA compliance auditing: higher education version, I mention technical standards in a comment to that entry. Many training programs as a condition of accreditation have developed technical standards that people in the program must meet in order to get into the program and stay into the…
A triple play: does title you sue under with respect to a retaliation claim depend upon subject or context; compliance expert testimony in ADA cases; and catspaw
By William Goren on
This particular blog entry deals with three different topics all contained within the same case. The case is Powell v. Valdosta City School District, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 157158 (M.D. GA November 6, 2014). As is my usual, I have divided the blog entries into categories: facts, issues, holdings, court’s reasoning, and takeaways. The…
How not to defend essential functions of the job
By William Goren on
In a previous blog entry, I discussed how a company could do an excellent job of defending litigation over what are essential functions of the job. This particular blog entry deals with the opposite scenario, where the company does not do a very good job at all of accomplishing that task. The case is…
Belton v. Georgia settles with a consent decree
By William Goren on
In a previous blog entry entitled help-wanted ASL practitioners, I discussed the case of Belton v. Georgia. On October 3, 2014 that case settled with a consent decree. I thought it would be helpful to cover some of the salient points of the consent decree. They are as follows:
Definitional Terms:
1. A deaf…
A twofer: magic words and whether a battle is worth fighting (Title I and Title III)
By William Goren on
This week’s blog entry is a twofer. In the first case, we will discuss whether magic words are necessary for getting a reasonable accommodation. In the second case, we will discuss what I believe is the long-term folly of not going the extra mile when it comes to making a place of public accommodation accessible.…
Just because infertility is a disability doesn’t mean the treatment for it is protected by the ADA
By William Goren on
Robin Shea, the blogger of one of the blogs in my blogroll, talked about the case for this week in a recent blog of hers. The case is Herx v. Diocese of Fort Wayne South Bend. Robin’s perspective is always great and fun to read, but I wanted to offer my own perspective as…
Police liability for not knowing or ignoring the ADA
By William Goren on
In a comment to a previous blog entry, I discussed the case of Gipson v. Popeye’s Chicken and Biscuits. In that case, the Northern District of Georgia said that considering what police have to do, it wasn’t right to impose ADA liability on the police since the police are not lawyers and have…
Blown up Sir!: Olmstead Budget Cuts Litigation Just Got A LOT Harder for Plaintiffs
By William Goren on
One of my favorite movies of all time is Stripes with Bill Murray and Harold Ramis and John Candy and others. There is a scene in that movie where the Sergeant is on a platform and that platform gets destroyed by mortar fire because the commanding officer, John Larroquette, who is absolutely incompetent, demands that…