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January 2006
$200,000 to blind woman turned down for job By Abdon M. Pallasch CHICAGO — A Naperville telemarketing company has agreed to pay $200,000 to a blind woman whose job application it refused to consider because she came to the interview with a guide dog. "This case should send a message to employers not to close their doors to disabled applicants and the service animals they use," Gregory M. Gochanour, an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission supervisory trial attorney said in an announcement trumpeting the consent decree entered Monday. US District Court Judge Joan Lefkow approved the consent agreement between Americall Group of Naperville and a woman who was qualified for the job, EEOC officials said. The woman came to Americall's Lansing facility to interview for the job. Afterward, she was sent a letter saying they could not accommodate her guide dog. Though guide dogs may not be appropriate in all conceivable circumstances, there is no good reason why employers cannot readily accommodate service animals in office environments like call centers," Gochanour said. Americall — which employs 3,000 people in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Florida and two foreign countries — offered as part of the decree to work with the Chicago Lighthouse for People who are Blind or Visually Impaired to seek out additional qualified applicants for employment. Americall issued a statement Monday saying it admits no violations of equal protection law. Source: Chicago Sun Times News,12/6/05 NCD calls for immediate changes to get people with disabilities who receive Federal benefits back to work WASHINGTON — The National Council on Disability (NCD) today released its report, The Social Security Administration's Efforts to Promote Employment for People with Disabilities: New Solutions for Old Problems, calling on Congress and the Social Security Administration to make immediate changes that will get more people with disabilities who receive Social Security benefits back to gainful employment. According to NCD chairperson Lex Frieden, "Our nation's current disability benefit programs are based on a policy principle that assumes that the presence of a significant disability and lack of substantial earnings equate with a complete inability to work. Americans with disabilities remain under-employed, despite the fact that many are willing and able to work. This scenario is alarming. Although the Social Security Administration (SSA) has instituted a number of incentives to reduce the numerous obstacles to employment faced by its Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) beneficiaries, such efforts have had little impact because few beneficiaries are aware of these incentives and how they affect benefits and access to health care." "In recent times there has not been a comprehensive, research-based examination of the practices that are most likely to support the employment of SSI and DI beneficiaries. NCD undertook this study to address that absence and found that the complex obstacles to employment faced by SSA beneficiaries require a comprehensive set of solutions. New approaches must be identified that emphasize beneficiary control of career planning and the ability to access self-selected services and supports. Public and private health care providers must develop new collaborations and new approaches to combining coverage from multiple sources to improve program efficiencies. SSA must continue to work with the Rehabilitation Services Administration and the Department of Labor to improve implementation of the Ticket to Work program and identify new approaches that will overcome the traditional inability of SSA beneficiaries to benefit from services provided by the nation's employment and training programs. Secondary and post-secondary educational institutions must emphasize benefits counseling and financial management training as the foundation for beneficiary self-direction and economic self-sufficiency. Federal agencies and the business community must realize that collaborative approaches to incorporating beneficiaries into the workforce are needed as a way to reduce dependence on federal benefits while simultaneously enhancing the productivity and competitiveness of large and small business," Frieden concluded. The recommendations discussed in this report need to be addressed in policy and procedural modifications by both Congress and the Social Security Administration to significantly address the continuing number of SSA beneficiaries who never leave the SSI and DI rolls, and to increase the number of beneficiaries who enter, or reenter, the U.S. workforce. For more information, contact Mark S Quigley at 202/272-2004 or 202/272-2074 TTY. 
