Category Archives: Public Accommodations
Disability Discrimination Ordinance Has More Teeth Than A Denture Provider
A law with teeth is more powerful than a pair of dentures. – On July 18, 2016, Mr. McDowell filed a complaint against Affordable Dentures for disability discrimination in violation of the Housing and the Places of Public Accommodation Ordinance. The County did a full investigation and made a finding that Mr. McDowell was the subject of discrimination on March 7, 2017, and with the facilitation of the Palm Beach Office of Equal Opportunity, entered into a Conciliation agreement
Featured Issue: Elevators & Elevators in Parking Garages
An alternative option should be provided immediately when an accessible element is not available. A governmental entity must make its programs or services, and a public accommodation must make its goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations, available through alternative methods such as (1) providing curb service or home delivery; (2) retrieving merchandise from inaccessible shelves or racks; and (3) relocating activities to accessible locations.
Miami Herald 5/19/23 Op-Ed–Take Steps
An adequate transportation system that provides equal access is an essential component to ensuring persons with disabilities can live independently.
Accessibility & Awareness in Architectural Design
Provisions for accessible elements should not just stem from mandates, but precisely be the result of careful thought and awareness. Only then will that stylish, hip restaurant recognize accessibility as a positive and incorporate its elements not simply as an afterthought … but as a jeweled accent in its overall brand design.
Paralympian Shawn Cheshire Wins Gold When Fighting for her Rights to go to LA Fitness and Work Out Independently
It is always an honor to work for a person whos talent and dedication is world-class. this year, I had the opportunity to work for Shawn Cheshire to vindicate her rights to be able to work out independently at an LA Fitness by her home in Florida. Shawn is a Paralympic cyclist who raced… Read More »
Is your club truly private? Piper the Service Dog vs. Boca Ciega Yacht Club
Piper is a dog, but she also has an uncanny talent for killing bees. This talent has aided her partner, Samantha Ring, who lives with severe allergies to bees and sunflower seeds and has a history of anaphylactic reactions to both. Piper saved Ms. Ring’s life by killing a bee while Ms. Ring was out on her boat without her EpiPen, so she decided to keep Piper and train her to be a service dog. On July 12, 2021, Piper the Dog finally got her day. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed his partner’s case and found that there are certain questions of fact that need to be resolved before deeming the Boca Ciega Yacht Club in Gulfport Florida, a “private club” for purposes of the private club exemption under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Are Doctors or Hospitals Required to Provide LIVE Interpreters for Deaf Patients?
By: Matthew Dietz I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon’s knife or the chemist’s drug. Modern Hippocratic Oath You can’t always get what you want You can’t always get what you want You can’t always get what you… Read More »
Litigation Article: Can a Woman with No Arms Ride a Roller Coaster?
Jessica Cox filed an administrative complaint with the Florida Commission on Human Relations claiming that she was excluded from every single ride at Universal Studios Orlando because she was born without arms, and she was not able to continually grasp the restraints with at least one hand. Jessica believed that the restrictions on all of the rides were not based on actual risks, but instead, based upon stereotypes of what she can or cannot do.
Summer Fun and Discrimination against Kids (with or without disabilities)!
Happy Summertime! The Summer should be a time where all kids, kids with disabilities and kids without disabilities, should be able to have fun. Discrimination about kids in the Summer is not fun, and here are some tips on how kids can avoid discrimination in the Summer.
IS HEALTH CARE ONLY FOR THE “ABLE BODIED”?
People with disabilities tend to be in poorer health and to use health care at a significantly higher rate than people who do not have disabilities. Larry McDowell is not a statistic, but instead a blatant example of an issue which needs to be addressed. Equality in health care is not a benefit, but a basic right.