NEWARK, N.J. – The U.S. Attorney’s Office has reached settlement with an Ocean County, New Jersey, nail salon to resolve allegations that the salon discriminates against individuals with mobility impairments in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.
Under the settlement, USA Nails Inc. of Point Pleasant, New Jersey, agrees to adopt and post in a conspicuous place a non-discrimination policy, to train current and future employees on the requirements of Title III of the ADA, and to pay $1,000 in damages to the individual complainant in this matter. Title III prohibits disability discrimination in places of public accommodation, like nail salons. The settlement resolves allegations that USA Nails discriminated against persons with mobility impairments by refusing nail services those using a wheelchair.
“Disability discrimination violates the ADA and cannot be tolerated,” U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. “This agreement ensures that customers will not be turned away from receiving nail services simply because they happen to have a disability.”
The Department of Justice’s enforcement efforts under the ADA seek equal opportunity and dignity in all aspects of life, including access to public accommodations such as nail salons. This settlement agreement is the third agreement that the Department of Justice has reached with a nail salon through its U.S. Attorney Program for ADA Enforcement, and the first in the District of New Jersey. In June 2021, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of North Carolina entered a settlement agreement resolving an allegation that a nail salon in Durham, North Carolina, refused to provide services to an individual with HIV. And in June 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana reached a settlement agreement with a nail salon in Harahan, Louisiana, to resolve an allegation that an individual was refused services because of the inability to transfer out of their wheelchair.
In 2022, U.S. Attorney Sellinger created a Civil Rights Division with the sole focus on enforcing federal civil rights laws, including the ADA, with the goal of protecting and upholding the civil rights of those in our community. Individuals who believe they may have been victims of discrimination may file a complaint with the U.S Attorney’s Office at http://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/civil-rights-enforcement/complaint. Additional information about the ADA can be found at www.ada.gov, or by calling the Department of Justice’s toll-free information line at (800) 514-0301 and (800) 514-0383 (TDD).
The government is represented by Senior Civil Rights Counsel Kelly Horan Florio of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Civil Rights Division in Newark.