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New report shows workplace accommodations are usually low in cost and provide big benefits

Posted on October 8, 2025

The results of a survey by the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) show that workplace accommodations are usually inexpensive and broadly beneficial. Surveyed employers reported that the benefits of the workplace accommodations far outweighed the costs. Such benefits included: Keeping valuable employees, Improving productivity and morale; and Reducing workers’ compensation and training costs. Most employers report...

DOT will not enforce key provisions of rule providing protections for airline passengers who use wheelchairs

Posted on October 8, 2025

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) said it will not enforce key provisions of a rule issued in December that requires new consumer protections for passengers with disabilities who use wheelchairs. The Department is writing a new rule and will not enforce the current rule's requirements that airlines: Are liable for mishandled wheelchairs, Reimburse passengers...

EEOC sues Barnes & Noble College Booksellers for disability discrimination

Posted on October 1, 2025

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is suing Barnes & Noble College Booksellers for allegedly firing a California employee with postpartum depression after denying her request for extended unpaid leave. The lawsuit claims the company failed to provide a reasonable accommodation and instead encouraged her to resign. This violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)....

New resource: “Benefit Your Business through Disability Employment”

Posted on September 26, 2025

The Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability (EARN) has a new resource: “Benefit Your Business through Disability Employment.” The resource is for business owners who want to increase their customer base and talent in their workforce, and improve their employees’ productivity and performance. It covers the many benefits of recruiting, hiring, retaining, and advancing...

The spine of a book with "Regulations" written on it.

Administration halts two pending ADA regulations

Posted on September 26, 2025

On September 11, 2025, in the Federal Register, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it would not be pursuing 54 pending regulatory actions. Two of them concern the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). They are: A rulemaking about accessible equipment and furniture in public accommodations and state and local government facilities, and A rulemaking about accessible...

Federal court rules Grimmway Farms discriminated against farmworkers with disabilities

Posted on September 26, 2025

A U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California ruled that Grimmway Farms took part in a pattern or practice of disability discrimination against farmworkers. According to the lawsuit, the company made workers with job-related and other disabilities take unpaid leave and made little to no effort to find alternatives, such as providing assistive...

California’s new rules on Automated Decision Systems (ADS) goes into effect on Oct. 1, 2025

Posted on September 26, 2025

California’s new rules on Automated Decision Systems (ADS) will go into effect starting Oct. 1, 2025. The regulations will help protect against potential employment discrimination when using artificial intelligence, algorithms, and other automated-decision systems for employment actions like hiring, promotions, and performance reviews. The regulations provide information on how existing antidiscrimination laws apply to the...

Justice Department sues Uber for denying rides to passengers with service dogs and wheelchairs

Posted on September 26, 2025

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Uber Technologies Inc. for discriminating against passengers with disabilities, including those who use service animals and mobility devices such as stowable wheelchairs. The lawsuit seeks $125 million for individuals who have been discriminated against and submitted complaints to Uber or the Department. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S....

California department ordered to pay $8 million in state worker’s disability lawsuit

Posted on September 26, 2025

An appellate court ordered California to pay over $8 million in damages and legal fees to a former state employee and her attorneys after she won a disability discrimination case. The state had declined to settle multiple times. In 2022, a jury awarded Diana Bronshteyn $3.3 million for the Department of Consumer Affairs’ failure to...

U.S. Department of Labor proposes changes to Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act regulations

Posted on August 28, 2025

The U.S. Department of Labor is proposing to change its regulations for Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Section 503 regulations require that businesses with federal contractors use voluntary surveys to track their progress in hiring and employing people with disabilities. The regulations also include a goal for contractors — businesses with federal...

US Department of Labor has new resources for veterans with disabilities

Posted on August 28, 2025

Developed by the Department’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service and the Office of Disability Employment Policy, the Veterans Accommodations Toolkit is a resource focused on increasing employment rates and participation in apprenticeship programs by veterans with disabilities. It offers tips and strategies to help improve workplace supports and accommodations. The toolkit has helpful information for...

Lemoore School District agrees to monitoring and training after disability discrimination investigation

Posted on August 28, 2025

The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) reached a settlement with the Lemoore Union Elementary School District in Kings County to deal with complaints that a district employee faced disability discrimination in the workplace. The district will pay a little over $90,000 to the employee, and the state will monitor to make sure future disability complaints...

The ADA and rideshare companies

Posted on August 7, 2025

The Rocky Mountain ADA Center has a new research report, "The ADA and Riding or Driving with Rideshare Companies like Uber and LYFT." This report discusses what both riders and drivers of rideshare apps, like Uber and Lyft, need to know about rideshare companies and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). For riders with disabilities,...

New ADANN resource: 10 things to know about the ADA

Posted on August 7, 2025

The ADA National Network (ADANN) has a new factsheet, 10 Things to Know About the ADA. It gives an overview of 10 things everyone should know about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and how it helps make sure people with disabilities have an equal opportunity to participate in their communities. The fact sheet is...

Justice Department opens investigation into Flix North America, FlixBus, and Greyhound for disability discrimination

Posted on August 5, 2025

The U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division has started an investigation into the bus companies FlixBus and Greyhound (operated by Flix North America Inc., FlixBus Inc., and Greyhound Lines Inc.) to determine whether they violate Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by discriminating against passengers with disabilities and denying them reasonable...

DOE to drop accessibility requirement for buildings receiving federal funds

Posted on July 24, 2025

New and existing buildings receiving funds from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) won’t have to meet accessibility requirements starting September 12. On May 16, the agency used a direct final rule to announce it’s rescinding a rule requiring any building receiving federal funds, whether for new construction or undergoing renovation, to be made accessible....

EEOC sues Walmart for disability discrimination

Posted on July 24, 2025

In a lawsuit, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged that Walmart failed to provide a readily available reasonable accommodation for an employee with a disability. Instead, the company placed her on unpaid leave. Walmart repeatedly refused to allow an employee to return to the work she had successfully performed for nine years at...

New guide on including accessible social media content within emergency communications

Posted on July 24, 2025

The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) has a new guide, "Integrating Accessible Social Media Content within Emergency Communications." It provides local areas, Public Information Officers, Crisis Communication Specialists, and emergency managers with the information needed to create and post accessible social media content that can be accessed using assistive devices such as...

Everport Terminal Services to pay $200,000 to settle EEOC disability discrimination charge

Posted on July 2, 2025

Everport Terminal Services (ETS), which operates a terminal at the Port of Oakland, agreed to provide $200,000 to a former employee following an investigation by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The investigation found that ETS failed to provide a reasonable accommodation to a worker with a disability employed as a “steady” longshoreman mechanic...

Elaine’s Pet Resorts settles EEOC disability discrimination lawsuit

Posted on July 2, 2025

Elaine’s Pet Resorts, et. al., which operates pet resorts in Fresno and Madera, California, will pay $35,000 and provide other relief to settle a disability lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Since at least 2021, the company did not hire or terminated employees who failed the company’s post-offer drug screening, even...

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