Patti's Blog - Advocate for Elders, People with Disabilities and Their Families

Health care providers settle ADA claims over not treating patients with HIV

Excerpt from Business Insurance: (click for entire article)

The U.S. Department of Justice has reached settlements with two health care providers who allegedly refused to service people with HIV in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The department said Sacramento, Calif.-based Mercy Medical Group Midtown Clinic and its parent, CHW Medical Foundation, agreed to pay $60,000 to the complainant and a $25,000 civil penalty, while Knoxville Chiropractic Clinic North in Knoxville, Tenn., is required to pay a $10,000 civil penalty.

The Justice Department announced the settlements on Friday and distributed its statement Monday.

Age Discrimination's Impact Disputed In Congressional Hearing On Unemployment

Excerpt from The Huffington Post: (click for entire article)

Philadelphia resident Sheila Whitelaw lost her job as a manager at a clothing store when the store closed in 2010. She suspects she hasn't found steady work since because she's too old.

"At 71 years of age, I didn't know how long it might take to find a job; the economy was in bad shape with millions of people out of work," Whitelaw, now 73, said Tuesday. "I started sending out my resume to hundreds of jobs. I have had about 15 interviews, but I rarely even receive a response afterward. It then occurred to me that a potential employee could look me up on the internet, and lo and behold, there was my age, clearly printed for all to see! I sensed my inability to find work had something to do with age, but I couldn't prove it."

Student Sues University For Discriminating Against Her And Service Dog

Excerpt from Planet of the Blind: (click for entire article)

A deaf student and the Fair Housing Council of Oregon are suing Portland State University for more than $1 million claiming that the university has repeatedly discriminated against students with disabilities.

Student Cindy Leland claims that in fall 2010 university housing employees refused to let her and her service dog live in Stephen Epler Hall because it was carpeted. She and her dog instead were allowed to move into another university building, The Broadway, which does not have carpets.

She alleges she was routinely harassed -- she believes because of her disability -- with knocks on the door at night. Her dog had been trained to alert her to the knocks, and Leland would get up to discover no one at her door. She ended up sleeping only a few hours a night during finals week. After officials declined her request to install a security camera and the knocks grew more frequent, she moved out.

Justice Department to look into discrimination against students with disabilities

Excerpt from AJC: (click for entire article)

Several recent news stories have underscored the vulnerability of children with special needs. Now, the AJC is reporting that the U.S. Justice Department plans to investigate allegations that Georgia schools are discriminating against students with disabilities, the Southern Poverty Law Center announced Thursday.

The complaint takes aim at the state’s funding formula, which gives schools more money when students with disabilities are not mainstreamed into regular classes.

At least six state commissions have examined school funding, including one now under way, but there has yet to be any real reform to how Georgia funds its schools.

Supreme Court: Antidiscrimination Ruling Will Stand

Excerpt from Advocate.com: (click for entire article)

The U.S. Supreme Court has let stand a lower court’s ruling that San Diego State University can deny funding and recognition to student groups that discriminate on the basis of religion and sexual orientation.

The court Monday declined to hear an appeal from Alpha Delta Chi sorority and Alpha Gamma Omega fraternity, which require members to be Christians and to refrain from sex outside marriage, including same-sex relationships, the Associated Press reports. They sued the university in 2005, and a federal appeals court ruled last year that the public university’s denial of funding and other benefits to the groups did not violate the U.S. Constitution.

In that decision, from the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Harry Pregerson wrote that the groups are free to set whatever membership restrictions they desire but “cannot oblige the university to subsidize them,” the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Catholic school fires gay teacher planning wedding

Excerpt from stltoday.com: (click for entire article)

A popular music teacher at St. Ann Catholic School in north St. Louis County recently was fired after church officials learned that he planned to marry his male partner of 20 years in New York, one of a handful of states where same-sex marriage is legal.

The teacher, Al Fischer, confirmed to the Post-Dispatch that he was fired Feb. 17 from his job of four years at the school. When asked to comment on his firing, Fischer declined and referred to a letter emailed to his students' parents shortly after his termination.

In the letter, Fischer tells parents of "my joyful news, and my sad news" — the former being his plans to marry his longtime partner in New York City, and the latter, "that I can't be your music teacher anymore."

Bank Of America Charged With Disability Discrimination

Excerpt from Disability Scoop: (click for entire article)

The federal government is charging one of the nation’s largest banks with discriminating against those with disabilities.

Officials at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development alleged Monday that Bank of America held customers with disabilities applying for home mortgages to a different set of standards.

Specifically, they said the bank applied “unnecessary and burdensome requirements” to borrowers with disability income and even asked some loan applicants to provide information from their physicians.

Bank of America charged with discrimination

Excerpt from On The Money: (click for entire article)

A federal housing agency has charged one of the nation's largest banks with requesting additional and unnecessary information from homebuyers with disabilities.

The Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD) said Monday that it is charging Bank of America with discriminating against homebuyers with disabilities, alleging that the bank "imposed unnecessary and burdensome requirements" by asking some borrowers for proof of their disabilities from their physicians and continuance of Social Security income before approving loans, after first denying them.

“Holding homebuyers with disabilities to a higher standard just because they rely on disability payments as a source of income is against the law,” said John Trasviña, HUD assistant secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.

Post Falls housing owner fined for discriminating against people with disabilities

Excerpt from The Republic: (click for entire article)

A federal jury has awarded $21,000 in damages against a Post Falls apartment owner for discriminating against prospective tenants with disabilities.

The ruling settles the dispute between apartment owner CVE Falls Park LLC and Boise-based nonprofit Intermountain Fair Housing Council. The nonprofit sued Falls Park in 2010 for requiring potential tenants with service animals to pay a $1,000 damage deposit.

California retailer pays $50k in disability discrimination case

Excerpt from Employment Law Blog: (click for entire article)

A California retailer has reportedly agreed to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for $50,000.

The EEOC filed suit against Buy Rite Thrift Store in Modesto for allegedly firing a night-shift stocker who suffers from epilepsy after he had seizures while at work.

The EEOC said that the employer decided unilaterally that the employee was a danger to himself and others instead of asking the employee to take a fitness exam or provide medical documentation of his ability to perform the job duties. This was against the law, the EEOC said.