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<h1><b>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</b></h1><b> <br><br>
CONTACT:<br><br>
</b>Chris Danielsen<br><br>
Director of Public Relations <br><br>
National Federation of the Blind<br><br>
(410) 659-9314, extension 2330<br><br>
(410) 262-1281 (Cell)<br><br>
<a href="mailto:cdanielsen@nfb.org">cdanielsen@nfb.org</a><br><br>
<h1><b> <br><br>
<br>
<div align="center">National Federation of the Blind Applauds Jury
Verdict for Montgomery County Woman<br><br>
<br>
</b></h1><h2><b> <br><br>
<br>
Jury Finds County Discriminated Against Blind
Employee</i></b></h2></div>
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<b>Greenbelt, Maryland (February 29,2016)</b>: The National Federation of
the Blind, the nation's leading advocate for equal access to employment
and technology for the blind, today applauded a jury verdict reached in
the matter of Yasmin Reyazuddin vs. Montgomery County (Civil Action No.
8:11-cv-00951-DKC) in federal district court Friday afternoon. The jury
found that the county failed to provide Ms. Reyazuddin, who is blind,
with a reasonable accommodation, as required by the Rehabilitation Act of
1973, by refusing to implement accessible software so that she could
continue to work as an information specialist in the county's 311 call
center. Ms. Reyazuddin worked in the call center of the County’s
Department of Health and Human Services until the County consolidated
that call center and others into its Montgomery County 311 Call Center.
Ms. Reyazuddin had been using screen access software, which converts
information on a computer screen into synthesized speech or into Braille
that can be displayed on a device known as a refreshable Braille display,
to access the computer programs with which she needed to interact in
order to provide accurate information to callers, keep records of calls,
and perform other tasks necessary for resolving the concerns of callers.
When she learned that her agency’s call center would be consolidated into
the County’s new 311 call center, she repeatedly inquired of County
officials whether the software for the new call center would be
accessible and provided information to the County about accessible
solutions. The county ultimately procured call center software that was
not accessibly configured. Thereafter, the County refused to implement
the necessary changes. As a result, instead of being transferred to the
new 311 call center, Ms. Reyazuddin was transferred to make-work
positions which, at best, involved duties that only filled roughly half
of her eight-hour work day. Ms. Reyazuddin filed suit with the assistance
of the National Federation of the Blind in April of 2011. In addition to
its finding that Montgomery County failed to reasonably accommodate Ms.
Reyazuddin, the jury found that the failure to transfer her to the
customer service center was an adverse employment action. The jury
rejected the county's defense that it would have been an undue hardship
to make the customer service center accessible to Ms. Reyazuddin. Ms.
Reyazuddin will now proceed before the Court to seek injunctive relief
ordering the County to make the software accessible.<br>
<br>
Mark A. Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind,
said: "Blindness does not define an individual or his or her
capacity to contribute in the workplace, and this was demonstrated by
Yasmin Reyazuddin's ten years of service to Montgomery County prior to
this debacle. The only thing that prevented her from continuing to be an
effective employee was the county's failure to provide the reasonable
accommodation of accessible technology, as the jury found after careful
deliberation. This case underscores the critical importance of accessible
technology for the success of blind workers in the modern workplace.
Generally, as in this case, procuring and deploying such technology does
not place an undue burden on employers. I encourage all employers to take
steps to ensure that their workplace technologies are accessible at the
time they are first implemented so that the technology does not erect an
artificial barrier to people who are blind.”<br>
<br>
Ms. Reyazuddin said: "I am grateful to the men and women of the jury
for their time and their careful consideration of my case. My only desire
throughout this litigation has been to work at my full capacity and serve
the good people of Montgomery County by providing them with the
information they need. Thanks to this verdict, I believe that I will soon
be able to achieve this goal."<br>
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Ms. Reyazuddin is represented by Joseph B. Espo and Daniel F. Goldstein
of the Baltimore firm Brown, Goldstein, and Levy LLP, and by Timothy R.
Elder of the TRE Legal Practice of Fremont, California.<br>
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<br>
<b>About the National Federation of the Blind <br>
<br>
</b>The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back.<br><br>
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