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Source: NCD press release, 11/30/05 CTA rolls back paratransit fare hike By Virginia Groark Faced with political pressure from City Hall and Springfield, the CTA board today spiked its plan to double fares for disabled customers who use its dial-a-ride service. Instead, the board will keep the fares at $1.75 next year. In a 4-1 vote with a sixth member voting "present," the board dropped its plan to double the paratransit fares to $3.50 on Jan. 1. While that means CTA paratransit riders will not have to pay more in January, it is unclear what will happen when Pace takes over the service on July 1. Pace charges $3 for the service. CTA officials said they would be able to find elsewhere in the agency the $1.7 million that the fare hike was expected to generate next year. The proposed fare hike caused an uproar in the disabled community and drew criticism at public hearings, board meetings and a rally. Mayor Richard Daley and Gov. Rod Blagojevich also weighed in. Daley ordered the CTA to rescind the fare hike earlier this month. Blagojevich directed Deputy Governor Bradley Tusk to call his appointees to urge them to keep the fares at $1.75, according to Cheryle Jackson, a governor's spokeswoman. Despite that pressure, CTA Chairwoman Carole Brown, who was appointed by Daley, cast the lone dissenting vote. Brown said rolling back the fare increase was "shortsighted." "I'm very concerned this will hurt the regional cooperation we have built up over the last six months," Brown said before the vote. Board member Cynthia A. Panayotovich voted "present" after she expressed concerns that spiking the plan could affect the CTA's credibility in Springfield. CTA officials have been lobbying legislators to change the region's funding formula, saying it is outdated and is creating financial problems for the agency. Before the vote, several people who use the paratransit service or have relatives who do urged the board to rescind the proposed fare increase. If the board raised the fares, "not only will we be prisoners of our bodies, but we will be prisoners of our houses," paratransit rider Tracey Berry, 41, told the board. Source: The Chicago Tribune, 12/14/05 Forcing pills on patients is not the answer By Theresa Hogue When David Oaks hears someone suggest that compulsory drug treatment is the solution to mental illness, it horrifies him. Thirty years ago, while a student at Harvard, Oaks was diagnosed with schizophrenia and was locked up and forcibly injected with psychiatric drugs. The experience was so humiliating and frightening that when Oaks finally graduated, he dedicated himself as a human rights advocate, to ensure that others in the same situation would never be forced into medication. Oaks is now director of MindFreedom International, a nonprofit organization that unites 100 different groups around the world in speaking out for human rights in mental health. Speaking from his Eugene office, Oaks talked about the questions raised after the death of Richard Dean Townsend last week at the hands of Corvallis police officers. Townsend was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and allegedly came at police with a metal rod when he was shot four times. According to relatives, Townsend had not been taking his prescribed medication. "It's just a horrible nightmare," Oaks said of Townsend's death, but he also viewed it as an opportunity to explore what's going wrong with the structure of support for people labeled with psychiatric disabilities. Too often, the quick solution is to blame medication, or the lack thereof, for the problem, he said. "It's reduced to a bumper sticker approach of 'Keep them on their drugs.'" Forcing people to take psychiatric drugs is actually a human rights violation, he said, and he disagrees that it provides any sort of solution. "There's new evidence that the latest neuroleptic drugs are not necessarily any more effective than the older neuroleptic drugs, and they're tremendously more expensive," Oaks said. And even more importantly, studies now show that long-term use of high-dosage neuroleptics causes the brain's frontal lobe to shrink. While he supports an individual's right to choose to take medication, he said creating a range of humane alternatives including a network of peer support, counseling, and supported employment and housing opportunities is what's really needed to address the mental health crises being faced by many individuals. Marie Parcell is on the board of directors of BEARS (Band of Empowered Advocates Reclaiming Self-Determination), a group that advocates for the welfare of mental health clients. The group has looked to other communities as models for how Corvallis might respond to people in crises. In Eugene, the White Bird Clinic offers a 24-hour crisis service center, as well as something known as the Cahoots Bus, a mobile crisis intervention unit that is called upon for non-criminal incidents. The responders get involved in crises, including intoxication, disorientation, substance abuse, mental