Posted on 09/22/2011 2:49:06 PM PDT by IbJensen
(CNSNews.com) – The price was right for two women who attended a taping of CBS’s game show and ended up filing a complaint under the Americans With Disabilities Act.
The mother – who uses a wheelchair – and her daughter said they were seated in a wheelchair area at the back of the Bob Barker Studio, where their line of sight was blocked by an elevated platform and audience members standing in front of them.
Their complaint in 2008 launched a Justice Department investigation, which recently ended with orders for “The Price Is Right” to pay each woman $10,000 in compensatory damages.
The TV show must also pay a civil penalty of $25,000, but under the settlement agreement, the U.S. Attorney General agreed to refrain from filing a civil lawsuit against the show and CBS.
According to the Justice Department, the ADA requires wheelchair seating areas to provide disabled people with lines of sight that are comparable to those for members of the general public.
Moreover, the law not only protects disabled people – it also prohibits discrimination against an individual who is related to or associated with a disabled person.
Although the Bob Barker studio was built before the ADA took effect, the law requires CBS and other existing entities to remove barriers blocking access for disabled people when it is “readily achievable to do so.”
The Justice Department said its investigation further revealed that “The Price Is Right” website was not fully accessible to individuals with disabilities; and it found that information regarding wheelchair seating, auxiliary aids and services, and other accommodations was not readily available on the show’s website.
As part of the settlement, “The Price Is Right” has agreed to “make reasonable modifications” to accommodate people with disabilities, both in its studio, on its website, and on the show itself. (The Justice Department says a third person complained that a very small number of individuals with “observable disabilities” have been selected as contestants on the show.)
“The Price Is Right” also will conduct outreach to encourage individuals with disabilities to attend tapings in the studio.
Moreover, the show has agreed to designate and train an employee who will serve as an ADA Coordinator for the show – ensuring compliance with the law and handling complaints. And the show will set up a toll-free number, an email address, and a postal address where ADA complaints may be received.
The show must submit written reports annually to the Justice Department describing how it is complying with ADA and how it is responding to requests or complaints from disabled people.
There’s much more: The settlement agreement runs 54 paragraphs with numerous subparagraphs plus Exhibits A through D.
In addition to handling complaints filed under the Americans With Disabilities Act, the Justice Department actively seeks out places that may not comply with the law, even if no one has complained.
Project Civic Access is described as a wide-ranging effort to ensure that counties, cities, towns, and villages comply with the ADA by eliminating physical and communication barriers that prevent people with disabilities from participating fully in community life.
The Justice Department says it has initiated "compliance reviews" in all 50 states, as well as Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, and the resulting settlements can be found on its website.
At a time when we have nearly $15 trillion in national debt, a deficit of $1.5 trillion a year, and all the other problems resulting from voter stupidity in 2008, isn't it so heartwarming to see the Justice Department making such wise use of our tax money??? Sort of like those $16 muffins???
Remember CBS this is the man that you are defending every single damned day. Only in the politically correct America can this type of BS happen.
$10,000 in Damages ? What was the Damage ? I am disabled and this is pure Bull . They really suffered ,poor babies , The world shouldn't bend to suit everyone and it can be said that it is not fair . SO WHAT grow up and deal with it . These two are a prime example of how far in the gutter America has slid.
Most likely the “victim” was one of Holder’s people.
I wonder how much these people paid for their tickets.
With the advances in computing power and programming, why couldn’t “live” shows just go to virtual audiences? Just like with robots, they would be less problem than real people.
Maybe I’ll sue .....I’m only 5”2 and couldn’t see the stage during a Kenny Chesney concert
Do you have eyes of blue, turned up nose and turned down hose?
TV show tapings are free admission.
Oh, and make sure they have the proper percentages of disabilities represented too, some amputees, some blind, some just too fat to walk, and then within that the proper number of hispanic amputees, and black blind people, and gay deaf people, etc.
Taxpayer money well spent, you betcha!!!!
Now, how about prosecuting a couple of black guys with clubs for voter intimidation?
No?
It's difficult to tell which one as all of the moronic Holder's multitudinous staff is handicapped. Being mentally handicapped is one of the prerequisites.
This is the kind of nonsense that angers people and turns them against government and it’s all-too powerful ability to make trouble and cause unnecessary expense for otherwise perfectly law-abiding businesses. These TV game shows don’t charge for tickets. That the women in question didn’t have a good view of the stage was a slight inconvenience but hardly a federal crime. No, wait. It was, sort of. Which is where the absurdity comes in. This kind of government intrusion into what should be petty disputes between a business and a customer (in this case, a non-paying ‘customer’) is the kind of overreaching ‘Nanny-State’ action that most people hate. However, as long as Americans keep voting for Democrats and allowing these government agencies to have more and more power over our lives, this kind of BS will continue.
How much did these “victims” pay for those seats? $0?
How much time did they lose, an hour?
Sorry, Krankor, I haven’t seen your gal..
Thanks for nothing, Bob Dole, for pushing through this hellish nightmare known as the American with Disabilities Act.
I am reminded of a “Murphy Brown” episode, entitled “Political Correctness” [Season 6, Episode 4] - where Murphy makes an insensitive remark and the whole gang has to go to the Midwest for “sensitivity training”.
They have a “town hall” meeting, where the gang goes off with insensitive remarks like, “Sit down, Shrimp” - and the short person says, “I’m vertically challenged” ...
Can’t seem to find a link for the clip, though ...
Poor Bob. He ran around with a pencil in his hand.
As I imagined. What nerve, to sue someone who is entertaining you for free. It is not a public building so these people don't even have a right to be there without an invite.
I hope I don't invite someone to my house and then they sue me because my bathroom door is too narrow or my toilet is too low.
they paid NOTHING to get in, it was free... right??? so why do they get a payday???
OMG!! The tickets are FREE! They weren’t out a penny!! INSANITY!
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