http://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news/44297-williams-sonoma-target-ada-class-action-lawsuit/
Williams-Sonoma is the latest retailer to be hit with a disabled access class action lawsuit, with a woman alleging that due to the lack of point-of-sale devices that are accessible to the blind, the company is in violation of federal statutes.
The Williams-Sonoma class action lawsuit argues that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires all companies that operate a place open to the public must offer reasonable accommodations to those with a known disability. Instead, Maria Santos alleges that when she visited a Williams-Sonoma store in November 2014, the point-of-sale devices all had flat touch screens, making it impossible for a blind person to complete a transaction without assistance.
This requires blind consumers like Santos to divulge sensitive personal identifying information such as PINs to a retail employee at Williams-Sonoma in order to complete the transaction.
Although “Defendant has centralized policies regarding the management and operation of its POS Devices, Defendant has never had a plan or policy that is reasonably calculated to make its POS Devices fully accessible to, and independently usable by, blind people,” the Williams-Sonoma class action lawsuit alleges.
Since Santos alleges that she would like to continue shopping at Williams-Sonoma outlets, she is seeking injunctive relief requiring blind-accessible point-of-sale devices. However, while many a disabled access class action lawsuit has focused on violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the lead plaintiff here also cites California state statute.
The relevant law indicates that
“whenever a point-of-sale system is changed or modified to include a video touch screen or nontactile keypad” it must also include a “tactually discernible numerical keypad” similar to a telephone with a raised “5” key, Santos alleges. According to the Williams-Sonoma class action lawsuit, companies had until 2010 to update their retail locations in order to comply with the law.
Many other class action lawsuits have been filed in other states and thus rely on the ADA alone. The overwhelming majority of these cases revolve around the ability for blind people to complete transactions using their debit cards without divulging their PINs. In the last year, retailers such as Kay Jewelers Inc., Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc., The Kroger Co., J Crew Group Inc. and Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. have been hit with class action lawsuits over their point-of-sale systems.
Santos is represented by Michael Harrison of The Santa Clarita Law Firm.
The Williams-Sonoma Disabled Access Class Action Lawsuit is Maria Santos v. Williams Sonoma Inc., Case No. 2:14-cv-08843, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.