Ruling in The Garrett Case a Victory for the ADA
Friday, September 26, 2003
- Organization: NYPLI
(information taken from the Bazelon.org website)
Sept. 11, 2003- The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that individuals can sue a state agency for money damages under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act in the remanded case, Garrett v. Board of Trustees of Univ. of Alabama.
The Garrett case, which combined two separate cases at trial, involved Patricia Garrett, a supervising nurse who was demoted and transferred while undergoing treatment for breast cancer and Milton Ash, an asthmatic corrections officer who sought damages for his employer's failure to enforce no-smoking rules. The case challenged the Constitutionality of a previous US Supreme Court decision which ruled that state employees seeking to recover money damages in federal court under Title I of the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) were barred from doing so under the 11th Amendment.
The state of Alabama originally argued in the Garrett case that Congress lacked the power to require states to pay money damages for injuries caused due to a state's violation of the ADA. However, upon appeal, the Appellate Court found that Congress does indeed have the power, under the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, to require states to pay money damages. The 14th Amendment guarantees all citizens equal protection and due process under the law.
Organizations such as Bazelon find this decision important because the previous decision attacked Title II of the ADA, which bans discrimination in access to public services such as education, health and mental care that are operated by states.
For more information please see: http://bazelon.org/issues/disabilityrights/resources/garrett/index.htm
Sept. 11, 2003- The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that individuals can sue a state agency for money damages under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act in the remanded case, Garrett v. Board of Trustees of Univ. of Alabama.
The Garrett case, which combined two separate cases at trial, involved Patricia Garrett, a supervising nurse who was demoted and transferred while undergoing treatment for breast cancer and Milton Ash, an asthmatic corrections officer who sought damages for his employer's failure to enforce no-smoking rules. The case challenged the Constitutionality of a previous US Supreme Court decision which ruled that state employees seeking to recover money damages in federal court under Title I of the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) were barred from doing so under the 11th Amendment.
The state of Alabama originally argued in the Garrett case that Congress lacked the power to require states to pay money damages for injuries caused due to a state's violation of the ADA. However, upon appeal, the Appellate Court found that Congress does indeed have the power, under the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, to require states to pay money damages. The 14th Amendment guarantees all citizens equal protection and due process under the law.
Organizations such as Bazelon find this decision important because the previous decision attacked Title II of the ADA, which bans discrimination in access to public services such as education, health and mental care that are operated by states.
For more information please see: http://bazelon.org/issues/disabilityrights/resources/garrett/index.htm
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