illness problems and dispute resolution, according to its Web site. Parcell said she liked the idea of trained responders intervening whenever possible to de-escalate a situation before law enforcement has to get involved. "If in the middle of some kind of unusual stress, a police person is coming towards you, it isn't conducive to reducing that stress," Parcell said. She also hopes that a community-wide meeting will be organized to discuss ways to address the current situation with new ideas. "Some people are really angry, and others are pretty scared," she said. Jody Parker, who is also involved in advocacy in Corvallis, said she's worried that the debate over medication is threatening to overshadow what really happened to Townsend. "What's at stake here is what the police should do in this instance, and it's not a mental health issue. It's the question, 'Why was he shot four times?'" Parker said. "These are the things people should be asking. What strikes me most is that it has become a mental illness issue and not 'How will the police deal with people in the future?' Are they going to get training so they won't do this again? This is what the community should be discussing. Not whether or not he should have been on his meds." Corvallis community advocate Steve Hoop has long been involved in promoting reform of the mental health care system and in fair treatment of mental health clients. After news of the death of Townsend, Hoop decided he wanted more information. "Gary (Boldizsar, Corvallis police chief) needs to come forward with a town meeting and explain what the policy is regarding lethal force," Hoop said. Hoop also would like to see the police department go through training that specifically addresses dealing with people diagnosed with mental illness. "Someone who is traumatized isn't necessarily going to respond in the way (the police) expect them to respond," Hoop said. Hoop said those in the mental health system are among the most marginalized groups in society, and advocates are few. Without the opportunity for employment or the ability to support themselves, many people spiral downward. "This problem started 25 years ago," Hoop said. "There are needs in this community that haven't been met." 
For more information, visit MindFreedom.org.
Source: Corvallis Gazette-Times, 12/4/05 Learning-disabled students blossom in blended classes By Michael Winerip Sarah Jacobs' son Jed, 9, has a learning disability. He's easily distracted and, if asked to do too many things at once, panics. At his former school, a private academy that cost $20,000 a year, his mother says Jed got into trouble daily ("kicking and even some biting") and stopped learning. "He was reading 'Captain Underpants' in kindergarten and he was in third grade and still reading 'Captain Underpants,'" she says. So in September she switched him to a nearby public school, P.S. 75 on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Jed was a new boy. His fourth grade had two full-time teachers and the class was so well-organized, Jed moved smoothly from one task to the next. When Ms. Jacobs asked how he liked it, Jed said he thought his teachers must have a disability too, because they made it so easy to understand the work. "I haven't had one call about his behavior," she says, "and he's learning again. He's gone from 'Captain Underpants' to 'Harry Potter.' " Jed was surprised when he found out there were 8 other special ed children in his class of 31. "I couldn't tell who they were," he says. "I thought I might be the only one and I was wrong." It is hard to tell. Class work is so individualized, students can be reading books on a dozen levels at once. And though one of his teachers, Denise West, is certified in special education, she circulates around the room, helping general education students, too. "The extra help Jed gets is invisible," says his mother. Indeed, even after two days at P.S. 75, it was hard for me to pick out many of the special ed students. This collaborative team teaching model - pairing a general ed and special ed teacher in a classroom that is up to 40 percent special ed children - is considered one of the best hopes for mainstreaming more handicapped children. In New York City, about 12,500 special ed students - nearly 10 per cent of the special ed population - now attend these classes. Those who've seen it done right swear by it. Last year, at another school, Johanny Lopez taught a "self contained" class of a dozen learning- and emotionally disabled second and third graders. "Their bad behaviors fed off each other," she says. This year, at P.S. 75, Ms. Lopez is team teaching in a first grade of 22, 8 of them special ed. "I love it," she says, "It's a lot more hopeful for children." But the collaborative model is also a lot more work. The fifth grade team of Mayra Fernandez and Daisy Miranda arrive an hour early each morning to choreograph who will lead which lesson and what support the other will provide. Ms. Lopez and her teaching partner, Chante Martindale spent a recent Saturday afternoon planning the coming