COMPLAINT

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA alleges the following:

Introduction

1. This action is brought by the United States to enforce Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended (“ADA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12181-89, and its implementing regulation, 28 C.F.R. Part 36, against Defendant Compass Career Management L.L.C., d/b/a Compass Career College (“Defendant” or “the College”) located at 42353 Deluxe Plaza, Hammond, Louisiana 70403.  The discrimination underlying this lawsuit, involving an applicant with HIV (“the Applicant”) to the College’s Practical Nursing Program, includes 1) the College’s denial of the opportunity of the Applicant to participate in or benefit from its goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations; 2) the College’s use of standards or criteria or methods of administration that have the effect of discriminating on the basis of disability; and 3) the College’s imposition or application of eligibility criteria that screen out, or tend to screen out, an individual with a disability or any class of individuals with disabilities from fully and equally enjoying the College’s goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations. 
2. The Attorney General has commenced this action based on a determination that a person or group of persons has been discriminated against and that such discrimination raises an issue of general public importance.  42 U.S.C. § 12188(b)(1)(B).  The United States seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, compensatory damages, and a civil penalty against Defendant.
   

Jurisdiction and Venue

3. This Court has jurisdiction over this action under 42 U.S.C. § 12188(b)(1)(B) and 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1345.  The Court may grant declaratory relief and further necessary or proper relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201 and 2202 and may grant equitable relief, monetary damages, and a civil penalty pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 12188(b)(2).
4. Venue is proper in the Eastern District of Louisiana pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b)(1) because Defendant resides in this district.  Venue is further proper in the Eastern District of Louisiana pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b)(2) because a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred in this district.

Parties

5. Plaintiff is the United States of America.
6. Defendant is Compass Career Management L.L.C., which does business in the State of Louisiana under the trade name of Compass Career College.  The College, located at 42353 Deluxe Plaza in Hammond, Louisiana, is a provider of vocational education and career training, including programs in practical nursing, allied health, and cosmetology.
7. Defendant is a public accommodation within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. § 12181(7).

