[NFBF-L] Letter to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Regarding Discriminatory

[Paul Lewis]

I would like to offer the following response to the above email. When I was working as a retail store, manager, part of my duties was to interview applicants for the store.. in the interview process, an applicant could be question if they had a drivers license more as a way of identifying their age, and not necessarily in regards to their way that they would get to work. Obviously, if the job they were applying for would require that they drive a vehicle, and they would certainly need to prove they have the right to drive the types of vehicle that would be required to fill the job requirements.. in my role, and in the positions that I would be interviewing, for I would also ask her could ask if they had a state ID which would provide the same identification. Drivers licenses and state IDs provide proof of age which can be necessary for right to do certain types of employment, as well as making purchases and facilities that they are entitled to enter.. in my case, I would ask if the applicant have the ability to get to work on time and would be able to work the hours that would be required. There are federal laws and state laws that govern hiring practices, and I cannot verify how I conducted an interview or a completely in line with existing laws.. however, I did feel that I was compliant with the spirit, if not with the actual raw, as I did, not none of the lies verbatim, but even at that point, which could’ve been previous field me becoming disabled or to the writer of the law. Unfortu Unfortunately, as some ADA representatives that I have gotten to know., I do not know the law, or God’s word for word. To summarize, in my interview process when I would ask if they had a drivers license it was a sense of proving age of eligibility to perform a job that times was needed to fill an application and not having anything to do with the ability to actually drive a vehicle. . It will be interesting when autonomous driving vehicles become part of the landscape.
Sincerely, Paul Lewis

Sent from my iPhone

> On Apr 4, 2023, at 8:10 PM, DENISE VALKEMA via NFBF-L <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> 
> March 21, 2023
> The Honorable Charlotte Burrows
> Chair
> United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 131 M Street, NE
> Washington, DC 20507
> RE: 29 CFR § 1630.10 - Qualification standards, tests, and other selection criteria Dear Chair Burrows:
> The National Federation of the Blind requests that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reconsider the rule at 29 C.F.R. Section 1630.10 to address a discriminatory employment qualification used by numerous employers all across the United States wherein employers require all applicants for a position to possess a valid driver’s license even when driving is not an essential function of the job. The National Federation of the Blind is the transformative membership and advocacy organization of blind Americans, with the goal of complete integration of the blind into society on the basis of equality. The Federation has spent a large portion of its 82 year history combating discrimination and low expectations in the workplace.
> According to the American Medical Association, “All states have visual acuity requirements for licensure.”1 We understand the need for states to require specific visual acuity standards to operate a vehicle and, therefore, obtain a driver’s license. Until automated vehicles where no driver input is required are widely available, this is a necessity which automatically precludes blind and low vision individuals from acquiring said license. However, based upon the language of the ADA (42 U.S.C. § 12113(c)) and the accompanying regulation,2 a driver’s license is a qualification standard or selection criterion “based on an individual’s uncorrected vision.” When an employer requires an individual to possess a driver’s license as a condition of employment for a position where driving is not an essential function,3 the employer is in direct violation of the law.
> The EEOC has released an informal discussion letter from 2006, stating:
> Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), an employer may impose qualification standards that are job-related and consistent with business necessity. 29 C.F.R. §1630.10. As explained in the appendix to the ADA regulations, “the purpose of this provision is to ensure that individuals with disabilities are not excluded from job opportunities unless they
> 1 Paul G. Steinkuller, “Legal Vision Requirements for Drivers in the United States,” Virtual Mentor 12, no. 12 (December 2010): 939.
> 2 29 CFR § 1630.10.
> 3 29 CFR § 1630.2(n)
> https://nfb.org/sites/nfb.org/files/2023-03/EEOC-Drivers-License-Reconsideration-3-21-2023.pdf
> 
> 
> <EEOC-Drivers-License-Reconsideration-3-21-2023.pdf>
> 
> 
> 
> Denise Valkema
> (305)972-8529
> 
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