week. It takes the proper mix of students - one child with too serious an emotional problem can undo a class. And teachers must provide extra enrichment for bright general ed students so they stay challenged and their parents stay cooperative. A recent independent study of the city's special education system praised the expansion of this model under Chancellor Joel I. Klein, but found that too often, the classes are poorly run, resisted by parents of general ed students, and become "dumping grounds" for the lowest tracked children. In a column on that report, I mentioned troubles at a P.S. 75 kindergarten last year and soon after got an angry email from the principal, Robert O'Brien. While Mr. O'Brien acknowledged problems, he said that they were the exception; he had nine effective classes, he said, and he invited me to see them. I visited and agree: the model seems to work well at P.S. 75. I saw a good deal of hope and much skilled teaching. In first grade, while Ms. Lopez taught a math lesson, Ms. Martindale sat beside the most distracted girl and boy and with a few whispered words, kept them on task. When a boy who has retardation couldn't answer a question, Ms. Martindale had the child call on a helper for the answer, and the class moved along briskly. Because special ed children may have trouble copying homework assignments off the board, every P.S. 75 child gets a red folder, with a nightly homework list from the teacher. Teachers take on challenges at P.S. 75 that few schools attempt. Katherine Baldwin and Liz Ciotti work together in a second grade that they also teach in two languages. (Of 26 children, 9 are special ed, 13 Spanish-dominant and 6 are both special ed and Spanish-dominant). One day they teach in English, the next Spanish. Every child gets a chance to shine; on Spanish days, Hispanic special ed children help out general ed children. But watching it done well also explains why there are problems implementing the model citywide. Though 50 percent of the children qualify for free lunches at P.S. 75, there is a sizable middle-class population and the school sits in the midst of a socially active community that provides more than 100 volunteers to the building. Wendy Dubin is a real Upper West Side parent, pleased to have her bright fourth grade son, Alex, taught with special ed children because she believes it will make Alex a better person. But there are other draws. A retired high school math teacher runs an algebra group for the 10 brightest fourth graders. Volunteers run a chess club, a book club and created a first-rate, well-staffed library. That library hooked Jed on "Harry Potter." "The librarian got me more excited about books. I don't know how she does it," says Jed. Dee Ratterree has the time and the books. The principal, Mr. O'Brien, started as a special ed teacher 30 years ago and has made the program a priority. In the spring, one of his teachers, Donna Garfinkel selects special ed students from self contained programs who she feels can succeed in a mixed P.S. 75 class. But she's also aggressive about screening out children. "I'm not shy," she says, "I'll tell parents, "I don't think your child's ready for this.'" While P.S. 75 special ed children consistently score better on state tests than these children citywide (19 percent of P.S. 75 special ed fourth graders were proficient in English in 2004, versus 15 per cent citywide) they lag far behind P.S. 75's general ed students (60 per cent proficient in English in 2004). Mr. O'Brien believes the integration gives many their best chance to flourish, however, as the scores show, it's not magic. "You have to be realistic about what a child can achieve," he says. 
E-mail Michael Winerip
Source: The New York Times, 11/30/05 Teacher's helper wants to clear name By Elaine Hopkins PEORIA — A former District 150 teacher's assistant wants a circuit judge to overturn an earlier ruling that he abused a student last year when he restrained the boy during a tantrum at school. The professional future of Don Lyons, 53, of Peoria is now in the hands of Chief Circuit Judge John Barra, who will issue a written decision later. As an indicated child abuser, Lyons cannot work with children for five years. The boy, a special-education student, suffered a minor bump on his head during the encounter, according to records. Lyons appeared in Peoria County Circuit Court on Monday with his attorney, Stephen A. Yokich of Chicago, who works with the Peoria Federation of Support Staff, Paraprofessional Unit, Local 6099. Yokich argued that Lyons followed his training to place the disruptive student on the floor, and somehow the boy bumped his head, causing "a knot the size of a quarter" to occur. It did not require treatment at school, and the boy completed his classes that day, Yokich said. An administrative law judge issued the ruling causing Lyons to be listed as an indicated child abuser. At that hearing, Lyons testified he didn't know how the bump occurred, Yokich said. The student didn't testify, Yokich said, and instead various accounts from