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On July 26, 1997, the seventh anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Memphis Center for Independent Living (MCIL) sent NationsBank and First Tennessee Bank a letter outlining what unequal service would mean to customers in the Memphis Area. First Tennessee promptly altered its policy to include all Americans. NationsBank contended that people with disabilities could use the State ID if they were would also disclose and verify their disability.
MCIL filed an ADA Title III Complaint with the Department of Justice on August 16, 1997. "It is discrimination to apply eligibility criteria or standards that screen out or tend to screen out an individual with a disability." [28 CFR § 36.301] MCIL contends that because the State issued ID card requires the same documentation, carries the state seal, and has the same authority, the NationsBank practice failed to accommodate individuals with disabilities that did not drive, yet held a valid State non-driver ID.
The Mediating Attorney, Jocelyn Dan Wurzburg, relayed the policy change in a June 10, 1998 letter. "The practice of denying services to persons without a valid driver's license when equivalent ID cards are proffered has ceased." Fred Hannon, NationsBank Corporate Affairs reported that the change applies to all states and was implemented to accommodate people with disabilities and people who are elderly.
Jocelyn Dan Wurzburg
Fred Hannon
NationsBank Corporate Affairs
Attorney at Law
Mediation Services
54 million Americans have some level of disability, 26 million people have a severe disability. [Current Population Reports. U.S. Department of Commerce - Census Bureau. Aug. 1997 p. 70-61]
The Memphis Center for Independent Living
1633 Madison Avenue,
Memphis, TN 38104
(901) 726-6404 v/tty (901) 726-6521 fax
mcil@mcil.org
MCIL is a United Way of the Mid-South member Agency
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