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Agreements Announcements Press Releases

Bay Area Transit Agencies Agree to Make the RTC Clipper Card and Disability Verification Process More Accessible to Disabled Riders

SAN FRANCISCO, September 24, 2019 — TRE Legal Practice is pleased to announce a Settlement Agreement with the Bay Area’s Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) that will make regional transit more accessible to disabled riders. The Agreement is the result of collaborative structured negotiations between TRE Legal Practice and MTC, the transportation planning, financing, and coordinating […]

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Announcements Litigation Press Releases

Fraud Whistleblower Seeks Redress for Inaccessible Public Website that Cost California $66 Million

OAKLAND, May 20, 2019 (updated July 26, 2019) — TRE Legal Practice alleges that Conduent, Inc. defrauded taxpayers when the company built a $66 million state park reservation website that hundreds of thousands of Californians with disabilities cannot use. The suit seeks damages on behalf of the People of the State of California and injunctive […]

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Litigation

Blind health plan members must have equal access to transportation benefits

Nancy Langenberger is blind. She relies on a guide dog to help her independently navigate the world. Nancy’s Medicare Advantage health plan, Blue Shield Promise Health Plan (“Promise Health”), includes a transportation benefit through which plan members can arrange in advance to be dropped off and picked up from medical appointments. This benefit is important […]

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Litigation

Appellate Victory in National Federation of the Blind v. The Container Store

Modern touchscreen systems, like other modern computers, phones, and tablets, are readily adaptable for use by blind people through mechanisms such as tactile keyboards that a user can feel nonvisually and audio ports for plugging in headphones so the system can “speak” privately to users. (Both of these are in widespread use at bank ATMs, […]

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Litigation

TRE Legal Litigates Case with Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Behalf of Blind Food Service Worker

Despite the longstanding history of the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers are still failing to follow the law. In 2014, Alina Sorling, a veteran food service technician with over a decade of experience at Dignity Health’s hospital cafeteria, suddenly became blind. Ms. Sorling went on medical leave and successfully worked with the California Department of Rehabilitation to re-master everyday tasks, including using nonvisual techniques for cooking and proficiency with knives and hot grills. Instead of allowing her to work, Dignity Health fired her because it believed a blind person could not safely work in a kitchen.

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Guidance

Guidelines for Effective Uber and Lyft Service Animal Complaints

Your complaints to Uber and Lyft, and to NFB’s testing program, are making a difference. Below are some tips for filing effective complaints that will help Uber, Lyft and our legal team better ensure that drivers are properly handled under the policy changes set forth in the settlement agreements.

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Collaborations

E la Carte and Applebee’s to Make In-Restaurant Table-Top Tablets Accessible to Blind Guests

TRE Legal Practice is pleased to have played a role in facilitating the efforts of E la Carte, Inc., creators of the PrestoPrime™ EMV System™ for full-service restaurants,  Applebee’s® Neighborhood Grill + Bar, the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), and the LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired of San Francisco to produce a […]

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Agreements

eatsa Agrees to Make its Innovative Restaurants Accessible to Blind Customers

eatsa, an innovative fast-casual restaurant featuring innovative automat-style self-serve kiosks with locations in California, New York, and D.C., agreed to make its mobile apps, kiosks, and food-pickup cubbies accessible to blind customers. eatsa uses the latest technology to allow customers to order food either on in-store iPads or via a mobile phone, with no cashier […]

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Litigation

Blind Californians and Advocates Sue Greyhound to Make Website and Mobile App Accessible

In 2015, Tina Thomas, who is blind, tried to book a trip with Greyhound’s website, but her text-to-speech software couldn’t interpret Greyhound’s site. When she called instead, she was charged a “convenience fee” for booking by phone — even though she explained she could not use the website. Earlier this year, she tried again, but […]

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Agreements

Accessible Instructional Materials and the Siskiyou Joint Community College District Settlement

In the last 25 years, technology has fundamentally changed higher education. New technologies allow for new kinds of instructional materials and delivery mechanisms — but students with disabilities are often unnecessarily left behind. This must change. This settlement with Siskiyou Joint Community College District, facilitated by TRE Legal Practice and the Legal Aid Society – […]