In a prior blog entry, I discussed a situation where the police intentionally aggravated a person with a disability pre-existing condition eventually leading to that person’s death. The court in that case held that the police force could be liable for violating title II of the ADA. This particular blog entry will once again
Federal Cases
IDEA, Rehab Act, and the ADA: Have to keep in mind all three
By William Goren on
Back in 1997, I wrote an article for the Florida bar Journal discussing the relationship between the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act and the Americans With Disabilities Act. I have had the good fortune to see that article cited numerous times in various law review articles. If I were to update that article today,…
What does it mean to exhaust administrative remedies?
By William Goren on
Title I of the ADA requires that before a plaintiff can go to court they must first exhaust administrative remedies first. That means receiving a right to sue letter from the EEOC and filing your claim with the EEOC or an equivalent state agency within the requisite time period. It also means giving the EEOC…
ADA compliance auditing: higher education version
By William Goren on
In a previous blog entry, I talked about a case that illustrated what not to do if you are a place of higher education seeking to dismiss a student with a disability from your program. This particular blog entry will briefly talk about another case involving a medical school and then explore the concept of…
Police response and ADA liability
By William Goren on
In a comment to a prior blog post, I mentioned a case, Gipson v. Popeye’s Chicken and Biscuits, where a court, the Northern District of Georgia, found no ADA liability when a police officer not knowing the ADA, told a person who otherwise had a right to be in a restaurant with his service…
height as a disability: Let’s not overreact
By William Goren on
The ABA Journal is, again, seeking nominations for its list of the 100 best legal blawgs, the “Blawg 100.” The nomination process is simple. Go here and answer a few simple questions touting your favorite blawgs. In addition to this one, there are many good blogs out there. For example, the ones that I use…
Suing a state court system for disability discrimination: it can be done but it’s complicated
By William Goren on
What happens if a state court system discriminates against a person with a disability? That was the situation in Prakel v. State of Indiana, 2013 WL 3287691 (S.D. Ind. June 28, 2013). In this case, a deaf individual (while the court refers to him as hearing impaired, I use the term deaf because you…
ADA can trump collective bargaining agreement
By William Goren on
The terms of a collective bargaining agreement can play a critical role in analyzing the rights of the parties. For example, in a previous blog, the terms of the collective bargaining agreement played a critical role in the court allowing for random drug testing of current employees. That said, when it comes to collective…
A huge victory for ADA plaintiff employment lawyers AND a huge victory for ADA defense lawyers:
By William Goren on
Today, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center v. Nassar. In that decision, the United States Supreme Court in a 5-4 ruling with Justice Kennedy being the swing vote, held that mixed motive is dead with respect to retaliation claims under title VII of the Civil…
Why all colleges, universities, and graduate programs need to do the two-step (with apologies to the state of Texas): essential eligibility requirements and direct threat
By William Goren on
Just recently, the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Education joined forces to issue a letter (the link will take you to the press release. In that press release, there is another link to the letter itself), to schools of medicine, schools of dentistry, schools of nursing,…