[Nfbn-announce] National Federation of the Blind Supports Blind Machinist in Employment Discrimination Suit Against Railroad
Freeh, Jessica
JFreeh at nfb.org
Tue Jul 26 06:25:24 UTC 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Scott C. LaBarre, Esq.
LaBarre Law Offices
(303) 520-3584
<mailto:slabarre at labarrelaw.com>slabarre at labarrelaw.com
National Federation of the Blind Supports Blind Machinist
in Employment Discrimination Suit Against Railroad
Omaha, Nebraska (July 25, 2011): With the assistance of the National
Federation of the Blind, Frank Hohn, a legally blind locomotive
machinist from Hemmingford Village, Nebraska, is taking his
discrimination case (Case No. 8:05CV552) against Burlington Northern
Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) to a jury trial tomorrow. The trial will be
held before the Honorable United States District Court Judge Lyle
Strom. In 2004, BNSF removed Mr. Hohn from his job as a diesel
locomotive mechanic, claiming that his visual impairment put his and
others' health at risk on the job, even though there was no evidence
that Mr. Hohn had difficulty on the job or had ever endangered
himself or anyone else. Mr. Hohn has worked safely in machinist
positions for over three decades and has never suffered an injury
because of his blindness. Since removing Mr. Hohn from his job, BNSF
has refused to allow him an opportunity to complete an on-site work
evaluation with the help of the Nebraska Commission for the Blind and
Visually Impaired. Such an evaluation would determine the
accommodations that Mr. Hohn might need, if any.
Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind,
said: "On the twenty-first anniversary of the passage of the
Americans with Disabilities Act, we stand with Mr. Hohn to combat
discrimination on the basis of blindness. Far too often, employers
use unfounded fears about the safety of the blind to prevent us from
obtaining jobs or to remove us from jobs we are well qualified to
do. The National Federation of the Blind is committed to putting an
end to this kind of discrimination, which is based on erroneous
assumptions about the blind rather than on facts and evidence."
Mr. Hohn said: "I look forward to telling a jury how much I loved my
job and how my disability has never stopped me from working in the
mechanical fields."
Mr. Hohn is being represented with the support of the National
Federation of the Blind by Scott C. LaBarre of the Denver firm
LaBarre Law Offices, and Timothy R. Elder of the Baltimore firm
Brown, Goldstein and Levy, LLP.
###
About the National Federation of the Blind
With more than 50,000 members, the National Federation of the Blind
is the largest and most influential membership organization of blind
people in the United States. The NFB improves blind people's lives
through advocacy, education, research, technology, and programs
encouraging independence and self-confidence. It is the leading
force in the blindness field today and the voice of the nations
blind. In January 2004 the NFB opened the National Federation of the
Blind Jernigan Institute, the first research and training center in
the United States for the blind led by the blind.
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