High-Tech Eatery Faces Projected Class Action Over Disability Access
Eatsa, a fast-food chain featuring high-tech ordering and automated service, faces a putative class action alleging its restaurants are inaccessible to the blind. Am. Council for the Blind, v. Keenwawa, Inc., No. 17-2096 (S.D.N.Y., filed March 23, 2017). Eatsa customers place orders through mobile apps or kiosks in the restaurants, then swipe a credit card to pay; the customer name then appears on a screen next to a wall of food-delivery “cubbies.” When an order is ready, an LCD screen lights up and displays the customer’s name, and the customer must tap a particular corner of the cubby to open it and retrieve the order. The complaint alleges that Eatsa failed to configure either its mobile app or kiosks to use audio technology, rendering the restaurant inaccessible to the blind or those with low vision.
Although Eatsa staffs each restaurant with one or two human “hosts” to help customers, the plaintiffs claim that a request for customer assistance can only be placed through the kiosk. The complaint alleges that blind or low-vision customers are unable to rely on otherwise attracting the notice of the hosts, especially during busy restaurant times, and are unable to independently use the kiosk, browse the menu, check ingredients and prices, review the order and pay, or pick up food orders from the cubbies. The plaintiffs claim that Eatsa’s tablet-based kiosks may already be outfitted with technology capable of providing audio for blind customers; further, they argue that Eatsa’s mobile app does not use text-to-speech features, even though such features are generally available on mobile devices.
Issue 629
