Montgomery County violated federal law by failing to provide a blind
woman computer software that would have allowed her to continue to work
as an information specialist in a county call center, a jury ruled
Friday.
When the county decided to consolidate the Department of Health and
Human Services call center, where Yasmin Reyazuddin worked, into the
county’s 311 call center, officials refused to integrate the screen
access software Reyazuddin had been using, which allowed her to access
computer programs that converted information on a computer screen into
synthesized speech or Braille.
Instead, the county denied her a job in the 311 center and relegated
her to a lower-level position where she lacked meaningful work, said Joe
Espo, an attorney for Reyazuddin.
“The verdict demonstrates that simply saying, ‘We got new software,
and it’s difficult to make it usable,’ is not an adequate response to
individuals with disabilities in the workforce,” said Espo, a partner
with Brown, Goldstein & Levy LLP in Baltimore. “Employers should
think about accessibility when they’re purchasing software and when
they’re configuring it for use.”
...
In Reyazuddin’s case, she was at first given no work assignments once
she was relegated to the lower-level position, according to her
complaint. She requested additional tasks but still was not given more
than four hours of work in each eight-hour day, her lawsuit claimed.
“Giving someone a paycheck is not a reasonable accommodation,” Espo
said. “It’s not just a paycheck – it’s the opportunity to do meaningful
work and have the same advancement and promotional opportunities as
others in similar positions do. It’s very hard to demonstrate competence
and achievement and to present yourself for advancement if what you’re
doing is a bunch of make-work and supervisors don’t want you around.
It’s hard to excel at doing nothing.”
http://thedailyrecord.com/2016/03/01/jury-montgomery-co-failed-to-reasonably-accommodate-to-blind-worker/
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