[nfbwatlk] FW: [List] FW: National Federation of the Blind Supports Blind Machinist in Employment Discrimination Suit Against Railroad

[Mike Freeman]

From: list-bounces at cfb.ca [mailto:list-bounces at cfb.ca] On Behalf Of Mary
Ellen
Sent: Monday, July 25, 2011 9:43 AM
To: list at cfb.ca
Subject: [List] FW: National Federation of the Blind Supports Blind
Machinist in Employment Discrimination Suit Against Railroad

 

 

 

  _____  

From: National Federation of the Blind [mailto:jfreeh at nfb.org] 
Sent: July 25, 2011 9:21 AM
To: gabias at telus.net
Subject: National Federation of the Blind Supports Blind Machinist in
Employment Discrimination Suit Against Railroad


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.

 


    

  Unsubscribe <http://www.nfb.org/NU.asp?ID=95&EM=gabias@telus.net> .

-------------- next part --------------
An embedded and charset-unspecified text was scrubbed...
Name: Untitled attachment 00073.txt
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbwatlk_nfbnet.org/attachments/20110725/474650c1/attachment.txt>