SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT UNDER THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND brown university
USAO # 2016V00247
DJ # 202-66-29

BACKGROUND

1. The Parties to this Settlement Agreement are the United States of America and Brown University (Brown or the University).
2. This Settlement Agreement is based on an investigation and compliance review that the U.S. Department of Justice conducted in response to a complaint regarding Brown University’s policies and procedures related to readmission of undergraduate students seeking to return from a medical leave of absence for mental health reasons in the Fall 2012 through Spring 2017 semesters.
3. The Parties agree that it is in their best interests, and the United States believes that it is in the public interest, to resolve this dispute without engaging in protracted litigation. The Parties have therefore voluntarily entered into this Agreement, as follows:

TITLE III COVERAGE

4. The Attorney General is responsible for administering and enforcing Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12181–89 (ADA or Title III), and the regulation implementing Title III, 28 C.F.R. Part 36.
5. Brown is a private, coeducational university located in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is a place of public accommodation within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. § 12181(7) and 28 C.F.R. § 36.104.
6. Title III of the ADA prohibits discrimination by places of public accommodation against individuals on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of a place of public accommodation. 42 U.S.C. § 12182(a); 28 C.F.R. § 36.301(a).
7. Title III of the ADA requires that a public accommodation make reasonable modifications to policies, practices, and procedures when such modifications are necessary to afford goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations to individuals with disabilities, unless it can demonstrate that making such modifications would fundamentally alter the nature of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations. 42 U.S.C. § 12182(b)(2)(A); 28 C.F.R. § 36.302(a).
8. The United States contends the following:
1. Brown denied certain undergraduate students who had taken a medical leave for mental health reasons from the fall 2012 to the spring 2017 semesters the opportunity to participate in and benefit from Brown’s services on the basis of disability by denying their applications for readmission to Brown following medical leaves of absence, even though the students met all of the requirements for returning to school and despite the conclusions of the students’ own treatment providers. See 42 U.S.C. § 12182(b)(1)(A)(i); 28 C.F.R. § 36.202(a).
2. Additionally, to the extent that Brown required undergraduate students taking medical leave for mental health reasons to remain on leave for at least two full semesters, Brown failed to reasonably modify this requirement where the student requested an earlier return and the student met all of the requirements for returning to school, except for being on leave for at least two semesters. See 42 U.S.C. § 12182(b)(2)(A)(ii), 28 C.F.R. § 36.302(a).
3. Finally, Brown imposed eligibility criteria that screened out or tended to screen out students with mental health disabilities from fully and equally enjoying Brown’s goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations when these criteria cannot be shown to be necessary for the provision of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations being offered. See 42 U.S.C. § 12182(b)(2)(A)(i), 28 C.F.R. § 36.301(a).
9. Brown categorically denies that it ever violated Title III of the ADA in its handling of requests for readmission from a medical leave of absence for mental health reasons in the Fall 2012 through the Spring 2017 semesters. This Agreement is not an admission in whole or in part of any liability by Brown, and Brown expressly denies liability with regard to all of the United States’ allegations in Paragraph 8. Brown has cooperated fully with the United States’ investigation, and both parties enter into this Settlement Agreement to avoid protracted litigation.

ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN BY BROWN UNIVERSITY

10. For purposes of this Agreement, “medical leave” or “medical leave of absence” refers to leaves of absence taken by undergraduate students for mental health reasons, and includes Medical Leave in Lieu of Suspension.
11. Brown will not deny any person on the basis of disability the full and equal enjoyment of the University’s goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 12182 and the Title III implementing regulation, 28 C.F.R. Part 36.
12. Brown will make reasonable modifications to its policies, practices, or procedures when such modifications are necessary to afford the University’s goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations to individuals with disabilities unless Brown can demonstrate that making the modifications would fundamentally alter the nature of the University’s academic standards, course requirements, goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations. 42 U.S.C. § 12182(b)(2)(A)(ii); 28 C.F.R. § 36.302(a).
13. Brown will not impose or apply eligibility criteria that screen out or tend to screen out an individual with a disability or any class of individuals with disabilities, including individuals with mental health disabilities, from fully and equally enjoying any goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations, unless such criteria can be shown to be necessary for the provision of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations being offered. 42 U.S.C. § 12182(b)(2)(A)(i), 28 C.F.R. § 36.301(a).
14. Medical Leave of Absence and Readmission Policies. Previously, Brown revised its “Guidelines: Clearance to Return from Medical Leave” and “Guidelines: Clearance to Return from Medical Leave in Lieu of Academic Suspension or Refused Registration” policies, attached hereto as Attachments B and C (“revised medical leave policies”), to include the following terms or provisions:
    1. Brown will determine whether to grant returns from medical leaves of absence after an individualized assessment of each student based on the best available objective medical evidence;
    2. Any student with a disability who takes a medical leave of absence for a set length of time or with set conditions for return may request early return from, or an extension of, the set length of time, or a change in the conditions for return. Brown will consider this as a request for a reasonable modification to its medical leave and readmission policies, practices, procedures, or guidelines. Brown is not required to grant a request that Brown can demonstrate would fundamentally alter the nature of Brown’s goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations. Brown will determine whether to grant the request after an individualized assessment of the student based on the best available objective medical evidence; and
    3. Any student whose request for readmission to return from a medical leave of absence is denied will receive a detailed written explanation of the University’s decision not to allow the student to return, including all reasons for the denial, citing the best available objective medical evidence on which the decision was based. Brown will continue to allow students to appeal and re-apply using the processes described in the policy.
    4. When any Brown student takes a medical leave of absence, Brown will notify such student of their right to request a reasonable modification to its medical leave and readmission policies, practices, procedures, or guidelines pursuant to Brown’s revised medical leave policies.
    5. Brown’s revised medical leave policies will be incorporated into the “Medical Leave of Absence” section of the Student Support Services website, currently located at https://www.brown.edu/offices/student-support/medical-leave.
15. Training. Within 60 business days of the effective date of this Agreement, Brown will develop a training program (ADA Training) that will be provided to the individuals identified in this paragraph within 90 business days and every year thereafter for the term of this Agreement. Brown will provide ADA training to all faculty and staff responsible for receiving, evaluating, and/or making decisions regarding undergraduate students’ requests to take medical leaves of absence, and/or requests to be readmitted from such leaves of absence.
1. The ADA training will address Brown’s nondiscrimination obligations under Title III of the ADA, including specifically the terms and conditions of this Agreement.
2. The ADA training will be conducted by an individual or individuals with substantive legal knowledge of the ADA.
3. For each session of the ADA training conducted under this Agreement, Brown will maintain attendance logs reflecting the date of the training, names, and titles of attendees for not less than the term of the Agreement.
16. Reporting.
1. Reports: During the term of this Agreement, Brown will provide the United States with semiannual reports. These reports will be provided to the United States within 15 business days following July 1st and December 1st for each calendar year covered by this Agreement, and each report will cover the semester(s) just concluded. Each report must include, at a minimum:
1. Any decision to deny an undergraduate student’s request to return from a mental health related medical leave of absence. For each such decision, the report will include the readmission application, accompanying provider letters, denial letter, any appeal application, and any appeal decision; and  
2. Copy of any complaint filed in a federal or state court or the Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights and served on Brown alleging that Brown’s undergraduate medical leave or readmission processes have subjected individuals to disability-based discrimination in violation of the ADA; and
3. The dates of training, name of trainer, individuals trained, and training materials for the trainings conducted pursuant to Paragraph 15.
2. Brown will cooperate with the United States in responding to any requests with reasonable written notice for additional documentation that the United States reasonably requires to ensure Brown’s compliance with the Agreement.
3. Brown will retain the medical leave of absence files for cases reported to the United States in connection with subsection a.i. of this paragraph in the same manner as it retains the medical leave of absence files for any other of its current or former undergraduate students. At a minimum, however, Brown will retain these medical leave of absence files for not less than the term of the Agreement.

