[nagdu] The Justice Department today announced a Federal Court has Approved.

[Marion Gwizdala]

Jewel,
    Consent decrees are public record and are generally posted on the DOJ's 
website

HTTP://WWW.ADA.GOV

If you find it, please post it to the list!

Fraternally yours,
Marion


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jewel S." <herekittykat2 at gmail.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, March 31, 2010 7:16 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] The Justice Department today announced a Federal Court 
has Approved.


>A great success for service animals everywhere! I wonder what the law
> office's reason for barring the service dog was? Does it say anywhere?
>
> ~Jewel
>
> On 3/31/10, cheryl echevarria <cherylandmaxx at hotmail.com> wrote:
>> WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department today announced a federal court has
>> approved a consent decree resolving an Americans with Disabilities Act 
>> (ADA)
>> discrimination
>> lawsuit against attorney Patric LeHouillier and his law firm, LeHouillier 
>> &
>> Associates, P.C., based in Colorado Springs, Colo. The consent decree was
>> approved
>> by Judge Marcia S. Krieger in U.S. District Court for the District of
>> Colorado.
>>
>> In its November 2009 complaint, the Justice Department alleged that
>> LeHouillier and his firm violated Title III of the ADA when they 
>> unlawfully
>> barred a woman, her husband and her attorney from entering LeHouillier's 
>> law
>> office for a deposition because the woman was accompanied by her service
>> animal, an Australian Shepherd dog. The woman, who is a veterinarian, has 
>> a
>> traumatic brain injury and other conditions that affect mobility and
>> balance, and individually trained her service animal to provide
>> disability-related assistance.
>>
>> Under the terms of the consent decree, LeHouillier and his firm will:
>>
>> List of 6 items
>> . Adopt an ADA-compliant service animal policy and post the policy in a
>> conspicuous location;
>> . Post a "Service Animals Welcome" sign;
>> . Self-report allegations of discrimination to the department;
>> . Undergo training and provide training to staff;
>> . Pay $30,000 to the complainant and $10,000 to her husband as a person
>> associated with a person with a disability; and
>> . Pay a $10,000 civil penalty.
>> list end
>>
>> "For almost two decades, the ADA has ensured that individuals with
>> disabilities are guaranteed full and equal access to public 
>> accommodations,
>> both large
>> and small," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the 
>> Civil
>> Rights Division. "The Justice Department is unrelenting in eradicate
>> discrimination
>> against people with disabilities and ensuring that owners and operators 
>> of
>> public accommodations recognize their obligations to provide equal 
>> access."
>>
>> A service animal is any animal individually trained to work or perform 
>> tasks
>> for the benefit of an individual with a disability. Service animals - 
>> most
>> commonly dogs - perform a wide variety of functions. Examples of these
>> functions include guiding persons who are blind or have low vision; 
>> alerting
>> individuals
>> who are deaf or hard of hearing to sounds; warning persons about 
>> impending
>> seizures or other medical conditions; performing a variety of tasks for
>> persons
>> with psychiatric disabilities and picking up items, opening doors, 
>> flipping
>> switches, providing physical support and pulling wheelchairs for 
>> individuals
>> with mobility disabilities.
>>
>> More information about today's lawsuit, the ADA, rights and 
>> responsibilities
>> under the ADA relating to service animals, and instructions on filing an 
>> ADA
>> complaint with the Justice Department is available on the ADA home page 
>> at
>> www.ada.gov. This information includes two publications specifically
>> addressing
>> service animal access: "ADA Business Brief: Service Animals" and 
>> "Commonly
>> Asked Questions About Service Animals in Places of Business."
>>
>> Those interested in obtaining copies of these documents or additional
>> information about the ADA can also call the Justice Department's 
>> toll-free
>> ADA Information
>> Line (800) 514-0301 or (800) 514-0383 (TTY).
>>
>> Cheryl Echevarria
>> Independent Travel Consultant
>> http://Echevarriatravel.com<http://echevarriatravel.com/>
>> 1-866-580-5574
>>
>> http://blog.echevarriatravel.com<http://blog.echevarriatravel.com/>
>> Reservations at echevarriatravel.com<mailto:Reservations at echevarriatravel.com>
>> Affiliated as an Independent Contractor with Montrose Travel 
>> CST-1018299-10
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>
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