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<font face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=4><b>FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE<br><br>
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CONTACT:<br><br>
</b>Scott C. LaBarre, Esq.<br><br>
LaBarre Law Offices<br><br>
(303) 520-3584<br><br>
<a href="mailto:slabarre@labarrelaw.com">slabarre@labarrelaw.com</a><br>
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</font><div align="center"><h1><font size=4><b>National Federation of the
Blind Supports Blind Machinist <br>
in Employment Discrimination Suit Against Railroad</b></font></h1></div>
<font face="Helvetica, Helvetica"><b>Omaha, Nebraska (July 25, 2011):</b>
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 (</font>Case No.
8:05CV552)<font face="Helvetica, Helvetica"> 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.<br><br>
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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.”<br><br>
<br><br>
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." <br><br>
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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. <br><br>
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About the National Federation of the Blind<br><br>
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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.<br><br>
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