Categories
Announcements Litigation

Jury Trial Victory for Blind Business Owner

Yes, under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), if a blind business owner comes to a government office to file her paper form, staff do need to read and write on official forms under her direction. That’s the verdict a federal jury in California delivered against Alameda County on Tuesday, April 3, 2024.

Categories
External Litigation

William Goren discusses Martinez v. County of Alameda

In his post “Fundamental Alteration, Undue Burden, Deliberate Indifference, Facially Neutral Policies, and the Title II entity,” attorney William Goren discusses the January 21, 2021 Order Denying [Defendants’] Motion to Dismiss in our case, Martinez v. County of Alameda et al., 512 F. Supp. 3d 978 (N.D. Cal. 2021): The case involves a blind individual […]

Categories
Agreements Announcements

Innovation & Accessibility at West Valley College

To address this, TRE Legal Practice worked on behalf of two blind college students to reach a settlement agreement with West Valley College, using an alternative to lawsuits called structured negotiations.

Categories
Announcements

Update for Uber Riders Accompanied by Service Animals

The case of National Federation of the Blind v. Uber Technologies, Inc., 14-cv-04086 NC (N.D. Cal.), challenges discrimination experienced by riders with service animals who want to use the Uber ridesharing service. We are preparing to return to court to address ongoing discrimination and need your statement by April 17, 2020, in support of the effort.

Categories
Litigation

Crucial Decision Validates Fraud Whistleblower Suit

In a crucial decision upholding equal access to the Internet, on November 5, 2019, a state court in Alameda County validated the legal bases underlying a fraud whistleblower complaint against Conduent, Inc. and Conduent State & Local Solutions for developing a public website that is inaccessible to people with disabilities.

Categories
Agreements Announcements Press Releases

Dignity Health Agrees to Pay $570,000 for Firing a Blind Food Service Worker

REDDING, Calif., September 27, 2019 — TRE Legal Practice and LaBarre Law Offices, on behalf of Alina Sorling, are pleased to join with the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in announcing that Dignity Health, which operates Mercy Medical Center in Redding, California, has agreed to pay […]

Categories
Announcements Litigation Press Releases

Fraud Whistleblower Seeks Redress for Inaccessible Public Website that Cost California $66 Million

OAKLAND, May 20, 2019 (updated July 26, 2019) — TRE Legal Practice alleges that Conduent, Inc. defrauded taxpayers when the company built a $66 million state park reservation website that hundreds of thousands of Californians with disabilities cannot use. The suit seeks damages on behalf of the People of the State of California and injunctive […]

Categories
Litigation

Blind health plan members must have equal access to transportation benefits

Nancy Langenberger is blind. She relies on a guide dog to help her independently navigate the world. Nancy’s Medicare Advantage health plan, Blue Shield Promise Health Plan (“Promise Health”), includes a transportation benefit through which plan members can arrange in advance to be dropped off and picked up from medical appointments. This benefit is important […]

Categories
Litigation

Appellate Victory in National Federation of the Blind v. The Container Store

Modern touchscreen systems, like other modern computers, phones, and tablets, are readily adaptable for use by blind people through mechanisms such as tactile keyboards that a user can feel nonvisually and audio ports for plugging in headphones so the system can “speak” privately to users. (Both of these are in widespread use at bank ATMs, […]

Categories
Litigation

TRE Legal Litigates Case with Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Behalf of Blind Food Service Worker

Despite the longstanding history of the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers are still failing to follow the law. In 2014, Alina Sorling, a veteran food service technician with over a decade of experience at Dignity Health’s hospital cafeteria, suddenly became blind. Ms. Sorling went on medical leave and successfully worked with the California Department of Rehabilitation to re-master everyday tasks, including using nonvisual techniques for cooking and proficiency with knives and hot grills. Instead of allowing her to work, Dignity Health fired her because it believed a blind person could not safely work in a kitchen.