the student, some contradictory, were read into the record. The administrative law judge found Lyons used excessive force or too little caution when the boy was placed on the floor, Yokich said. But "there was no basis in the record for either finding," which relied on hearsay evidence, he said. James Ehrenberg Jr., an assistant attorney general who argued the case for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, countered that Illinois law allows someone to be indicated for child abuse who places a child at risk of harm. "He achieved the injury because he intentionally took him to the ground," Ehrenberg said. "Intent (to injure) is not necessary to prove child abuse." If the person "intended the means, (he) has abused someone. Lyons admits these actions brought about the injury," Ehrenberg said. Hearsay evidence also is permitted in DCFS hearings, Ehrenberg said. Afterward, Lyons said he has been suspended since the October 2004 incident, and has been working as a retail clerk. He had been a teacher's assistant for seven years, with good evaluations. He also was a foster parent, and lost that child, he said. He and his wife have adopted children from troubled backgrounds who now are doing well as teenagers and young adults. "I've always loved children," he said. Union field service representative Lisa Uphoff said Lyons followed his training in restraining the boy. "There's no proof it was not an accident," she said. District 150 has since changed restraint methods, she said. Uphoff said she now advises union members: "Don't restrain anybody. Let the teacher do it or let the kid run wild." Source: Peoria Journal Star, 12/06/05 US Access Board has released a second draft of its proposed accessibility guidelines for the public right-of-way The new draft incorporates many of the industry and consumer recommendations submitted in comment to the Board's June 2002 draft. It is being released to the public in order to facilitate the development, with industry, of the cost/benefit analysis that is the next step in PROW rulemaking under the ADA. Title II of the ADA, which covers State and local governments, requires new construction and alterations to be accessible to and usable by people with disabilities; standards serve as a measure of that requirement. The Board's guidelines, which cover pedestrian access to sidewalks and streets, including crosswalks, curb ramps, street furnishings, pedestrian signals, parking, roundabouts, and other components of public rights-of-way, serve as the basis for DOJ and DOT standards. Noting that the current ADA standards were developed largely for buildings and facilities on sites and are difficult to apply to the public right-of-way, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) encourages use of the draft guidelines as a best practice.
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Source: US Access Board, 11/23/05 Universal Design Project The Ohio State University has been awarded a $50,000 National Endowment for the Arts grant to increase the nation's understanding of universal design. The goal of the Universal Design Leadership Project is to create greater public awareness of and demand for universal designed environments by educating designers, consumers, educators, developers, city planners, and others on the social impact and principles of universal design. Universal design focuses on producing an environment with maximum flexibility and usability by the full spectrum of people. It is the environmental manifestation of society's commitment to inclusion, diversity and equity. The project Coordinators are Jennifer S. Evans-Cowley, Assistant Professor of City and Regional Planning & Planning Education at a Distance Director at The Ohio State University; Jack L. Nasar, Professor of City and Regional Planning and Planning & Graduate Faculty Member Landscape Architecture at Ohio State University; and L. Scott Lissner, ADA Coordinator & Associate of the John Glenn Institute. They have identified a team of supporters and contributors that include The Kirwin Institute for Race and Ethnicity, The John Glenn Institute for Public Service and Public Policy, The American Planning Association, The Great Lakes ADA & Accessible IT Center, ADA-OHIO, Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, Mid-Ohio Board of Independent Living, and The Ability Center of Greater Toledo. The project will:
Jennifer Evans-Cowley, 614/ 292-1012; Jack L. Nasar, 614/ 292-1457; or L. Scott Lissner, 614/ 292-6207. ADA-OHIO, 700 Morse Rd, #101, Columbus, OH 43214 800/ADA-OHIO 800/232-6446 800/232-2321 TTY 614/844-5537 FAX
E-mail ADA-OHIO
