State probes
Livingston shop for bias against deaf
KASI ADDISON,
Star-Ledger from the Web, May 3, 2005
Newark, NJ -- The state
Division on Civil Rights said yesterday it is pursuing a case against a
Livingston auto parts store that discriminated against a deaf man when he
attempted to place an order using a TTY or "telephone typewriter" and relay
operator.
The state issued a "Finding of Probable Cause" after an investigation that
supported a "reasonable suspicion" the firm violated the New Jersey Law Against
Discrimination, said J. Frank Vespa-Papaleo, director of the state Division of
Civil Rights.
It is the first such case the division has handled, he said, "Although
individuals can file in court."
Hamphil Hudson of Orange lodged the complaint last year after trying to place an
order with Herman's Auto Parts and Supplies of Livingston using the TTY system.
The TTY system allows deaf, hard-of-hearing and hearing-impaired persons to
communicate with the help of an intermediary, the operator, and a keyboard and
terminal.
During a telephone call between a TTY user and someone without the system, a
caller would speak first with the operator who then types up the message and
forwards it to the TTY user. That person then types a response that is
read by the operator.
"It is a valuable service for a lot of people," Vespa-Papaleo said.
There are about 720,000 deaf New Jersey residents and roughly 28 million
nationwide.
In 2004 there were 950,000 relay operator calls made through the New Jersey
Relay Service.
Vespa-Papaleo said that, according to Hudson's complaint, several attempts were
made to place the order but once Herman's learned a relay operator was handling
the calls, they responded, "Oh, no," and hung up.
The complaint further states that when the relay operator called back, a
different person answered the phone and said, "Herman's Auto Parts and Supplies
doesn't deal with the hearing impaired."
When a reporter called the store yesterday, a man who identified himself only as
Mark, the husband of the owner, said of the TTY system, "We've had problems with
that before."
Vespa-Papaleo said Herman's owners told the agency that before Hudson's call, a
$2,000 order using a fraudulent credit card was placed through a relay operator.
The deception was discovered before the order was shipped, but the owner said
she decided not to accept any more relay calls, Vespa-Papaleo said.
"It is a shame that just because of one unfortunate experience a business would
treat everyone who makes use of a vital communications tool like the New Jersey
Relay Service as if they were going to commit fraud," he said.
Advocacy groups have said discrimination against TTY users is a common problem
throughout the state, Vespa-Papaleo said.
"All too often, an uninformed recipient will hang up because a call is from a
deaf or hard-of-hearing person using the relay services," said Brian C. Shomo,
director of the Division of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing within the New Jersey
Department of Human Services.
The next step in the case is conciliation, a process that will determine if a
penalty or settlement will be enforced. If the conciliation is not
successful, the case will go to a non-jury trial before an administrative law
judge.
Kasi Addison can be reached at (973) 392-4154 or at
kaddison@starledger.com.
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