[nfbmi-talk] Greyhound Lawsuit

[Martha Moore]

Another Interesting Article....... Martha Moore, MPA, DTMEmbrace Today and be a Change AgentGreyhound Admits Cheating People with DisabilitiesShare this:Published March 1,2016By Frank Kineavy
Greyhound BusIn response to a Justice Department complaintplaced in mid-February, Greyhound Lines Inc., a bus transportation companyserving over 3,800 destinations in North America, will reimburse passengerswith disabilities on top of paying fines for allegedly violating the Americanswith Disabilities Act (ADA). The agreement is currently pending approval by theU.S. District Court in Wilmington, Delaware.According to the case, Greyhound violatedTitle III of the ADA, which was passed just over 25 years ago. The allegationssurfaced after Greyhound poorly maintained accessibility features such aswheelchair lifts and securement devices, as well as had inadequate customerservice to people with disabilities, including neglecting to provide assistancegetting on and off the bus. In addition, the bus service failed to provideonline travel reservations for passengers using wheelchairs.As a result of the deal made between Greyhoundand the Justice Department, the company is required to pay specific individualschosen by the Department a combined sum of $300,000. A civil penalty of $75,000 for neglecting to provide online travel options is also included.Greyhound is also hiring a claims adjustor to settle with any customers whoexperienced discrimination against their disability within the past threeyears. While the Justice Department has already identified the recipients ofthe $300,000, there is no cap on how many additional customers can also file acomplaint if they have been discriminated against by Greyhound within the pastthree years as well.According to the ADA’swebsite, Greyhound also agreed to several other conditions in thesettlement, including hiring a person in charge of ADA compliance, mandatingboth an ADA training for all employees who interact with the public and atraining on how to use the company’s accessibility features (both trainingsmust be implemented by April 30 and then take place every year) and making suredisability-related requests can be made via online reservations.Greyhound will submit a report to the DOJdetailing its progress every three months.The company, providing service to over 18million passengers a year, denied violating the ADA and said it went into theagreement “voluntarily” in order to further easier travel for customers withdisabilities: “We recognize the importance of making travel easy and accessiblefor customers with disabilities and we’re fully committed to ensuring thatcustomers with disabilities have equal access to our services,” a statementfrom Greyhound said. “We’ve made numerous improvements over the years to maketravel as convenient and hassle-free as possible and we will continue to makeenhancements to our service that benefit customers who need extra assistance.”Kristi Avalos, president and CEO ofAccessology — a Texas-based national accessibility consulting firm — expressedher disappointment that “non-compliance has become more and more difficult todefend” even so many years after the signage of the ADA.“We recommend all entities accept that the lawwill not go away and insert compliance into their culture to ensure it becomespart of the fiber of development,” Avalos said. “This takes some up frontthought and effort but becomes an embraced part of the intricate culture ofevery entity and makes all in the community feel important and welcomed.”The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Divisionsaid in response to the agreement, “The ADA guarantees people with disabilitiesequal access to transportation services so that they can travel freely andenjoy autonomy. Today’s agreement marks a major step toward fulfilling thepromise of the ADA, and we applaud Greyhound for entering the consent decree.”
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