eBay Being Sued for Discriminating Against Deaf Sellers

posted on Mar 17 by Admin in the Disability Discrimination category

Melissa Earll, of Missouri, wanted to sell some valuable books on eBay.  She could not sell her items because eBay requires its users to verify their identities on the telephone in order to sell on eBay and she is deaf. The company eBay allegedly gives merchant passwords over the telephone to then be entered into their site.

Earll states in her lawsuit in 2008 that she spent two months corresponding with eBay in an unsuccessful attempt to get them to offer another verification process. In 2009, she tried to register as a seller again and was unable to do so for the same reason. Earll is seeking a class action suit and argues she was unable to use eBay’s services strictly because of her disability. According to Earll, eBay has violated federal and California state anti-discrimination laws, where its headquarters is located. Earll is seeking monetary damages and an injunction to require the site to incorporate a registration process  accessible to deaf people. She proposes in her legal papers that eBay uses CAPTCHAs (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart) for verification as many other websites have done.

“She wants the system changed,” says her lawyer Michael Ascenbrener of the law firm Edelson McGuire. “She wants to be able to sell on eBay,” he added.

Representatives of eBay said in a statement that it believes its polices are “consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act and related laws.” The company added that it “strives to equally serve all of our users in an appropriate, lawful, and responsible manner.”