Facts

Cali Bunn, a California resident, visited a Nike store in San Diego during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 to purchase shoes.

Bunn had suffered from severe to profound hearing loss and relies on speechreading when holding conversations with others.

Prior to Bunn's visit, Nike, Inc. implemented a policy requiring its employees to wear face coverings as mandated by the state of California to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Cali sued Nike and the employees under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and similar state laws.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Plaintiff contended that she was not provided with reasonable accommodations as required by the ADA. She could not understand what the employees were saying to her since her ability to read lips or hear employees clearly when they spoke to her because of the opaque masks. Plaintiff also contended that there was no reasonable accommodations available to her despite her requests for accomodations.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: Defendants denied the contentions but agreed to settle the claims in lieu of further litigation.

Result

The parties entered into a settlement agreement whereby defendant agreed to provide its employees with masks with a transparent window over the mouth to accommodate customers with hearing disabilities. Defendant also agreed to provide clean pens for customers to select whether they require accommodations from hearing impairments. Defendant's employees would also receive additional training on accommodating people with disabilities and informing people with disabilities of accommodations as required by the ADA.