When the Americans with Disabilities Act was still a very young law, the Department of Justice filed its first lawsuit, against the Becker CPA Exam review course. Some people who wanted to take the review course for the CPA exam, and who were also deaf, had requested that Becker provide sign language interpreters for the course, and Becker refused. DOJ tried to negotiate with the respected review course, but Becker did not budge. So, late in 1992, DOJ filed its first ADA lawsuit.
A year and a half later, the parties reached a settlement, with Becker agreeing at long last to provide interpreters to students who needed them, and paying monetary awards to the named complainants. The complainants were finally able to fully participate in the review course, and when they then took the CPA exam, they passed at a rate even higher than others.
dLCV Director's Blog 