[Ohio-talk] fyi

[Richard Payne]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Walmart Sued by Blind Maryland Residents over Self-Service Checkout Kiosks
National Federation of the Blind and Its Maryland Affiliate Also Plaintiffs
 
Baltimore, Maryland (October 26, 2018): When Cynthia Morales and her
boyfriend Linwood Boyd, who are both blind, made a routine trip to a Walmart
in Owings Mills in late July of 2017, they didn't expect to have to get the
police involved.
But that was the result of a chain of events that began with Ms. Morales
trying to use one of the self-service checkout kiosks that Walmart makes
available to shoppers as an alternative to waiting in line for a cashier.
Although the kiosks do issue some spoken prompts, those prompts don't
provide enough information for a blind person to use the machines
independently. Ultimately, Ms. Morales asked for help from a Walmart
employee, who completed the checkout transaction but also, unbeknownst to
Ms. Morales and Mr. Boyd, requested forty dollars in cash back, which the
employee pocketed. Because no audio prompt gave Ms. Morales the total of her
transaction, she didn't realize anything was wrong until the machine audibly
prompted the user to take the money. Ms. Morales and Mr. Boyd then had a
bystander outside the store read them the receipt; at that point, they
realized they had been charged an additional forty dollars. The money was
ultimately returned, but Ms. Morales and Mr. Boyd decided to do their
regular shopping at a Walmart Supercenter in Randallstown from then on.
Now they, together with Melissa Sheeder-another blind Marylander; the
National Federation of the blind (NFB); and the National Federation of the
Blind of Maryland (NFB-MD) are suing Walmart under the Americans with
Disabilities Act. The suit asks the Maryland federal district court to order
the giant retailer to make its self-service checkout kiosks fully accessible
to blind shoppers.
Similar devices, such as ATMs, Amtrak ticket kiosks, and airline check-in
kiosks, as well as some point-of-sale terminals like those in the back of
many taxicabs, can be used independently by blind people. Usually voice
prompts are spoken through headphones, and blind users respond with tactile
keypads or accessible touch screens. The NFB has offered to work with
Walmart to make its kiosks accessible, but Walmart has declined the offer.
"What happened to Cindy Morales is an extreme example of what can occur when
companies like Walmart deploy inaccessible self-checkout or point-of-sale
technology," said Mark Riccobono, President of the National Federation of
the Blind. "The real problem is that Walmart has decided to treat blind
customers differently from sighted customers. Walmart's refusal to deploy
readily available technology to give blind shoppers the same choice sighted
shoppers have-whether to check ourselves out or visit a cashier-makes us
second-class customers. That is unlawful and unacceptable."
The plaintiffs are represented by Eve L. Hill, Jessica P. Weber, and Chelsea
J. Crawford of the Baltimore law firm Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP.
###
About the National Federation of the Blind 
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 www.nfb.org <http://www.nfb.org> . 
CONTACT: 
Chris Danielsen
Director of Public Relations
National Federation of the Blind
(410) 659-9314, extension 2330
(410) 262-1281 (cell)
cdanielsen at nfb.org <mailto:cdanielsen at nfb.org> 
 
 


Richard Payne,  President
National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
937-396-5573or 937/829/3368
Rchpay7 at gmail.com
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


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