SUMMARY: A federal judge in Chicago ruled that a blind man can bring a discrimination suit against McDonald's over the company's alleged policy of excluding pedestrians from its drive-thru windows. The lawsuit, filed by a legally blind Louisiana man, accuses McDonald's of denying people who can't see and drive equal access to hamburgers and other menu items in violation of disability-rights laws. The potential class action focuses on McDonald's locations that serve only drive-thru customers late at night. Plaintiff Scott Magee says during those hours when sit-down service isn't available, he's effectively blocked from eating there. Mr. Magee sued under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the federal law protecting the rights of disabled people to "full and equal enjoyment" of places of public accommodation with some exceptions. In an amended complaint, he also alleged he was denied access to a McDonald's in California, demanding damages under that state's disability discrimination law, which imposes tougher penalties than the federal statute. McDonald's sought to dismiss the suit, denying the discrimination claims. "Because sighted pedestrians are treated the same as blind pedestrians," the company stated in a brief, "there is no discrimination on the basis of disability under the ADA or the Unruh Act," the name of California's law. "McDonald's alleged policy to bar pedestrians from the drive-thru did not harm Magee 'on the basis of his disability,' but rather solely by virtue of the common need to be in a motor vehicle that was applicable to all individuals, sighted or not," lawyers for the company wrote.
CLASSROOM APPLICATION: McDonald's is facing a discrimination lawsuit accusing that it's drive thru windows are not accessible to the blind. A Chicago judge has ruled that a blind man should be allowed to go through the drive thru, if that is the only location that a purchase can be made. Some McDonald's restaurants close the counter service for late night and early morning. The McDonald's was sued under the Americans with Disabilities Act which states that people should have full and equal enjoyment of places of public accommodation. McDonald's claims that it prohibits all pedestrians from the drive thru window, for safety reasons. Students can discuss the fact that many judges and individuals in the legal and regulatory environment do not fully understand business and take narrow interpretations of legal guidance and place it in a context in which it was not intended.
QUESTIONS:
1. Would reasonable people, concerned about safety, want to see a blind customer going through the drive thru window with cars moving through at the same time?
2. Is this an example of our legal system finding a loophole in the law and attempting to extract a large financial settlement with a successful corporation?
3. From an ethical and social responsibility perspective, is there a defense for letting blind individuals go through the drive thru window, where other pedestrians are barred for safety reasons?
4. If McDonald's is forced to allow the blind to go through the drive thru and they are injured, can they be sued for creating too much potential risk for blind customers?
5. Should there be a limit on 'nuisance lawsuits' that drive up the cost of doing business to the company and, ultimately, to customers?