WASHINGTON, July 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Justice Department today
announced that it has reached a settlement with the Medical Weight Loss
Clinic, which is headquartered in Southfield, Mich., under the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA). It was alleged that Medical Weight Loss Clinic
refused to serve a prospective client because she has HIV disease.
Under the terms of today's agreement, Medical Weight Loss Clinic will provide
training on the non-discrimination provisions of the ADA generally and as they
relate to individuals with HIV disease, and will adopt and post at each of its
34 locations a nondiscrimination policy and procedure. Medical Weight Loss
Clinic will also pay the complainant $20,000 in damages.
"Health-related services must be provided in a non-discriminatory manner to
all persons who need them," said Grace Chung Becker, Acting Assistant Attorney
General for the Civil Rights Division. "The Justice Department is committed
to ensuring that public accommodations do not discriminate against individuals
with disabilities, including those with HIV disease."
"When we are dealing with people's health needs, whether the issue is weight
loss or some other health matter, discrimination against those who are sick or
who are HIV positive simply cannot be permitted," said Stephen J. Murphy, U.S.
Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. "We must ensure that access to
health-related services is not barred due to this type of unlawful
discrimination. Today's settlement is a good step in that direction."
Title III of the ADA prohibits public accommodations, such as Medical Weight
Loss Clinic, from discriminating against any individual on the basis of
disability with respect to the goods, services, facilities and privileges of
the public accommodation. Those interested in finding out more about the ADA
or the agreement can call the Justice Department's toll-free ADA Information
Line at (800) 514-0301 or (800) 514-0383 (TTY), or access to its ADA Web site
at http://www.ada.gov.
SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice
U.S. Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs, +1-202-514-2007, TDD
+1-202-514-1888
