FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CR

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 1998

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT REACHES A SETTLEMENT WITH

MENARD BUILDING CENTERS UNDER THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Customers with vision impairments at a

Wisconsin-based retail building supply chain will not be required
to produce a driver's license when paying with a check, under an
agreement reached today with the Justice Department.

The agreement resolves a complaint filed last year with the

Justice Department by a woman who is legally blind against Menard
Building Center. The woman alleged that one of Menard's stores
violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) because it
refused to accept her state-issued identification card when she
purchased items with a check.

The complainant, like many individuals with visual

impairments, does not have a driver's license because of her
disability. Instead, the state issued her a non-driver
identification card.

According to her complaint, the staff at a Menard store in

Milwaukee refused to accept her check because she had a state ID
rather than a driver's license. She alleged store staff insulted
her, and called her husband over to produce his driver's license
before the store would accept the complainant's check.

Title III of the ADA requires public accommodations,

including retail stores, to reasonably modify their policies when
necessary to avoid discrimination on the basis of disability,
unless doing so would fundamentally alter the nature of the
services provided.

Acceptance of a state ID from a person whose disability

prevents them from having a driver's license is a reasonable
modification of a general policy requiring a driver's license
when paying by check.

Under the agreement Menard will:

continue its policy of accepting state ID cards as

identification for check writing purposes from persons
who do not drive because of their disabilities;

train all employees at all of its stores on the check-writing policy;

post signs at all cash registers informing customers

that state ID cards will be accepted as identification
for check writing purposes from persons who do not
drive because of their disabilities; and,

pay the complainant $1,000 in damages.

"It makes no sense to demand a driver's license from a

customer who is legally blind. It's not just bad business, it's
discrimination," said Bill Lann Lee, Acting Assistant Attorney
General for Civil Rights. "We hope other retail businesses will
take note of this agreement and ensure that persons with
disabilities are treated fairly."

In 1993, the Justice Department sued Venture Stores, Inc., a

large midwestern discount store chain because it would not accept
state-issued IDs under its check-writing policy. That case was
settled through a consent decree similar to the Menard
settlement. The Justice Department also reached a similar
settlement with Marquee Video in Washington state in 1994.

Individuals or retail businesses who wish to learn more

about the ADA are encouraged to contact the Justice Department's
ADA technical assistance hotline at (800) 514-0301 (voice) or
(800) 514-0383 (TDD) or to access the ADA Internet home page at
(http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom.1.htm).

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