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,
title II
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…
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…
Class-action and persons with disabilities R.I.P.?
By William Goren on
Here’s a fact. No two disabilities even the same ones are the same. Accordingly, it makes perfect sense that the ADA requires an individual analysis throughout. Further, under both title I and title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act, in addition to having a disability, the person must be qualified. That is, capable of…
Service Dogs v. Emotional Support Animals
By William Goren on
One of the confusing issues out there is the difference between a service dog, emotional support animal, and a therapy dog and why it matters. 28 C.F.R. § 35.104 and 28 C.F.R. § 36.104 (the sections of the federal regulation that apply to service animals for public entities and for places of public accommodations respectively),…
ADA and the Applicable Statute of Limitations
By William Goren on
The whole idea of the statute of limitations is to prevent stale claims. Just about everything has a statute of limitations (the only two exceptions that I can think of our claims arising under USERRA and capital murder claims). The ADA does have statute of limitations to deal with, though it is not stated in…
Getting to first base: what you need to show standing in title II or title III cases
By William Goren on
In our system, the judiciary, in general, does not render advisory opinions . There are a couple of exceptions. Some states have a system, such as Massachusetts, whereby a legislature can request an advisory opinion from their Supreme Court with respect to the constitutionality of proposed legislation. A couple of other instances look like advisory…
Air Carrier Access Act revisited: just what is preempted?
By William Goren on
Previously, I have written two different blog entries dealing with the Air Carrier Access Act. In the first, I talked about whether a private cause of action existed. In the second, I talked about whether the Air Carrier Access Act regulations being so pervasive preempted state laws. This entry concerns a slightly different issue.…
If you waive one law, do you waive others? Intersection of IDEA, § 504, and the ADA
By William Goren on
In the kindergarten through grade 12 context, for students with disabilities, there are actually three laws to be aware of. Those laws are the Individual with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA), § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). IDEA is a law that demands a student with a disability…
Before doing a postemployment medical exam, do you need reasonable suspicion, probable cause, good cause, none of the above?
By William Goren on
Posted in Federal Cases, Title I
The ADA requires that an entity subject to the act cannot require a medical examination and cannot make inquiries of an employee as to whether that employee is an individual with a disability or as to the nature of the severity of the employee’s disability unless that examination or inquiry is job-related and consistent with…