by Amy F. Robertson | Aug 26, 2013 | Civil rights, News
From EEOC Commissioner Chai Felblum: Al Sharpton at Saturday’s March “spoke of meeting an African-American man of some achievement who told him, ‘Look at my résumé. The civil rights movement didn’t write it.'” Sharpton said he replied, “Civil rights didn’t write your résumé, but the civil rights movement made somebody read your...
by Tim Fox | Aug 25, 2013 | Civil rights, News
The New Mexico Supreme Court unanimously held that a store open to the public cannot discriminate based on the religious beliefs of the store owners. Specifically, in that case, the owner of a photography studio could not refuse to photograph a commitment ceremony of a same-sex couple on the grounds that doing so would violate her Christian beliefs....
by Amy F. Robertson | Aug 21, 2013 | Accessibility, Civil rights
While the Hollister chain continues to defend a store design that segregates customers in wheelchairs to side entrances . . . . . . the Wet Seal clothing chain has responded to the aspirations and ingenuity of a girl with Down Syndrome by giving her a photo shoot as a Wet Seal model. Per Disability Scoop — where I got the photo, too — after Karrie Brown started a Facebook page promoting her goal of being a Wet Seal model, the company “promised her something very special” if she could get 10,000 likes. She got over 14,000 and is now headed to California for her own photo shoot. Quoted in the Scoop: “Karrie’s enthusiasm and passion for fashion caught our attention and has inspired all of us here at Wet Seal,” John Goodman, the company’s CEO, said in a statement. “As Karrie herself said, she loves Wet Seal because our clothes help her to “˜fit in while standing out’ and that’s something we feel passionately about for all of our customers. Wet Seal is proud to be part of Karrie’s journey and we can’t wait for her to experience all of the surprises we have in store for her.” This is not only the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do. According to the Solutions Marketing Group, there are approximately 54 million people with some type of disability in the US, with $220 billion in discretionary income. What a contrast to Hollister, eh? As MSN Money put it, noting Hollister’s recent weak sales: Abercrombie & Fitch has been told repeatedly by the U.S....
by Amy F. Robertson | Aug 20, 2013 | Accessibility, Systemic change litigation
Today the judge entered a permanent injunction in our Hollister case. The key provision gives Hollister until January 1, 2017 to ensure that any . . . point of entry or egress that presently contains an Elevated Entrance will be 1. modified to be level with the surrounding floor space; 2. modified to be ramped in compliance with Section 405 of the 2010 Standards; or 3. closed off from any public access. Should Defendants elect the last option, they will ensure that the area served by the Elevated Entrances is not used for customer entry or egress, and all customers will instead use the existing level side entrances. The work is to be completed at the rate of at least 77 stores per year, and Hollister is required to report back to the court, with photos, every six months. 2013-08-20 [211] Permanent...
by Amy F. Robertson | Aug 16, 2013 | Accessibility, Systemic change litigation
Judge Wiley Daniel ordered Hollister to bring its raised porch entrances into compliance with the ADA by January 1, 2017. CREEC lawyers along with co-counsel from the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition, Lewis Feinberg, and Campins Benham-Baker, had challenged Hollister’s inaccessible entrances on behalf of a nationwide class of customers who use wheelchairs. We got invaluable support from the Department of Justice, in the form of a Statement of Interest by their trial attorney Nabina Sinha. {Image description: Porch-like structure in front of a mall store. The porch is surrounded by a railing, and only accessible by two steps in the middle of the front of the porch. At the back of the porch is a photo — spanning the height and width of the rear wall — of a male model with no shirt on. The roof of the porch like structure is sloped and tiled to look like a beach shack.} In March, Judge Daniel held that the raised entrances violate title III of the ADA, which prohibits disability discrimination in stores and other businesses. He scheduled a hearing for today to address the question of injunctive relief, that is, what he would order Hollister to do to remedy the violations. Plaintiffs had proposed that Hollister have three options to comply. They could flatten the entrance, as is already the case at approximately half the stores. {Image description: Porch-like structure in front of a mall store. The porch is surrounded by a railing, and is accessible through a flat path in the middle of the front of the porch. ...
