americans with disabilities act
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Federal judge declines to order UNC to return disabled student to campus
A federal judge last week declined to order the University of Northern Colorado to return a disabled student to campus for the 2023-2024 school year, weeks after the school suspended him for violating the code of conduct. In July, a UNC official determined Jackson Vollmer was responsible for defying a no-contact order the school issued…
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Federal judge tosses age, disability discrimination claims against Arvada for employee’s firing
A former Arvada city employee has not shown that his termination after 32 years was related to his age or perceived disability, a federal judge determined last month, noting the plaintiff himself even walked back his own allegations of discrimination. Brian Williams worked in the streets division of the Arvada Public Works Department between 1988…
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Court sides with Frontier over flight attendant seeking alcohol rehab-related accommodations
Frontier Airlines did not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act when it denied a flight attendant’s request to build her schedule without layovers to avoid exacerbating her alcoholism, the federal appeals court based in Denver concluded this week. The airline refused to allow Rebecca Brigham to pick up “leftover” shifts that other flight attendants had…
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State Supreme Court agrees to hear case of backpack search that turned up loaded gun
The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday agreed to examine whether Denver school officials acted lawfully when they searched a student’s backpack, ultimately uncovering a loaded handgun. The justices also narrowly turned down a second appeal out of Denver involving the application of the Americans with Disabilities Act to child welfare proceedings. Granting an appeal requires…
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Judge rejects disability-related challenge to man’s mental health commitment
Federal courts are not the place to hear a man’s challenge to his mental health commitment under a pair of disability discrimination laws, a judge ruled earlier this month. Jesse Dillon Kirchner has been committed to the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo for years after serving an initial prison sentence. He pleaded guilty in…
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Denver sidewalks ballot measure close early | ELECTION NIGHT 2022
Early and unofficial results reveal Denver ordinance 307 supporters had a slight edge late Tuesday. As of 9:30 p.m., with over 107,000 votes counted, 52.62% of Denverites voted to shift sidewalk maintenance from landowners to the City of Denver. The City of Denver’s Ordinance 307 tasks the city with creating a sidewalk master plan. Given…
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Judge tosses disability discrimination lawsuit against state’s Medicaid contractor
A physician has failed to show his disability was the reason a state contractor moved to terminate his employment, a federal judge ruled, finding instead there were legitimate concerns from government employees about the doctor’s performance. Stephen Gorshow sued eQHealth Solutions LLC, his former employer, alleging it violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by taking…
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10th Circuit agrees Denver not immune from ADA lawsuit
The federal appeals court based in Colorado agreed a woman could sue her former employer, the City and County of Denver, for disability discrimination without running into the immunity typically granted to states and their agencies. Lower court judges have repeatedly held that local departments of human services in Colorado are arms of the state…
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El Paso County approves nearly $750,000 contract for ADA consulting services
El Paso County commissioners on Tuesday approved a consulting services contract to help determine the current state of its transportation infrastructure and the extent of its compliance with federal law. Commissioners awarded a $749,954 contract to Colorado Springs-based consulting firm Matrix Design Group Inc. to evaluate El Paso County’s transportation network system and determine its…
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Federal judge orders Denver-area hotel operator to make ADA improvements
A federal judge has found an Arapahoe County hotel to be in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and ordered its operator to make accessibility improvements, following the company’s unusual move of agreeing with all of the allegations against it. Equally unusual, plaintiffs John Meggs and the Florida-based advocacy group Access–4–All balked when the hotel…