Afternoon Briefs: Uber ordered to pay $1.1M to blind passenger; state supreme court overturns mask mandate
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Uber must pay $1.1M after drivers discriminated against woman who is blind, arbitrator says
Uber has been ordered to pay a San Francisco woman—who is blind and uses a guide dog—$1.1 million after she alleged 14 incidents of discrimination by the ride-share company’s drivers. Lawyers for Lisa Irving said in a news release Thursday it may be the largest award issued to a blind passenger for repeated driver violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The arbitrator in the case found that even if Uber’s drivers are independent contractors, the company is subject to the ADA because of its “contractual supervision over its drivers” and “its failure to prevent discrimination by properly training its workers.” (The San Francisco Chronicle, Forbes, MarketWatch)
Top Wisconsin court overturns statewide mask mandate
The Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down the state’s mask mandate Wednesday in a 4-3 decision. The court said Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers needed legislative approval to extend his emergency declarations that included the mask requirement. (Courthouse News Service, Reuters, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the March 31 decision via How Appealing)
Judge tosses Trump campaign staffer’s secrecy agreement
A federal judge in New York City has tossed a confidentiality and nondisparagement agreement signed by a phone bank supervisor with the Trump campaign. U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe of the Southern District of New York said the agreement is invalid because it was too broad and vague. The campaign had tried to enforce the agreement when the staffer, Jessica Denson, filed a complaint alleging sex discrimination. The campaign had obtained an estimated $50,000 award against Denson for violating the contract, but it was overturned by a New York appeals court. Gardephe ruled in a suit seeking to overturn all the agreements. Gardephe overturned the agreement as to Denson but did not go further. (The New York Times, Courthouse News Service, the March 30 opinion)
