A state lawmaker wants to make sure people with disabilities who feel they’re being discriminated against are at least heard.
State Rep. Krista Griffith (D-Fairfax) says a health care facility refused to give one of her constituents, a teen with Down Syndrome, a physical to participate in Special Olympics because he’d have trouble completing an eye exam.
His family filed a complaint with the Human Relations Commission, but the commission dismissed the case saying it didn’t have jurisdiction.
Now, Griffith has filed a bill that seeks to ensure discrimination claims made by people with disabilities are at least heard.
"For someone who’s gone through the humiliation, disappointment and struggle of being discriminated against and then go to the agency that’s supposed to help them and be turned away, it’s double the injury, it’s being turned away twice and that’s very difficult," she said adding that, for some, the alternative would be lengthy and expensive litigation.
House Bill 311 clarifies existing state policies and procedures to ensure that the full scope of Delaware’s Equal Accommodations Law is enforced.
Griffith said she expects the bill to be heard in committee as soon as next week.
The measure is being sponsored in the State Senate by Sen. Sarah McBride and has the backing of the state’s top disability advocates.