Facts

8. The Applicant, a Certified Nursing Assistant, sought to advance his career by pursuing an education and licensure in Practical Nursing.
9. In or about August of 2011, the Applicant first contacted the College regarding his interest in enrolling in the College’s Practical Nursing Program (“the Program”).
10. The Applicant provided the College with preliminary information to establish his eligibility for the Program, including entrance test scores that fell within the required score range for acceptance into the Program.  
11. By letter dated September 26, 2011, the Applicant was invited for a panel interview with College employees in early November 2011.  This letter, which directed the Applicant to contact the College to schedule the date for his panel interview, states:  “You will be notified on the day of the interview if you were successful in obtaining a space in our Practical Nurse [sic] Program.  You will as well be given the information you need to obtain or complete before the start of classes in January.” 
12. The Applicant’s interview panel included Dianne Bretton, the College’s Practical Nursing Program Coordinator; Sarah Schillage, the College’s Compliance Officer; and Judy Thompson, the College’s Bookkeeper.  This panel unanimously recommended the Applicant for entry into the Program. 
13. By letter dated November 1, 2011, and signed by Sara Dugas, Director of the College (“Dugas Letter”), the College informed the Applicant of his conditional acceptance into the Program starting January 30, 2012.  The Dugas Letter informed the Applicant of the “next steps in the admission process,” which included, among other things, providing the College with a number of documents (including an immunization record; certified birth certificate or permanent resident card; driver’s license or state-issued photo identification and social security card; two sets of fingerprints; high school transcript; and health forms), submission to a background check, and provision of a $50 money order.  The Dugas Letter required the Applicant to submit all requested information on or before January 16, 2012, and closed by extending to the Applicant a “warm welcome” to the College.
14. In November 2011, based on his receipt of the Dugas Letter, the Applicant changed his work schedule as a Certified Nursing Assistant to ensure that he would be available for the Monday through Thursday College instruction schedule beginning in January 2012. 
15. The Applicant followed the instructions in the Dugas Letter and timely met all prerequisites for enrollment in the Program.  He paid for and submitted to a background check; provided two letters of reference; and applied for financial aid and received entrance counseling for the receipt of federal loans.  The Applicant returned all of the documentation requested in the Dugas Letter by December 16, 2011, and provided the money order on January 5, 2012 – well before the deadline of January 16, 2012. 
16. In December 2011, the Applicant had a physical examination, as the College required.  The Applicant’s doctor, who is aware that the Applicant has HIV, noted on the College’s “Physical Examination” form that the Applicant was “Cleared medically” for participation in the Program. 
17. The College’s Physical Exam Form Packet requires applicants to self-disclose a number of health conditions, by checking “yes” or “no,” and directs applicants to “Explain ALL ‘Yes’ Answers” (original emphasis).  Under “Past Illnesses,” the Applicant checked “Yes” next to “HIV.”  In the space provided to explain his answer, the Applicant wrote “HIV+.” 
18. The Applicant returned his completed Physical Exam Form Packet, which included the “Physical Examination” form completed by his doctor, to the College on December 16, 2011. 
19. By letter dated January 12, 2012 (“the January 12 Letter”), the College informed the Applicant that he must disclose his HIV-positive status to the Louisiana State Board of Practical Nurse Examiners (“State Board”). 
20. On January 13, 2012, the Applicant reported to the College’s reception desk with the required $100 payment and to complete the enrollment process.  He expected to finalize his financial aid details and sign an Enrollment Agreement.  Instead, he was instructed to speak with Ms. Schillage, the College’s Compliance Officer. 
21. Ms. Schillage gave the Applicant the January 12 Letter and instructed him to provide her with a copy of the letter that he would submit to the State Board, as well as a Certified Mail receipt from the U.S. Postal Service. 
22. In addition, Ms. Schillage read verbatim from a letter dated January 13, 2012 (“The Schillage Letter”).  The Schillage Letter outlined “hardships” that the College determined the Applicant’s HIV-positive status could pose, which it characterized as “significant and might, as a practical matter, prevent your earning a degree at all, or earning it in a timely and affordable manner. . . .”  Ms. Schillage required the Applicant to sign the Schillage Letter to acknowledge that he had received a copy of the letter.
23. The Schillage Letter further forewarned the Applicant that, even if he were able to earn a degree from the College, “it may be difficult to find employment after graduation.”
24. The Schillage Letter incorrectly stated that the Applicant would be required to disclose his HIV status to each patient or the patient’s “lawfully authorized representative” and further states:  “I assume there may be difficulty in securing signed approval from patients to allow you to perform assessments. . . .” 
25. The Schillage Letter further incorrectly informed the Applicant to disclose his HIV status to fellow practical nursing students and concluded:  “They would have the right not to assist you.” 
26. The Schillage Letter also informed the Applicant that, if patients or students declined to be treated by or to work alongside him following his disclosure that he has HIV, he may need to have faculty accompany him, at his own cost, for clinical instruction “outside of scheduled clinical or scheduled clinical make-up times.”  The Schillage Letter stated that for group clinical instruction, the extra charge to the applicant would be $12.00 per hour, and “[i]f ... we had to provide you with additional individual instruction, the cost to you will be considerably more.”  But the Schillage Letter further cautioned that “Compass may not have clinical instructors available to assist you outside of scheduled times.”
27. After Ms. Schillage read the Schillage Letter, the Applicant told her that he would like to make his $100 payment and sign the Enrollment Agreement. 
28. Ms. Schillage refused to allow the Applicant to sign the Enrollment Agreement and advised him that he would need to provide evidence that he had notified the State Board of his HIV-positive status and provide the College with a copy of his letter to the State Board and the Certified Mail receipt from the U.S. Postal Service.
29. The Applicant felt dehumanized.  He was stunned by the January 13, 2012, meeting with Ms. Schillage and the contents of the Schillage Letter. 
30. Due to the Applicant’s significant commitment of time and resources to the application process to that date, he still pursued his application with Compass after he received the Schillage Letter.  He disclosed his HIV status to the State Board as directed by Ms. Schillage and per the instructions in the January 12 Letter. 
31. The Applicant called and spoke with Ms. Schillage after he returned home from their appointment.  During this call, he read a letter he drafted to the State Board that disclosed his HIV status.  Ms. Schillage confirmed that his draft letter to the State Board was sufficient.     
32. By letter dated January 20, 2012, the State Board acknowledged the Applicant’s disclosure that he has HIV.  The Applicant received the State Board’s acknowledgment letter on Saturday, January 21, 2012. 
33. Following receipt of the State Board’s written acknowledgment of his health disclosure, the Applicant sought to complete the Enrollment Agreement on Monday, January 23, 2012, or Tuesday January 24, 2012, in advance of the January 30 start date for the Program.  On January 23, 2012, or January 24, 2012, the Applicant called Ms. Moore to inform her that he was en route to the College to complete the Enrollment Agreement. 
34. During this call on January 23, 2012, or January 24, 2012, Ms. Moore informed the Applicant that the College had dropped him from the Program class that commenced on January 30, 2012.  Ms. Moore explained that the College had not heard from the Applicant in more than one week, so the College had assigned his spot in the class to someone else.  Ms. Moore further informed the Applicant that the class was full and was closed to additional students. 
35. The College enrolled the last student in its Program on January 24, 2012.
36. The College capped its Program enrollment for the January 30, 2012, start date at 33 students.  In prior years, the Program had up to 34 students.  The College is approved to enroll up to 35 students in the Program.
37. The Applicant enrolled in a practical nursing degree program at a new school on or about May 2013.
38. The Applicant voluntarily disclosed his HIV status to an administrator at his new school when he revealed the difficulties that he experienced when he attempted to enroll at Compass.  The Applicant’s current school did not consider his HIV status to be an impediment to his enrollment, performance, or graduation potential as a practical nursing student, nor did the new school express any concerns about his employment potential following graduation. 

