U.S. Attorney’s Office Reaches Settlement with Kansas Nail Salon After Complaint of Disability Discrimination

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – The U.S. Attorney’s Office has reached a settlement with a Kansas nail salon to resolve allegations that the salon discriminated against an individual with a disability in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), U.S. Attorney Kate E. Brubacher announced today.

Under the settlement, Pretty Nails, Inc. of Shawnee agrees to adopt a non-discrimination policy and post it in a conspicuous place, to train current and future employees on the requirements of Title III of the ADA, and to pay $1,500 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 Pretty Nails discriminated against a woman with cerebral palsy, who uses a motorized wheelchair, by refusing to provide nail services. 

“What was supposed to be a fun outing to get her nails done, instead turned into an ordeal that left the complainant in this case upset and embarrassed,” said U.S. Attorney Kate E. Brubacher. “We at the U.S. Justice Department hope to spare people with disabilities from these kinds of painful experiences by educating business owners and their employees about disability rights laws.”

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 fourth 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 Kansas. 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. 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. And in February 2023, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey entered a settlement agreement with a nail salon in Ocean County, New Jersey, to resolve allegations that the salon discriminates against individuals with mobility impairments. 

Individuals who believe they may have been victims of discrimination may file a complaint with the U.S Attorney’s Office Civil Rights Unit 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 the Civil Rights Coordinator, Andrea L. Taylor of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Kansas City, Kansas.

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