Arias Ozzello & Gignac has settled a disability rights class action lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles.  The lawsuit, known as Nicole Fahmie v. City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Superior Court Case No. BC363305, sought to remedy the lack of curbs ramps in the city.   Without accessible ramps, residents who require wheelchairs or other mobility devices are prevented from traveling freely throughout the City without putting themselves in potentially dangerous situations.

In the past, disabled residents who complained about inaccessible curb ramps were placed on a list and told that their particular curb ramp would be remediated once the requests ahead of them had been completed and only if there were sufficient funds available to pay for the construction.  The process – especially its inevitable and lengthy delays – was unacceptable for class members who were prevented from traveling safely throughout the city.  Without accessible curb ramps, those in wheelchairs would often have to use a driveway to access the sidewalk, leading them into a busy street and endangering their lives.

This settlement provides a specific time frame wherein certain identified curbs will be repaired and mandates curb ramp improvements at locations identified by class members.  In the first year of the settlement, the City of Los Angeles will spend $3.5 million to install or repair curb ramps at up to 1,000 “super priority” locations.  These initial 1,000 locations will be selected based on criteria used to identify those locations where the need for curb ramps is greatest.  After the first year, the City of Los Angeles will spend $80 million over 20 years to install curb ramps at identified locations throughout the City and must repair all curb ramps in the heavily traveled transition areas throughout the City.  Thanks to the settlement, travel throughout the City will become equally accessible for those with mobility disabilities, as it has been for those without such disabilities.

This settlement and its requirement that the City of Los Angeles spend $83.5 million to fix inaccessible curb ramps illustrates Arias Ozzello & Gignac's commitment to protecting the rights of the disabled.  In the near future, those using wheelchairs and other mobility devices will no longer have to put their lives in danger to enjoy the same impediment-free travel throughout the City as everyone else enjoys.  It is also important to note and appreciate the City’s agreement and commitment to this settlement!

2011 was a record year for workplace discrimination complaints, with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission receiving the highest number of complaints in its history.

According to the agency's annual report, there were a total of 99,947 allegations of unfair workplace practices filed during the fiscal year that ended in September 2011. That's the highest number of complaints that have been filed since the agency was launched in 1964.

These 99,947 allegations involved the kind of discrimination that California employment lawyers frequently come across. Most complaints were based on age, sex, religion, race and disability. There were even complaints alleging discrimination based on family medical history.

The agency this year also had several successes in recovering monetary compensation from employers. In all, the agency resolved a total of 112,499 cases, an increase of 7% from last year. In 2011, the agency also won substantial monetary payouts from employers. Overall, the agency won a record $365 million in monetary damages.

This included a consent decree that provided $3 million for 3M Company employees. Approximately 290 former employees of the company had filed a complaint against 3M Company, saying that the company denied leadership training, and fired hundreds of workers over the age of 45.

Another complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission involved Verizon employees, who alleged that the company discriminated against them based on disability. The company disciplined or terminated the services of employees who suffered from disabilities. A consent decree resulted in a compensation of more than $20 million to more than 800 Verizon employees who filed the complaint. This was the largest disability discrimination settlement in a single lawsuit in the history of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

A San Diego Comfort Suites hotel will pay $130,000 to a man in settlement of a disability claim filed by a former autistic employee.

The man had been hired by the Comfort Suites Mission Valley Hotel. Soon after he joined the hotel, he applied for state-provided on-the-job coaching which would have helped him master techniques designed for helping people with autism. However, he was fired in 2008 allegedly because of his disability. The man had earlier worked for another employer, and had good recommendations from that employer.

According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the operator of the hotel, Tarsadia Hotels has now agreed to pay the man $125,000. The hotel chain will also pay $7,500 to a San Diego group that provides support to people with disabilities. Tarsadia Hotels has also agreed to make changes to its employment policies in order to accommodate employees with disabilities. The company has also been required to make frequent compliance reports to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

In most cases, these settlements and verdicts can be avoided if companies simply make the effort to accommodate employees’ requirements. Making accommodations for a disabled employee can actually be less expensive and time-consuming than coming up against a California employment lawyer later.Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers are prohibited from discriminating against qualified workers on the base of disability. All kinds of employers, including private employers, private agencies, and state and local governments are prohibited from discriminating against the disabled.

These employees must receive equal pay, must be treated equally in matters of recruitment and hiring practices, must be subjected to the same promotion and work-assignment criteria, and must enjoy all of the employment-related benefits that nondisabled employees do. Additionally, the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits employers from retaliating against a disabled employee who asserts his rights.

More than two decades after the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, California disability rights lawyers are seeing more citizens with disabilities joining the ranks of the unemployed. Employment numbers of disabled Americans are at some of their lowest levels in recent years.

According to research, the portion of disabled Americans who are working has dropped to 21%. Back in the early 1990s, the number was about 35%. Currently, the unemployment rate for disabled Americans is about 16%.

Researchers have a number of reasons for this. One of the reasons is that the national employment situation is dire, and the disabled now find more competition for jobs from non-disabled citizens. What California disability rights attorneys also find very disconcerting is the fact that employers have become more discriminating towards people with disabilities. A large number of disabled Americans are being turned away from jobs because of an employer mindset that they are not capable of performing these jobs. This has led to a number of complaints to the Equal Employment Report City Commission.

According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, there has been a spike in the number of workplace complaints that allege workplace discrimination based on disability. These complaints have increased substantially since the recession. In 2010, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission received 25,165 disability discrimination complaints. During the first half of 2011 alone, there were 12,317 disability discrimination complains.

The recession and reduced employment prospects seem to have affected disabled workers much harder than disabled workers. According to officials at the Disability Statistics Center at the University Of California, over the past three years, disabled Americans lost jobs at a rate that was nearly 3 times as high as that for non-disabled workers. Workers with some disabilities have been hit harder than others. For instance, those who suffer from hearing disabilities have found their share of participation in the workforce drop by 21% between October 2009 and August 2011.

A federal judge has ruled that Taco Bell California violated federal and state disability discrimination laws by failing to remove barriers that violate the Americans with Disabilities Act. The judge will now rule on what kind of improvements the company needs to make to its 220 stores in California in order to comply with the Act. The judge will also decide how much the company will pay the thousands of customers who are included in the disability rights class action lawsuit.

The disability rights lawsuit had claimed that Taco Bell stores in California failed to provide disabled-friendly features including wheelchair accessible tables, and adequate handicapped parking. The lawsuit also alleged failure to provide wheelchair-accessible restrooms and other accommodations as required by both federal and California laws. Taco Bell argued that it has fixed several of the violations, but the judge found that the company was still not compliant in many areas.

Workplaces, businesses, commercial spaces and all kinds of public properties are required to facilitate access for persons with disabilities under the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Persons whose access to commercial and business public spaces may be limited include persons with learning disability, hearing impairment, vision impairment and mobility impairment.

The Americans with Disabilities Act prevents discrimination in public accommodations on the basis of disability. The Act also requires that places of public accommodation and commercial facilities be designed, built and modified to comply with the standards established by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Often, California disability rights lawyers find that employers, business owners and owners of properties fail to comply with laws requiring accessibility to the disabled because they are unaware of these laws, or have been poorly advised.