CAUSE OF ACTION

Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act

The allegations of Paragraphs 1 through 38 are hereby re-alleged and incorporated by reference as if fully stated herein.

The College discriminated against the Applicant on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of its goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations in violation of Title III of the ADA, 42 U.S.C. § 12182(a) and the Title III implementing regulation at 28 C.F.R. Part 36, by:

(a) denying the Applicant, because he has HIV, the ability to participate in or benefit from its goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations by refusing him enrollment in the January 2012 Practical Nursing Program, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 12182(b)(1)(A)(i) and 28 C.F.R. § 36.202;

(b) using standards or criteria or methods of administration that have the effect of discriminating on the basis of disability, including through statements made to the Applicant in the Schillage Letter, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 12182(b)(1)(D) and 28 C.F.R. § 36.204; and

(c) imposing or applying eligibility criteria that screen out, or tend to screen out, applicants with HIV from fully and equally enjoying the College’s goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations, including by discouraging the Applicant’s attendance through the issuance of the Schillage Letter, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 12182(b)(2)(A)(i) and 28 C.F.R. § 36.301(a).

Prayer For Relief

WHEREFORE, the Plaintiff United States prays that the Court:

1. Grant judgment in favor of the United States and declare that Defendant violated Title III of the ADA, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12181-89, and its implementing regulation, 28 C.F.R. Part 36;
2. Enjoin Defendant, its officers, agents, employees, and all others in concert or participation with it, from engaging in discrimination against individuals with disabilities, and specifically from failing to comply with Title III of the ADA, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12181-89, and its implementing regulation, 28 C.F.R. Part 36;
3. Order Defendant to comply with the requirements of Title III of the ADA, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12181-89, and its implementing regulation, 28 C.F.R. Part 36;
4. Order Defendant to take such affirmative steps as may be necessary to restore, as nearly as practicable, the Applicant to the position that he would have been in but for Defendant’s conduct;
5. Award compensatory damages, including damages for pain, suffering, and emotional distress, to the Applicant due to Defendant’s actions, or failures to act, in violation of the ADA, for injuries suffered as the result of Defendant’s violations of Title III of the ADA, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12181-12189, and its implementing regulation, 28 C.F.R. Part 36;
6. Assess a civil penalty against Defendant in the maximum amount authorized by 42 U.S.C. § 12188(b)(2)(C), to vindicate the public interest; and
7. Order such other appropriate relief as the interests of justice may require.

Respectfully submitted this 27th day of April, 2015.