[nfbmi-talk] FW: [Nfbnet-members-list] Screen Readers and Federal Employees

[Terry D. Eagle]

EEOC WINS $8 MILLION JURY VERDICT FOR BLIND WORKER IN DISABILITY BIAS CASE 
AGAINST ECHOSTAR



DENVER - After a three-day trial, a 12-person jury returned an $8 million 
verdict in federal court today for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity 
Commission

(EEOC) in a lawsuit alleging that EchoStar Communications Corp. (EchoStar) 
violated the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) when it refused 
to

provide a reasonable accommodation to Dale Alton, a qualified blind 
employee. EchoStar, based in Englewood, Colorado, is a provider of advanced 
digital

television services.



The jury verdict awards $2,000 in back pay, $5,000 in compensatory damages, 
and $8 million in punitive damages for Mr. Alton. In the trial, presided 
over

by Judge Richard P. Matsch, the plaintiffs alleged the following:

List of 4 items

. EchoStar failed to accommodate Mr. Alton in the application process;

. EchoStar failed to accommodate Mr. Alton in the job by never trying to 
install adaptative software;

. EchoStar denied Mr. Alton an employment opportunity because of his 
disability or because of the need to provide him an accommodation; and

. EchoStar violated a section of the ADA when it failed to use a proper 
testing device to determine an applicant's skills.

list end



"This verdict should remind employers that refusing to abide by the law in 
accommodating individuals with disabilities can be costly," said Joseph 
Mitchell,

Regional Attorney of the EEOC's Denver District Office. "Many individuals 
with disabilities, such as Dale Alton, are ready, eager and able to work. 
All

they need is the opportunity to do the job without discriminatory barriers 
based on myths, fears and stereotypes. Employers must remember that 
disability

does not mean inability."



In the trial, the plaintiffs presented evidence that Mr. Alton, who is 
blind, applied for a customer service representative job at EchoStar in 
1999. Prior

to applying, Mr. Alton had completed training at the Colorado Center for the

Blind for that very type of position. Blind individuals can perform the 
customer

service representative job by using a computer program called JAWS (Job 
Access With Speech), which translates text into speech. A blind customer 
service

rep uses a split headset, in which he hears the JAWS voice in one ear, and 
the customer conversation in the other ear. Using JAWS, people with vision 
impairments

can process written language at 400 to 700 words per minute, which is faster

than many sighted individuals read. At trial, the plaintiffs' expert, Nelson

Reiser, demonstrated to the jury how JAWS works.



When Mr. Alton first went to EchoStar to apply, EchoStar told him it would 
not do him any good to put in an application because they were not set up to

handle blind people. However, after receiving a copy of his charge of 
discrimination, EchoStar invited Mr. Alton back and put him through a sham 
interview

process that included a Braille test, which was longer and more difficult 
that the test given sighted people, and a Windows skill test that consisted 
of

a person giving him directions on how to access icons, such as "move to the 
left, move down, now click."



Much of the testimony related to whether, if EchoStar had tried to install 
JAWS in 1999, it could have worked. EchoStar asserted that JAWS could not 
have

worked because of the complexity of the software environment. Contrary 
evidence presented by plaintiffs reflected that, in 1999, numerous employers

in

Denver such as Norwest Bank, American Express, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and

MCI had installed JAWS and employed blind customer service representatives

at their call centers.



Dale Gaar, Mr. Alton's private lawyer, said, "This verdict is very rewarding

because it has the potential for opening thousands of customer service 
representative

jobs to qualified blind people around the country."



According to its web site, www.echostar.com, "EchoStar Communications 
Corporation (Nasdaq:DISH) serves more than 11.2 million satellite TV 
customers through

its DISH Network(TM), and is a leading U.S. provider of advanced digital 
television services. DISH Network's services include hundreds of video and 
audio

channels, Interactive TV, HDTV, sports and international programming, 
together with professional installation and 24-hour customer service. 
EchoStar has

been a leader for 25 years in satellite TV equipment sales and support 
worldwide. EchoStar is included in the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) and is a 
Fortune 500

company."



EEOC is the federal agency responsible for enforcing the federal statutes 
which prohibit employment discrimination, including Title VII of the Civil 
Rights

Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, sex, 
national origin, or religion; the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 
which prohibits

job discrimination based on the existence or perception of a disability; the

Age Discrimination in Employment Act, which prohibits discrimination against

persons age 40 and over; and the Equal Pay Act (EPA), which prohibits wage 
discrimination based on sex. The EEOC's Denver District Office, located at 
303

East 17th Avenue, Suite 510, in Denver, enforces the anti-discrimination 
laws in Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and 
Wyoming.

Further information about the Commission is available on its web site at

www.eeoc.gov.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Terry D. Eagle" <terrydeagle at yahoo.com>
To: "'joe harcz Comcast'" <joeharcz at comcast.net>
Sent: Thursday, January 15, 2015 8:50 PM
Subject: FW: [Nfbnet-members-list] Screen Readers and Federal Employees


>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Nfbnet-members-list [mailto:nfbnet-members-list-bounces at nfbnet.org] 
> On
> Behalf Of by way of David Andrews <dandrews--- via Nfbnet-members-list
> Sent: Thursday, January 15, 2015 7:44 PM
> To: nfbnet-members-list at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [Nfbnet-members-list] Screen Readers and Federal Employees
>
>
> Announcement
>
> Dear NFB Members:
>
> In the Private Sector, between 2002 through 2006,  the U.S. Equal 
> Employment
> Opportunity represent6d Dale Alton, a blind job applicant who was
> discriminated against by a potential employer, EchoStar Communications 
> Corp
> located in Denver Colorado. EEOC's expert witness informed the jury that
> with the
> help of JAWS the blind can learn to read four hundred times
> faster than normally sighted person.  The jur;y awarded Dale Alton an 
> eight
> million dollar verdict and EEPC provided support
> to EchoStar Communications Corp. to install Jaws on its computer system.
> With certainty EEOC' representation resulted in a landmark legal precedent
> that Sreen Readers in particular JAWS is an "effective" reasonable
> accommodation for blind employees.
>
> However, in the Public Sector, I would like to hear from you about
> screen readers in federal, state, county, and city government.
>
> Did the particular Screen Reader that you requested work with the 
> government
> issued computer and its intranet?
>
> Did you encounter technical difficulties?
>
> If so, were the technical difficulties fixed?
>
> Did EEOC provide technical support to the
> government employer as it did to EchoStar
> Communications Corp.?
>
> I want to hear from NFB Members, please
> tell me all about your Screen Readers and
> government employment experiences.
>
> Thank you,
>
> Carin Memm
> (818) 593-9938
> carinmemm at aol.com
>
>