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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<h1><b><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:windowtext">Blind Woman and EEOC Settle Lawsuit against California Hospital<o:p></o:p></span></b></h1>
<p class="MsoSubtitle"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:windowtext">National Federation of the Blind Commends Consent Decree<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Baltimore (September 20, 2019):</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> Alina Sorling, a blind food service technician, has settled the lawsuit
she brought against California’s Dignity Health for employment discrimination with the assistance of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the National Federation of the Blind. Ms. Sorling filed suit after she was fired from her job at Dignity
Health’s Mercy Medical Center in Redding, California, after losing her vision and requesting reasonable accommodations to continue working there.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">The three-year consent decree settling the lawsuit provides $570,000 to Ms. Sorling in lost wages, compensatory damages and attorneys’ fees, and requires Dignity Health to update
its policies, procedures and training on the process for considering and providing reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities. The company will provide anti-discrimination training to all leadership and employees, including specific immersion
training under sleep shades on how blind employees accomplish various tasks for the director of Mercy Medical center; make its policies available to all employees; report all complaints of disability discrimination to the EEOC for the duration of the consent
decree; and post a notice for employees about the decree and employees’ rights under federal law.
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">“The National Federation of the blind commends this comprehensive consent decree and all who worked to reach this favorable resolution,” said Mark Riccobono, President of the
National Federation of the Blind. “As we said when suit was filed, Alina Sorling’s ability to work in food service did not diminish when she lost her sight, and this result rectifies the injustice that was done to her. We hope and believe that the consent
decree will not only make Ms. Sorling whole but also prevent discrimination against blind workers in the future and ensure nondiscriminatory hiring and employment practices at Mercy Medical Center and Dignity Health’s other Northern California facilities.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">###<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">About the National Federation of the Blind
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), headquartered in Baltimore, is the oldest and largest nationwide organization of blind Americans. Founded in 1940, the NFB consists
of affiliates, chapters, and divisions in the fifty states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico. The NFB defends the rights of blind people of all ages and provides information and support to families with blind children, older Americans who are losing vision,
and more. We believe in the hopes and dreams of blind people and work together to transform them into reality. Learn more about our many programs and initiatives at
</span><a href="http://www.nfb.org"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">www.nfb.org</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">.
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">CONTACT:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Chris Danielsen<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Director of Public Relations<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">National Federation of the Blind<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">(410) 659-9314, extension 2330<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">(410) 262-1281 (Cell)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="mailto:cdanielsen@nfb.org"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">cdanielsen@nfb.org</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Christopher S. Danielsen, J.D.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Director of Public Relations<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">(410) 659-9314, Ext. 2330 | <a href="mailto:cdanielsen@nfb.org">
cdanielsen@nfb.org</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Twitter: @rlawyer <o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://nfb.org/"><span style="color:blue;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="262" height="95" style="width:2.7291in;height:.9895in" id="_x0000_i1025" src="https://nfb.org/images/nfb/images/email/2/nfblogo.png" alt="National Federation of the Blind"></span></a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblind">
<span style="color:blue;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="30" height="30" style="width:.3125in;height:.3125in" id="_x0000_i1026" src="https://nfb.org/images/nfb/images/email/2/facebook.png" alt="Facebook"></span></a> <a href="https://twitter.com/NFB_Voice"><span style="color:blue;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="30" height="30" style="width:.3125in;height:.3125in" id="_x0000_i1027" src="https://nfb.org/images/nfb/images/email/2/twitter.png" alt="Twitter"></span></a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/NationsBlind"><span style="color:blue;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="30" height="30" style="width:.3125in;height:.3125in" id="_x0000_i1028" src="https://nfb.org/images/nfb/images/email/2/youtube.png" alt="Youtube"></span></a><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation’s blind. Every day we work together to help blind people live the lives they want.
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