[blindLaw] Jahinnslerth Orozco v. Merrick Garland, No. 21-5238 (D.C. Cir. 2023) - Justia - February 28, 2023

[Nightingale, Noel]

https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/cadc/21-5238/21-5238-2023-02-17.html
Jahinnslerth Orozco v. Merrick Garland, No. 21-5238 (D.C. Cir. 2023)
Justia
February 28, 2023

Justia Opinion Summary
Appellant, an intelligence analyst at the FBI, wants his employer to use available software that is accessible to blind employees like himself. Both parties agree that Section 794d of the Rehabilitation Act generally requires federal agencies, including the FBI, to use technology that is accessible to employees with disabilities. But the district court dismissed Appellant's action on the ground that the Rehabilitation Act does not give him any right to bring a lawsuit against the FBI to enforce that obligation.

The DC Circuit reversed. The court held that the plain text of Section 794d extends a private right of action to all persons with disabilities who file administrative complaints requesting accessible technology and who seek only injunctive and declaratory relief. The court explained that Congress amended 29 U.S.C. Section 794d to make sure that agencies would fulfill their responsibility to procure technology that allows employees with disabilities to participate fully in the workplace. To enforce that duty, Congress expressly provided a private right of action to any individual with a disability, including a federal employee, who first files an administrative complaint about inaccessible technology-a group of which Appellant is undoubtedly a member.