The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois today announced that, as part of a continued effort to enforce the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), it has reached a settlement with Faux Ever Beauty in Countryside, Ill., to resolve claims that the salon discriminated against a potential client with HIV.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office found that Faux Ever Beauty discriminated against a person with HIV when the salon’s owner unlawfully refused to perform an eyebrow microblading procedure due to the person’s HIV status. The investigation revealed that Faux Ever Beauty’s actions were not consistent with current medical knowledge. Moreover, an individual’s HIV status is not a legitimate or lawful reason to refuse to treat a patient seeking services.
Under the terms of the settlement agreement and consistent with penalties available under the ADA, Faux Ever Beauty paid $4,500 to the victim of discrimination. In addition, the owner of Faux Ever Beauty must attend training on the requirements of the ADA, implement an anti-discrimination policy, and report to the U.S. Attorney’s Office any time a person is not accepted as a patient due to a medical condition – with a written justification for the decision. The U.S. Attorney’s Office waived the civil fine in recognition of Faux Ever Beauty’s cooperation during the investigation.
“Salons and other businesses should understand that individuals seeking physical services should not be excluded based on HIV,” said John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. “This settlement should send a clear message that individuals living with HIV are entitled to the same services as everyone else.”
Title III of the ADA prohibits public accommodations, such as salons, medical offices, and tattoo parlors, from excluding people with disabilities, including people with HIV, from enjoying goods, services, privileges, facilities, and advantages provided. For more information regarding the Department of Justice’s efforts to combat discrimination, please visit the official ADA government website. To learn more about the obligations of public accommodations under federal disability rights statutes, call the Department of Justice’s toll-free ADA information line at 800-514-0301, 800-514-0383 (TTY).
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick Johnson and Valerie R. Raedy represented the government during the Faux Ever Beauty investigation and settlement.