Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court heard oral argument (the transcript can be found here), in Sheehan v. City and County of San Francisco, which I discussed in this blog entry. I’ve got to admit that this argument did not go anyway along the lines that I thought it would and here is
direct threat
Perez v. MBA and it’s Impact on the ADA Universe: Huge and Starting with new DOT Final Regulations
By William Goren on
I
Introduction
Sometimes a case can have a huge impact on the ADA universe even though it is not an ADA case at all. Gross v. FBL Financial Services 557 U.S. 167 (2009) is one such case and today’s case is another. As is my usual practice, the blog entry has been divided into several…
Is it consistent with the ADA for an amusement park to deny access to the rides because of a person’s disability?
By William Goren on
Erik Beard, an attorney with the law firm of Wiggin and Dana and who has a blog on legal issues affecting amusement parks , has been talking for some time about a case out of the central district of California that squarely presents the issue of whether amusement park rides must be accessible to persons…
Some useful things to know about regarded as claims
By William Goren on
In order to get damages under title I of the ADA, you have to show intentional discrimination. In order to get damages under title II of the ADA, you have to show deliberate indifference. But what does intentional discrimination mean with respect to a regarded as claim? Must there be discriminatory animus or can there…
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,…
Enshrinement of unfair advantage as a legal standard: OCR, 504, and Sports
By William Goren on
For years (every edition of my book starting with the very first edition published in 2000 has had a chapter on the ADA and sports), I’ve written about how the ADA applies to sports. The United States Department of Education Office of Civil Rights has just issued a guidance dealing with their section 504 regulations…
Segregation of HIV-positive inmates will not fly
By William Goren on
Hope everyone had a great holiday season. Wishing everybody a healthy, happy, and successful new year! In case you want to take a break from bowl games over the next couple of days, here is something you might read:-)
Alabama and South Carolina are the only States segregating inmates that are HIV-positive. In the Alabama…
“Regarded as” and title II and are there different rules for “direct threat” depending upon the context
By William Goren on
Recently, I read a case out of the Western District of Pennsylvania which I found absolutely fascinating. In this particular case, the court dealt with three issues. First, does the plaintiff have a disability at all? Second, does “regarded as” even apply outside of the title I context? Finally, was the plaintiff a direct threat…
Ripped from the headlines: direct threat
By William Goren on
http://articles.philly.com/2012-02-08/news/31038138_1_hiv-positive-safety-of-other-students-admission
The above link involves the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania filing a suit in Philadelphia in December arguing that a boarding school discriminated against an HIV-positive teenager who applied to a school that served low-income families. The school is a residential boarding school. The teenager appeared to meet the initial minimum qualification for admission.…