[blindlaw] Announcement: DOJ Settlement Agreement with Walmart Stores, Inc.

Wed Feb 4 03:47:13 UTC 2009

No the solution here is to contact Dayton Hudson Corporation and tell them  
that Walmart was doing this, so they can put it into their Target ads that  
if you are blind we will not shut the door on you or kick you out of the  
store. That would have done much more than any of this stuff. You need to  
humiliate the corporate boardroom and make heads roll before you are going  
to see any real changes out there.

James

On Feb 2, 2009 9:06pm, "Craig%20R.%20Anderson" <mar.cra at comcast.net> wrote:
> Well, folks, this is perhaps better than nothing. But in this settlement  
Wal-mart is agreeing to do little more than comply with the law for the  
next three years and pay a nominal amount into a dedicated fund. With the  
federal government incurring a trillion dollars in debt this fiscal year,  
and the country in a raging recession, couldn't the DOJ have expended its  
scarce resources here to at least slightly more fruitful effect?
>
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> Craig
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> ----- Noel Nightingale Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov> wrote:
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> >
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> >
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> > -----Original Message-----
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> > From: Region V ADA Information [mailto:GREATLAKES at LISTSERV.UIC.EDU]On
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> > Behalf Of Robin Jones
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> > Sent: Friday, January 23, 2009 11:32 AM
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> > To: GREATLAKES at LISTSERV.UIC.EDU
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> > Subject: Announcement: DOJ Settlement Agreement with Walmart Stores,
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> > Inc.
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> >
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> > The following information is forwarded to you by the DBTAC-Great Lakes  
ADA
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> > Center (www.adagreatlakes.org) for your information:
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> >
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> > Settlement Agreement between the United States of America and Wal-Mart
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> > Stores, Inc. Under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act
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> >
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> > On January 16, 2009, the Civil Rights Division entered into a settlement
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> > agreement with Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. under Title III of the Americans  
with
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> > Disabilities Act (ADA) to improve access for persons with disabilities  
at
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> > Wal-Mart stores nationwide. The agreement resolves an investigation that
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> > was initiated after the Department received several complaints alleging
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> > that Wal-Mart had refused to make reasonable modifications to its rules,
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> > policies, practices, and procedures for customers with disabilities in
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> > violation of Title III of the ADA. Many of the complaints alleged that
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> > persons with disabilities were denied access to Wal-Mart stores or were
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> > denied an equal opportunity to shop, free of repeated challenges by
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> > Wal-Mart staff, because they were accompanied by serice animals. Service
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> > animals are dogs and other animals that are individually trained to work
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> > or perform tasks for persons with disabilities.
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> >
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> > The settlement agreement covers all facilities located in the United
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> > States where Wal-Mart sells any good or service to members of the  
public,
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> > including all Wal-Mart stores, Supercenters, Sam's Clubs, and  
Neighborhood
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> > Markets. The settlement agreement, which will be effective for three
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> > years, requires Wal-Mart to take several steps to improve access for
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> > customers with disabilities, including:
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> >
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> > * an undertaking by Wal-Mart not to discriminate in violation of Title
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> > III of the ADA and to provide reasonable modifications to individuals
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> > with disabilities as required by Title III of the ADA, such as
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> > disability-related assistance such as helping customers in locating,
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> > lifting, and carrying items;
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> > * the adoption and implementation of an ADA-compliant policy of
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> > welcoming persons with disabilities who use service animals into
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> > Wal-Mart stores with little or no questioning and without repeated
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> > challenges by Wal-Mart employees;
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> > * training for all employees on Wal-Mart's obligations under Title III
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> > of the ADA to make reasonable modifications for individuals with
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> > disabilities and Wal-Mart's new ADA-compliant service animal policy;
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> > * additional training for store management and People Greeters, since
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> > employees in these positions have additional responsibilities under
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> > Wal-Mart's new service animal policy;
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> > * the posting of Wal-Mart's new service animal policy on its website
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> > and in employee areas at its stores;
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> > * the establishment of a grievance procedure in which Wal-Mart will
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> > receive complaints alleging violations of Title III of the ADA at a
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> > toll-free hotline, investigate such complaints, and take appropriate
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> > corrective actions to resolve any noncompliance with Title III of the
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> > ADA, including relief to complainants where appropriate;.
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> >
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> > Under the settlement agreement, Wal-Mart will also pay $150,000 into a
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> > fund to compensate certain individuals with disabilities who filed
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> > administrative complaints with the Department alleging Wal-Mart's  
refusal
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> > to make reasonable modifications, including the denial of equal access  
to
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> > persons with disabilities who use service animals. The Civil Rights
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> > Division will determine which complainants are to receive damages from  
the
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> > fund and the amount of damages to be received.
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> >
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> > In furtherance of the public interest, Wal-Mart will also pay an
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> > additional $100,000 into a fund that will be used by the Civil Rights
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> > Division to finance a public service announcement campaign to increase
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> > public awareness of the access rights of persons with disabilities who  
use
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> > service animals. The nature and scope of the public service announcement
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> > campaign will be determined by the Civil Rights Division.
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> >
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> > The complete Settlement Agreement is available on the US Department of
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> > Justice ADA Website at: http://www.ada.gov/walmart.htm#settlement
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> >
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> > _______________________________________________
>
>
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