Ŀ
   Justice Dept Sues IL in First Employment Disability Discrimination Case  
Ĵ
 US Newswire: The Justice Dept filed its first lawsuit to protect people    
 with disabilities from employment discrimination.  It sued the State of    
 IL for denying pension & retirement benefits to police officers & fire-    
 fighters with disabilities.  The complaint, filed in federal court in      
 Chicago, asserted a state-established fund excluded otherwise qualified    
 employees who were disabled at the time they joined local police & fire    
 Depts. The Dept said the policy violated the 1990 Americans with Disabil-  
 ities Act (ADA).  Title I of the ADA prohibits discrimination against      
 qualified individuals with disabilities in all employment practices,       
 including compensation & other privileges of employment, such as pension   
 plans. The Dept's investigation in IL resulted from the complaint of one   
 of the Aurora police officers - an individual with diabetes. The lawsuit   
 asks the Court to declare the state's police & firefighter pension laws    
 unlawful. It also seeks an order requiring IL & its communities to provide 
 police officers & firefighters equal access to benefit plans, & a prohib-  
 ition against discriminatory employment practices in the future. Addition- 
 ally, it seeks relief for individuals harmed by the challenged pension     
 practices. IL police officers & firefighters who believe they may have     
 been victims of discriminatory practices should contact the Chief of the   
 Employment Litigation Section of the Dept of Justice at 202-514-3831.      