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Source: ADA-Ohio, 11/28/05 Illinois still lowering bar in dealing with disabled In 1999, in a decision disabled people view as their Brown vs. Board of Education, The Supreme Court ruled institutionalizing disabled individuals who are able to participate in and benefit from community settings is a form of discrimination. Olmstead v. L.C. spurred many states to facilitate their placement in less-restrictive small-group community settings. But Illinois has been resistant to make the necessary changes, ranking near the bottom in this important area. Some states have greatly reduced or eliminated large, publicly funded centers for the disabled. In Wisconsin, more than 80 percent of individuals with developmental disabilities living outside a family home are in recommended settings of six or fewer residents. In Illinois, the figure is only 43 percent. The troubles of the 400-bed Lincoln Developmental Center, which Gov. George Ryan shut down in the wake of deaths and alleged abuses, may be in the past. But last year, in approving the $3.8 million Lincoln Estates, to consist of four 10-bed group homes at the same downstate location, the Health Facilities Planning Board still was unabiding of raised standards. It would be one thing if, six years after Olmstead, Illinois was taking steps to eliminate the unwarranted institutionalization. But while it made a show of releasing a plan to implement the landmark decision, the state has yet to make any serious effort to address the problem. In announcing his plans for Lincoln Estates, Gov. Blagojevich voiced the assurance that things would be different for the disabled thanks to new and innovative programs, but the disabled community understandably puts little stock in such promises. To force the issue, nine people with developmental disabilities who live in large, state-funded institutions (or who fear being placed in one) have filed suit against the state and against the director of the Illinois Healthcare and Family Services Department, charging they have been deprived of their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act. For the plaintiffs, diagnosed with varying degrees of mental retardation and conditions including cerebral palsy and Down syndrome, having no choice but to submit to regimented life in institutions is highly dispiriting and in disregard of their desire to live in the world. These are people who refuse to let their speech difficulties, reliance on wheelchairs and such lessen their pride and determination. Every effort should be made to place them in a more flexible environment. If nothing else, the state should be motivated by the lower cost of most community-based care than of institutionalization. This isn't to say certain disabled individuals don't benefit from the latter, or prefer it, and that option should be available. But the choice should be left to them, not a state that appears blind to such distinctions. Source: Chicago Sun-Times, 12/27/05 They're fighting mad By Nathan Halverson, McNaughton Newspapers VACAVILLE — Frances Murillo's rise to success embodies quintessential America. Murillo, a Mexican immigrant who crossed the border when she was 16 to pick fruit on Solano County farms, emerged from the fields in 1970 to start a small restaurant in downtown Vacaville. Years of hard work and raising her family in the restaurant led to prosperity. In 1998, she opened a second, larger restaurant in Vacaville. But now her restaurants, both called Murillo's Mexican Food, might be sunk by something that is also quintessentially American: a lawsuit. During the past few years, thousands of lawsuits in Northern California were filed against businesses such as Murillo's, contending they didn't comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. These lawsuits cost businesses thousands of dollars, even hundreds of thousands of dollars per suit, as owners shell out money for attorney fees, court costs and settlements. No doubt lawsuits have increased accessibility for disabled people, said several ADA experts such as Kim Blackseth, an Oakland-based ADA consultant. But Blackseth, who is a quadriplegic, said a growing number of lawsuits are filed for a more nefarious reason: settlement money. And many in the disabled community are outraged, because they believe the lawsuits tarnish their image. Money that could be spent on compliance goes to a few disabled individuals who file the vast majority of lawsuits and keep the settlement money for themselves. Quite simply, people in both the business community and the disabled community say the current system to enforce accessibility for the disabled is broken. Close to home Gary Tatum, chairman of the Vacaville Chamber of Commerce board of directors, has called the financial fallout stemming from ADA lawsuits the most important business topic of the moment. In cases such as Murillo's restaurant, the motivating factor for the lawsuit is settlement money, not ADA compliance, alleges Tom Phillippi, chairman-elect of the Chamber. Phillippi and the Chamber formed an ADA Task Force in 2003 to address compliance issues and to fight what they described as frivolous lawsuits. Initially, the 15- to 20-member group focused on training businesses to comply with ADA regulations and avoid lawsuits. But now they hope to raise $250,000 for court costs to champion Murillo's restaurant, which they said did everything possible to comply and is still being sued. Phillippi has made presentations to