[msb-alumni] Re: Three NFB Members Sue Walmart Over Inaccessibility of Self-Checkout Devices

From: "Vickie" <happytraveler1972@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <msb-alumni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 1 Nov 2018 16:12:08 -0700

BlankWow! I hope they win this one.  Even if you use the real cashier, the
stealing of money can occur.  Even sighted people have to double check their
receipt to ensure the transaction was correct and cleared the machine before
the next person pays for their goods.  We don’t use the self serve cashiers
because we feel strongly about those machines taking a person’s job away.  So,
even if they do make the self serve machines accessible, I probably won’t use
them.  I believe, however, that the patron should use the card as a credit card
in those situations, because the question of cash back, only comes up, if you
put in a pin.  Well, unless you use a walmart credit card.  So, I stand
corrected about that last statement.  However, the Walmart credit card charges
so much for interest, I’m hoping none of my blind friends have one. smile.  We
no longer have one for that reason.  But anyway, I’m always for accessibility,
and if the machines could talk, then a person can bypass that cash back option.
So bring it on N F B ers.
Vickie Rolison

From: Steve
Sent: Tuesday, October 30, 2018 1:36 PM
To: msb-alumni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [msb-alumni] Three NFB Members Sue Walmart Over Inaccessibility of
Self-Checkout Devices

Three NFB Members Sue Walmart Over Inaccessibility of Self-Checkout Devices

Three blind Maryland residents and the National Federation of the Blind have
sued Walmart, alleging the company violates the Americans with Disabilities
Act because its self-checkout kiosks are not fully accessible to blind
customers. The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court, also alleges an employee at
the Walmart in Owings Mills, Maryland, attempted to take money from one of the
plaintiffs while she was checking out at the store. The suit says a store
employee was helping Cynthia Morales with a purchase at a self-checkout kiosk
in July 2017 when the employee selected an option for cash back from her
debit card and took $40 without her knowledge. "It's important for blind people
to be able to use the machines independently so that people are not stealing
from us," Morale said in an interview. "We should be treated like everybody
else when we come into the store, we would like to check out at the
self-checkout
quickly just like everybody else, and I know that the technology is out there.
Other plaintiffs include Linwood Boyd of Pikesville, who was shopping with
Morales when the alleged incident occurred, and Melissa Sheeder of Baltimore.
The plaintiffs are seeking a permanent injunction that would require Walmart
to make its self-service kiosks throughout the U.S. accessible to blind
customers; a declaration that Walmart has been violating the ADA; and court
costs
and attorneys' fees. According to the suit, Morales and Boyd were checking out
at a self-service kiosk when Morales handed an employee her debit card and
instructed the employee to enter her pin number on the keypad. She expected to
pay about $80 for her items, according to the suit. During the transaction,
the screen prompted the users to take money from the machine, the suit claims.
When Morales and Boyd left the store, they asked a bystander to read the
receipt and realized Morales was charged about $120. They re-entered the store
and called police, and the $40 was returned, according to the complaint.
"Money was stolen from one of our members and certainly we deplore that," said
Chris Danielsen, a spokesman for the National Federation of the Blind. Danielsen
said that even without the incident at Owings Mills, it's "unacceptable" that
sight-impaired patrons can't serve themselves. "The technology exists for
Walmart and other entities that are using these kind of self-service kiosks,"
he said. Sheeder claims in the suit that she shops at Walmart at least once
a week, and that she and a friend attempted to use a self-checkout kiosk in
July 2018. When they were unable to operate it, they were directed to a
full-service
checkout lane, where they had to wait in line. "We don't tolerate
discrimination, and we believe our checkout procedures comply with applicable
law," Randy
Hargrove, a spokesman for Walmart, said in an emailed statement late Friday.
"When we learned of this specific situation with Ms. Morales, we looked into
the matter and as a result, the associate is no longer with the company. We
take this matter seriously and will respond as appropriate with the court.
Danielsen said he's not aware of any large retailers that incorporate
self-checkout kiosks that are fully accessible to blind people, but he pointed
to
self-service software for machines such as ATMs, Amtrak ticket booths and
taxicabs that allow blind people to operate the devices independently. "We know
that it's possible to make a self checkout kiosk accessible. It just has to be
thought of at the design stage," said Jessica P. Weber, an attorney who
is part of a team from the Baltimore firm Brown, Goldstein & Levy representing
the plaintiffs. The lawsuit says the National Federation of the Blind attempted
to work with Walmart to address problems with the kiosks prior to filing suit.
"The civil rights of blind people can't wait indefinitely and so we're going
to forge ahead," Weber said.

Follow-Ups:
- [msb-alumni] Re: Three NFB Members Sue Walmart Over Inaccessibility of Self-Checkout Devices
  - From: Marcia Moses

[msb-alumni] Re: Three NFB Members Sue Walmart Over Inaccessibility of Self-Checkout Devices

Other related posts: