I reported in September on the decision in Phillips v. P.F. Chang’s China Bistro finding that a plaintiff with celiac disease had not stated a claim for discrimination under the ADA based on P.F. Chang’s policy of charging $1.00 extra for gluten free meals. On November 23, 2015 the same court found that the plaintiff had stated a claim based on an enhanced set of allegations in her Amended Complaint. Phillips v. P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Inc., 2015 WL 7429497, at *1 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 23, 2015). This is a very common pattern in ADA litigation: Once the plaintiff knows what to say, he or she is almost always willing to say it in order to get past a Motion to Dismiss. For restaurants and their owners this latest decision requires some thought and possibly the adoption of new policies concerning menu items. More
Reasonable accommodation
Who’s on first? Shifting burdens in ADA accessibility litigation
By Richard Hunt in Accessibility Litigation Trends, ADA FHA Legislation, ADA Policies, Reasonable accommodation Tags: ada litigation, ADA pleading, ada violation, private lawsuits
There is nothing the Supreme Court loves more in a discrimination case than a set of shifting burdens of production, persuasion, proof, or whatever other word starting in “p” the Court thinks will describe complicating the analysis of a discrimination case. It proved this recently in Young v. United Parcel Service, a pregnancy discrimination case, but the process goes back to McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Greene, a race discrimination case decided in 1973. The McDonnell Douglas waltz goes like this: plaintiff has to make a preliminary showing of discrimination, the defendant has to show that it had a non-discriminatory reason, and then the plaintiff has to prove the defendant was really motivated by discriminatory feelings. By way of contrast an ordinary lawsuit just puts a single burden on the plaintiff; that is, prove the defendant did something wrong. The McDonnell Douglas waltz guarantees that discrimination litigation will be more complex, time-consuming and expensive than an ordinary lawsuit. More
Why EEOC v. Abercrombie & Fitch matters for the ADA
By Richard Hunt in Accessibility Litigation Trends, ADA, ADA FHA Litigation General, ADA Policies, Reasonable accommodation Tags: Abercrombie, ada violation, mental health disabilities
On its face EEOC v. Abercrombie & Fitch, which was recently argued before the Supreme Court, doesn’t have much to do with the ADA and FHA. It has been generally reported as a case concerning religious discrimination, and seems to have little to do with disabilities. Despite this, the Court’s ruling could have a significant impact on how employers and public accommodations handle reasonable accommodation requests. Putting aside the legalese, the question before the Court is whether “don’t ask, don’t tell” is a reasonable way to deal with those whose religious beliefs, or disabilities are not obvious.
Need a Lyft? The ADA may apply to app based businesses.
By Richard Hunt in Accessibility Litigation Trends, ADA, ADA FHA Litigation General, ADA Internet Web, ADA regulations, Reasonable accommodation Tags: accessible software, ada litigation, ada violation, internet, Lyft, Smartphone App, uber, World Wide Web
Or at least businesses that use apps to broker goods and services. In a decision dated February 20, 2015 the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas denied a second Motion to Dismiss filed by the ride sharing services Lyft and Uber. Ramos v. Uber Technologies, Inc., 2015 WL 758087 (W.D. Tex. Feb. 20, 2015). The Court does not reach a conclusion as to whether these services are subject to the ADA, but it’s approach indicates that the battles over smartphone apps and the ADA are going to be lengthy and expensive.
Reasonable accommodation under the ADA – what would you do for your mother?
By Richard Hunt in Accessibility Litigation Trends, ADA FHA General, Reasonable accommodation, Retail Tags: ada litigation, ada violation, private lawsuits, reasonable accommodation, restaurants, retail
I wrote last week about the difficulty in determining just what the ADA requires in cases concerning physical accessibility. A recent decision from California shows how hard it can be to know what the “reasonable accommodation” provisions of the ADA require. For businesses who want to comply with the ADA and want to avoid litigation this is bad news. I’d like to suggest though that a simple principle will help businesses do the right thing. Just have your employees ask themselves what would they would do if customer were their mother. More