[NFB-NM] National Federation of the Blind Supports Blind Healthcare Worker's Discrimination Claim

Tue Mar 14 03:54:45 UTC 2017

From: NFBNet-Members-List [mailto:nfbnet-members-list-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of National Federation of the Blind via NFBNet-Members-List
Sent: Monday, March 13, 2017 4:35 PM
To: nfbnet-members-list at nfbnet.org
Subject: [Nfbnet-members-list] National Federation of the Blind Supports
Blind Healthcare Worker's Discrimination Claim

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:

Chris Danielsen

Director of Public Relations

National Federation of the Blind

(410) 659-9314, extension 2330

(410) 262-1281 (Cell)

cdanielsen at nfb.org

National Federation of the Blind Supports Blind Healthcare Worker's
Discrimination Claim

Blind Man Unable to Perform his Job Due to Inaccessible Software

Boston (March 13, 2017): With the assistance of the National Federation of
the Blind, the nation's leading advocate for the civil rights of blind
people, Manuel G. Morse has brought suit in Suffolk County Superior Court
(Docket No. 1784CV00773) against his employer, Brigham and Women's Hospital,
Inc. (BWH); its corporate parent, Partners Healthcare Systems, Inc.; and
Epic Systems Corporation, a maker of software used at BWH and throughout the
healthcare industry. Mr. Morse's lawsuit alleges that he is unable to do his
job as a hospital dispatcher because Epic's software is not compatible with
the text-to-speech screen reading technology that he uses on his workplace
computer, and that his employer and Epic are aware of the problem but have
refused to take all appropriate steps to remedy it. Mr. Morse has been on
indefinite paid leave since May of 2015 because of this issue. His lawsuit
alleges violations of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151B, § 4, and the Massachusetts
Equal Rights Act (MERA).

Mark A. Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said:
"While improvements to workplace technology can benefit all workers,
including the blind, if they are properly designed and implemented,
inaccessible technology can and does threaten the ability of blind people to
obtain and maintain employment. The problem is universal but is particularly
vexing in the healthcare sector, where one of the defendants in this lawsuit
is a leading provider of software being used in healthcare facilities. The
National Federation of the Blind is willing to work with any technology
vendor or employer who wishes to ensure that its technology can be used by
everyone. At the same time, we cannot and will not tolerate unnecessarily
sidelining a skilled healthcare worker who is unable to do his job because
of a problem he did not create and was completely avoidable. We will fight
for Mr. Morse and for other blind people who find themselves in this
untenable situation."

Mr. Morse said: "Until May 27, 2015, I was a loyal, dependable, and
productive employee of Brigham and Women's Hospital who loved my job. I felt
that I was helping the hospital staff and patients and contributing to
society at large. Now I sit at home and wonder if I will be able to work
again. I am being compensated, but money is not the issue. I feel abandoned
by my employer and as if I have no purpose or value. Since my own efforts to
persuade my employers and Epic to act have failed, I must rely on the laws
and courts of Massachusetts to help me get back to work."

Mr. Morse is represented, with the support of the National Federation of the
Blind, by Christine M. Netski of the Boston firm Sugarman, Rogers, Barshak &
Cohen, P.C., and by Daniel F. Goldstein, Joseph B. Espo, and Albert Elia of
the Baltimore firm Brown, Goldstein & Levy LLP. 

###

About the National Federation of the Blind

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back.

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