J. Crew Class Action Says POS Machines Violate the ADA

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One of the nation’s largest clothing retailers is being sued for allegedly violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by failing to provide point of sale (POS) devices that are accessible to customers with visual disabilities.

The National Federation of the Blind is the advocacy group who is bringing forth the new proposed nationwide class action lawsuit on behalf of blind customers who shop at J. Crew’s 514 stores.

The advocacy group claims that by not providing touch screen POS devices equipped with auxiliary aids, J. Crew is violating the ADA because these devices do not have features discernible to the blind.

According to the new class action lawsuit, J. Crew customers who are visually impaired are unable to independently complete debit or credit card transactions.

Instead, they are confronted by touchscreen devices prompting them to enter their PIN numbers entirely by visual cues, forcing them to seek assistance and compromise their privacy.

Thus, blind customers who wish to make debit card purchases are unable to enter their PIN numbers and are forced to disclose these numbers to store clerks, violating their privacy and exposing them to the risk of fraud, the proposed class action lawsuit asserts.

“A customer’s use of a debit card affords the added protection of requiring a PIN to complete the transaction,” the complaint says. “For a blind or visually impaired customer who is required to disclose that PIN to store cashiers in order to proceed with a transaction, that security is compromised.”

The proposed Class also notes that POS devices with textured keypads discernible to the blind are readily available and used by a substantial portion of retailers.

Other retailers have installed physical touchpads and other devices in their point of sale systems. In fact, the state of California has required all merchants operating in the state to provide these accommodations since the beginning of 2010, the lawsuit states.

As such, the plaintiffs do not view it as a substantial hardship for the retailers at issue here to comply with the ADA and allow blind customers to privately and independently complete debit transactions by adopting POS devices with “auxiliary aids,” including “Brailled” keypads.

“Defendant can certainly afford to provide the same tactually discernible keypads and other methods of nonvisual access to all of its blind or visually impaired customers in all of its retail stores,” the complaint states.

“They should be required to provide accessible POS devices to all of their stores now, when it matters for its customers, not at its own delayed, uncertain or leisurely pace.”

J. Crew is not the only nationwide retailer as of late that has come under fire for its alleged discriminatory practices towards the visually impaired. Other large retailers hit with consumer protection class action lawsuits include PetSmart and the Container Store.

Last year, the National Federation for the Blind filed action against PetSmart in Colorado federal court on behalf of six named blind consumers who were forced to divulge their debit card PIN number to store clerks in order to complete their purchases.

“Blind people are just as concerned about the security of our financial accounts and information as our sighted peers, so having to verbally provide our debit card PIN to PetSmart’s sales personnel is not acceptable,” the PetSmart ADA plaintiffs stated. “Nor is it an answer to say that we can pay with cash or a credit card instead; blind people must have all of the same options for payment as the sighted as a matter of equal treatment, and the benefits of using debit cards, such as the ability to receive cash back, apply equally to the blind.”

Similarly, the Container Store was also targeted by the advocacy group and six legally blind consumers who say they were discriminated against by having to disclose their PINs in order to make purchases using the the retailer’s touchscreen POS device.

Other retailers facing legal action for alleged ADA violations by not providing ADA-compliant POS devices include Build-A-Bear Workshop, Express Inc., Hobby Lobby, Kay Jewelers, Lululemon USA Inc., Office Depot Inc., and Williams-Sonoma Inc.

The proposed Class is represented by Kevin Williams of the Colorado Cross-Disability Legal Program, and Jana Eisinger of Martinez Law Group.

The J. Crew ADA Class Action Lawsuit is National Federation of the Blind, et al. v. J. Crew Group Inc., Case No. 2:16-cv-04928, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.