most of Solano County's Chambers of Commerce, pleading that the time has come to band together and fight individuals he believes are primarily looking for settlement money. To date, his task force has received about $20,000 in donations, which will be used to cover attorney fees and courts costs, Phillippi said. The lawsuit Dixon resident Ron Wilson, who is disabled and uses a wheelchair, sued Murillo's on Aug. 3, 2005, claiming he was discriminated against and the restaurant didn't comply with ADA rules. Wilson has filed more than 66 ADA lawsuits since 2000. It was the watershed moment for which the task force had been waiting: a lawsuit its members deemed frivolous. In 2001, Frances Murillo began responding to ADA complaints lodged by Wilson and his associate, Byron Chapman. She spent about $130,000 in construction costs, even bringing in an ADA compliance expert from Sacramento, to ensure she complied with the law. She installed entrance ramps, lowered a section of the bar and provided several tables for wheelchairs. She even tore up the parking lot twice. Murillo had the opportunity to settle with Wilson, but chose instead to spend her money on becoming totally compliant, she said. "He wants to settle, and that's what caused all this," she said as she points to the three electronically powered doors that front her restaurant. "These guys are abusing the system and the system is letting them get away with it." Wilson, who didn't return phone calls for this article, has referred to himself as an advocate for the rights of disabled people. He is a founding member of the group Citizens Acting for the Rights of the Disabled, or CARD. One of the two known members, Chapman, said the group meets irregularly and didn't name any specific goals. Murillo is being sued for having an obstruction that prevents the disabled from entering the restaurant and for discriminating against Wilson because he is handicapped; Murillo eventually refused to serve Wilson. "If four years of harassment isn't enough reason to refuse service, then what is?" she asked. Wilson showed up at Murillo's restaurant on Monte Vista on multiple occasions with a tape measure, architect's level and various other equipment to find violations of the ADA code, according to several sources. Murillo's ADA expert from Sacramento, Tim Fallis, said her restaurant couldn't be more compliant. "I believe Francis' restaurant is as compliant as you can get," said Fallis, who uses a wheelchair and is owner of Human Adaptation, an ADA consulting firm. "Francis has bent over backwards to be compliant, and still she is being sued." Dennis McCord, who underwent extensive surgery on his back in 1999, is one of several disabled patrons of Murillo's who said the restaurant is fine. He thinks the lawsuit is outlandish. "I think it's total bull," he said. "I can't imagine trying to run a business when people are looking for things to sue you about." Ron Armstrong, head of Vacaville city's ADA grievance and inspection program, said Murillo's restaurant complies with state regulations. Of the nearly 100 complaints lodged against the restaurant by Wilson and Chapman, only a few were valid, he said. Murillo willingly fixed them, he added. Regardless of both Armstrong's and Fallis' opinion, there is no government agency, on the state or federal level, that can certify a business is compliant beyond reproach. No matter what any government official says, even its own ADA experts, a lawsuit can be filed claiming a business doesn't comply. "The system is not working," Fallis said. He knows of lawsuits that forced unwilling owners to comply with the law, but the vast majority of cases are filed against owners who are willing to comply, he said. Limiting Wilson For years, Phillippi pointed to Wilson as an example of the type of plaintiff who is overly aggressive in filing lawsuits. Wilson was a reason the Chamber formed its task force, he said. Wilson filed more than 80 percent of the ADA grievances the city of Vacaville has received during the last four or five years, Armstrong said. Since the city's program was overhauled in October 2003, 37 of the 40 complaints filed were from Wilson, Armstrong said. The task force hopes to have Wilson deemed a vexatious litigant, which is a person who files frivolous lawsuits. If it succeeds, Wilson would have to obtain approval from a federal judge before he could file future lawsuits in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California System, where the Murillo case is being tried. If Wilson is deemed a vexatious litigant he will still be able to sue without a judge's approval in all other federal districts, according to Karen Stephenson, Murillo's attorney. Murillo hopes she will win the case. But she said she has thought about what will happen if she loses and is forced to pay large monetary damages. "Well, if it does happen it'll be sad," she said. "I have 80 employees who will be out of a job."
E-mail Nathan Halverson
Source: The Davis Enterprise (Davis, CA) 12/28/05 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
