Feds: Pepsi Discriminated Against The Blind

by Kevin Burton    If you’re looking for something to drink, or somewhere to work, choose Coke, not Pepsi.    According to multiple published reports, PepsiCo hired a blind man for a call center, then fired him rather than get him a screen reader – even after a state vocational rehabilitation counselor offered to buy …

Teachers Sue District Over Free Speech

by Suzanne Perez KMUW WICHITA— A pair of substitute teachers is suing the Lansing school district near Kansas City, alleging they were barred from working as subs because they spoke out against school policies.    Vera Daniels and Celeste Hoins claim in the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, that Lansing school board members violated their …

British Businesses Say No To The Blind

by Sophie Huskisson The Daily Mirror    Twenty percent of businesses say they would not be willing to adapt their workplaces to employ a blind or partially sighted person, research has found.    One in five companies said adjustments to make their firm more accessible would be too costly, with nearly half not knowing how …

MLB To Replace Vandalized Robinson Statue

by Kevin Burton    From something heinous, comes something great in Wichita. And who knows how far it will go?    The Statue of Jackie Robinson which was stolen Jan. 25 from McAdams Park in Wichita was found broken beyond repair and burning in a trash can at nearby Garvey Park Tuesday.    But yesterday …

Violence-Ready Militia Hiding In Plain Sight

by Tim Dickinson Rolling Stone    There’s a new power player on America’s extremist scene. White nationalist “Active Clubs” are growing explosively, and filling a void created by the prosecutions that decimated the leadership of oath Keepers and the Proud Boys.    “The Active Clubs are who the Proud Boys thought they were,” says Jon Lewis, …

If Fired Illegally, Would You Want Job Back?

by Kevin Burton    UPS will pay $150,000 to settle yet another  employment discrimination case, according to published reports. But this story has a twist I haven’t seen before.    The man illegally fired in violation of the federal Americans With Disabilities Act by the Atlanta-based package delivery company will be, or maybe has been, …

Does ADA Cover A Worker’s Commute?

by Carol Warner Hrmorning.com    When do employers’ ADA obligations kick in? Do compliance requirements start as soon as employees get to work? Or do they begin during the commute — before workers even arrive at the job site?    A newly filed lawsuit puts the question to the test. According to the Equal Opportunity …

Syracuse Turns Its Back On The Disabled

by Stephen Kuusisto     (Nationally-known poet and disability advocate Stephen Kuusisto writes the “Planet of the Blind” blog on WordPress. The following is from his posts of  Nov. 28 and Dec. 2.)    When Helen Keller attended Radcliffe she observed that the experience was a “largely lonely triumph” and described how she was ignored by …

Rosalynn Carter’s Controversial Nanny

by Kathy Ehrich Dowd Time Magazine    Mary Prince, a Black woman who had been convicted of murder, was already a controversial figure at Jimmy Carter’s 1977 Presidential Inauguration.    Although she was incarcerated, Prince was given permission to travel to Washington, D.C. for the event and arrived in a dress made of material given …

Papa John’s To Pay $175K For Discrimination

by Kevin Burton    Giant pizza-delivery chain Papa John’s will cough up a big chunk of dough, for employment  discrimination against a blind man, according to multiple published reports.    Louisville-based Papa John’s is the fourth-largest pizza delivery chain in the US,  according to USA Today. On its website, Papa John’s lists “the values that …