The Access Board has released guidance on the International Symbol of Accessibility (ISA) to address questions that have arisen on the use of alternative symbols. Some cities and states have adopted a different symbol that was created to be more dynamic and suggestive of movement. The Board’s guidance explains how use of a symbol other than the ISA impacts compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The Access Board will hold a town hall meeting in Minneapolis on the afternoon of May 9 at the University of Minnesota. The event will provide an open forum where members of the public can pose questions to the Board or share comments or concerns related to accessibility. There also will be panel discussions with local speakers on outdoor recreation and Target’s accessibility program.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that it has resolved its suit against Orion Energy Systems, a Manitowoc, Wis., lighting company, challenging a wellness program under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and alleging that the employer retaliated against an employee who objected to the program by terminating her. In its suit, the EEOC contended that Orion instituted a wellness program that unlawfully required medical examinations and made disability-related inquiries.

Zale Delaware, Inc., dba Piercing Pagoda, a jewelry retailer based in Irving, Texas, will pay $30,000 to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced. The EEOC’s lawsuit charged that Piercing Pagoda violated federal law by firing an employee because of her disability.

Mine Rite Technologies, LLC violated federal law by subjecting an employee at its Buffalo, Wyo., location to a hostile work environment based on his disability, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed. The EEOC also charged the company with forcing the employee out of his job because of his disability.

An Illinois food service company will pay $35,000 and furnish other relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), . According to the EEOC lawsuit, Nashville, Tenn.-based American Blue Ribbons Holding, LLC dba Legendary Baking, violated federal law by denying light duty work to an employee an employee at its Oak Forest, Ill., baking facility.

ValleyLife, a disability support services company, will pay $100,000 and furnish other relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC),. According to the EEOC’s suit, ValleyLife had a practice of firing employees with disabilities who needed extended leave or reassignment rather than providing them with reasonable accommodations as required under federal law.

The agreement resolves a title III complaint alleging the YMCA denied a membership to a individual with a developmental disability because of the individual’s disability. The YMCA will not impose screening or admissions criteria, or application requirements on individuals with disabilities that differ from those screening or admissions criteria, or application requirements, that the YMCA uses for any other member of the public applying for a membership at the Norwich Family YMCA.

The Justice Department announced that it has reached an agreement with the Pea Ridge School District (PRSD) of Pea Ridge, Arkansas, to remedy alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Title II of the ADA prohibits discrimination by public entities, including school districts, against individuals who have disabilities; individuals regarded as having disabilities; and individuals associated with people with disabilities. Based on its investigation, the Department previously issued a Letter of Findings outlining how the District excluded three students after reviewing a document referencing the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status of the students’ family member.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced a settlement with Luzerne County under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The settlement looks to improve physical accessibility at the county’s polling places for individuals who use wheel chairs and other mobility aids, and for individuals who are blind or have vision impairments.

Under the terms of a consent decree filed by the Justice Department, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) will pay a former job applicant $175,000.00 in compensatory damages because it rescinded a provisional job offer to the applicant upon learning that he had epilepsy. The decree, pending approval by the District Court for the District of Columbia, will further require WMATA to institute new policies to ensure employees and job applicants with disabilities have the opportunity to confer with WMATA about their limitations as well as opportunities for reasonable accommodation in the workplace. WMATA will also ensure that supervisors are fully trained in those policies.

Answer:
The ADA covers private employers with 15 or more full or part-time employees and also state and local government employers. The ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in all employment practices of covered employers. A covered employer may hire, fire or promote the most qualified individual he or she chooses but that employer is prohibited from using disability in that decision making process.

The purpose of the association provision is to prohibit employers from taking adverse actions based on unfounded stereotypes and assumptions about individuals who associate with people who have disabilities. The ADA makes actions such as refusing to hire an individual who has a child with a disability based on an assumption that the applicant will be away from work excessively or be otherwise unreliable, firing an employee who works with people who are HIV-positive or have AIDS based on the assumption that the employee will contract the disease, or denying an employee health care coverage available to others because of the disability of an employee’s dependent unlawful.

The association provision of the ADA prohibits employment discrimination against a person, whether or not he or she has a disability, because of his or her known relationship or association with a person with a known disability. This means that an employer is prohibited from making adverse employment decisions based on unfounded concerns about the known disability of a family member or anyone else with which the applicant or employee has a relationship or association.

The ADA does not require a family relationship for an individual to be protected by the association provision. The important factor is whether the employer is motivated by the individual’s relationship or association with a person who has a disability.

Employers do not have to provide reasonable accommodations to employees who associate with individuals with disabilities. Only qualified applicants and employees with actual disabilities are entitled to reasonable accommodation under the ADA.

For example, the ADA would not require an employer to modify its leave policy for an employee who needs time off to care for a child with a disability. However, an employer must avoid treating an employee differently than other employees because of his or her association with a person with a disability.

For additional information regarding the employment provisions of the ADA contact the Great Lakes Center by calling (800) 949-4232 (V/TTY) or via our Online Contact Form.

Suggested Resources:

• Questions and Answers About the Americans with Disabilities Act’s Association Provision
• Employer Best Practices For Workers With Caregiving Responsibilities