Key Activities
The petitioner, who is undergoing epilepsy treatment, was asked to submit a doctor’s note and
be accompanied by a caregiver in order to take an aerobics class at the education center. She filed
a petition with the Commission that the requirements were excessive and discriminatory.
The Commission concluded that it is an unjustified discrimination against persons with
disabilities to demand the petitioner to bring a doctor’s note and a caregiver in order to mitigate
safety risks and reassure other program users.
The education center accepted the recommendations and replied that it would stop asking
persons with disabilities to submit a doctor’s note and be accompanied by a caregiver, train the
staff on human rights, and modify the relevant provisions in the Terms of Service.
Guide dogs of persons with visual impairment denied entry into restaurant
On September 6, the Commission recommended the mayor of a city to impose a fine on a
restaurant for violation of the Act on Welfare of Persons with Disabilities, organize education and
training for restaurants, and conduct oversight and monitoring to prevent similar incidents in the
future.
The victims, who are blind persons (visual impairment grade I), wanted to have a meal at the
restaurant, accompanied by their guide dogs. However, the petitionee refused to allow the dogs
from entering the facility for the reason that other diners don’t like it.
The Commission concluded that guide dogs play an integral role in the lives of blind persons, so
denying them entry into a restaurant because of a false notion that guide dogs can do harm to other
customers or affect business is a discrimination based on disability.
The city accepted the Commission’s recommendations and imposed a fine to the restaurant. It
also replied that it would work with human rights organizations in the jurisdiction to offer regular
educational sessions for restaurant operators.
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