MONETARY PAYMENTS

17. Brown agrees to pay an amount no greater than $684,000.00 to the United States for the purpose of compensating certain individuals identified by the United States who were denied their requests for readmission following a medical leave for mental health reasons from the Fall 2012 through the Spring 2017 semesters.
1. Brown will make the payment to the United States within thirty (30) business days of execution of this Agreement. The United States will distribute a portion of the payment in its discretion to each individual after such individuals have executed a copy of the Release of Claims, attached hereto as Attachment A. The United States will provide Brown with copies of the executed Release of Claims within thirty (30) business days after they have been executed.

OTHER PROVISIONS

18. In consideration for this Agreement, the United States will close its investigation and compliance review (DJ #202-66-99, USAO #2016V247) and will not institute any civil action alleging discrimination based on the allegations set forth in Paragraph 8, except as provided in the immediately following paragraph.
19. The United States may review Brown’s compliance with this Agreement or Title III of the ADA at any time. If the United States believes that this Agreement or any portion of it has been violated, it may institute a civil action in the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island to enforce this Agreement and/or Title III of the ADA, subject to Brown’s right to assert its defenses in any such action. Brown reserves all rights, including but not limited to procedural and substantive defenses.
20. If any provision of this Agreement is determined by the District Court to be unenforceable, the other provisions of this Agreement shall nonetheless remain in full force and effect, provided, however, that if the severance of any such provision materially alters the rights or obligations of the Parties, the Parties shall engage in good faith negotiations in order to adopt mutually agreeable amendments to this Agreement as may be necessary to restore the Parties as closely as possible to the initially agreed upon relative rights and obligations.
21. Failure by the United States to enforce this entire Agreement or any of its provisions shall not be construed as a waiver of its right to do so with regard to any provision of this Agreement.
22. A signatory to this document in a representative capacity for Brown represents that he or she is authorized to bind Brown to this Agreement.
23. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the United States of America and Brown on the matters raised herein and no other statement, promise or agreement, either written or oral, made by any Party or agents of any Party, that is not contained in this written agreement, including any attachments, shall be enforceable.
24. Any modification of this Agreement shall be by written agreement of the Parties.
25. This Agreement is not intended to remedy any other potential violations of the ADA or any other law that are not specifically described in Paragraph 8 of this Agreement, which Brown expressly denies. Nothing in this Agreement changes Brown’s obligation to otherwise comply with the requirements of the ADA.
26. The Parties agree that, as of the effective date of this Agreement, for purposes of the Parties’ preservation obligations pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26, litigation is not “reasonably foreseeable.” To the extent that any Party previously implemented a litigation hold to preserve documents, electronically stored information, or things related to this compliance review, the Party is no longer required to maintain such a litigation hold. Nothing in this paragraph relieves the United States or the Court of any other obligations imposed by this Agreement or other applicable law.

EFFECTIVE DATE/TERMINATION DATE

27. The effective date of this Agreement is the date of the last signature below.
28. The duration of this Agreement will be 3 years from the effective date.
29. All notifications under this Agreement shall be sent by mail or e-mail to the United States Attorney’s Office, District of Rhode Island, 50 Kennedy Plaza, 8th Floor, Providence, RI 02903, Attn: AUSA Amy Romero, Amy.Romero@usdoj.gov.

AGREED AND CONSENTED TO:

FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:

FOR BROWN UNIVERSITY: