The Justice Department today announced an agreement with Montgomery County, Md., and Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission (MNCPPC), to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities.

Minnesota Transit Constructors Inc. (MnTC), a joint venture comprised of Granite Construction, C.S. McCrossan Inc. and Parsons Transportation Group, as well as a number of subcontractors, have agreed to pay the United States $4.6 million to resolve allegations that they knowingly submitted false claims related to a federally-funded transit construction project in Minneapolis.

Lydia Demski, the owner of Deerpath Corp., has agreed to pay the United States $800,000 to resolve allegations that she and her companies knowingly caused false claims to be submitted relating to a contract to provide re-furbishment of equipment at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Plumbrook facility in Sandusky, Ohio.

CH2M Hill Hanford Group Inc. has agreed to pay the United States $1.5 million to resolve allegations that it knowingly submitted false claims and paid kickbacks relating to a contract to operate and manage mixed radioactive waste at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Nuclear Site in the state of Washington.

Under the agreement, which must still be approved by the court, developer, Enclave Development LLC, will make extensive modifications to the complex over the next three years to improve accessibility, and Enclave Development and the other defendants will pay $30,000 to compensate persons who have been harmed by the inaccessible design and construction.

The Justice Department today announced an agreement with the town of Warrenton, Va., to improve access to all aspects of civic life for individuals with disabilities. The agreement was reached under Project Civic Access.

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit today against the developers, builders and designers of the Gateway Village Apartments, a 275-unit apartment complex in Salem, Ore., for violations of the Fair Housing Act.

The Justice Department today announced a settlement of its lawsuit alleging that Equity Homes Inc, PBR LLC, BBR LLC and Shane Hartung violated the Fair Housing Act (FHA) by failing to provide features that would make their multi-family housing developments in Sioux Falls accessible to people with disabilities as required by the Fair Housing Act.

The Justice Department today announced an agreement with Upshur County, Texas, to improve access to all aspects of civic life for people with disabilities.

The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK), the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska and employees of UNK for violating the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against students with disabilities.

The Justice Department today announced a settlement of its lawsuit against the owners, developers, architect and civil engineers of Park Place Apartments, a 276-unit complex in Louisville, Ky., resolving allegations that those involved in the design and construction of the complex discriminated against people with disabilities.

The Justice Department today announced that it has entered into a comprehensive settlement agreement that will transform the Commonwealth of Virginia’s system for serving people with developmental disabilities, including intellectual disabilities, and will resolve violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The Justice Department has reached a settlement with the Henry Ford Health System to ensure effective communication with individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing in the provision of medical services.

Detroit-area resident Tariq Mahmud, 55, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and six counts of health care fraud.

The Justice Department today announced an agreement with the city of Humboldt, Kan., to improve access to all aspects of civic life for individuals with disabilities.

Capmark Finance LLC in Horsham, Pa., has agreed to pay the United States $3.9 million, to settle a False Claims Act lawsuit, the Justice Department announced today.

The Antitrust Division closed its investigations into Google Inc.’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc., the acquisitions by Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Research in Motion Ltd. (RIM) of certain Nortel Networks Corporation patents, and the acquisition by Apple of certain Novell Inc. patents.

MOEX Offshore 2007 LLC has agreed to settle its liability in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in a settlement with the United States valued at $90 million, announced the Department of Justice, the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today.

The Justice Department today announced a $20,000 consent decree that resolves a lawsuit alleging that a Park City, Utah, condominium association and its management company violated the Fair Housing Act by refusing to grant a resident’s request for a reasonable accommodation.

The Justice Department announced today the launch of an educational video reminding employers that Salvadorans with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) may continue working beyond the March 9, 2012, expiration date of their Employment Authorization Documents.

The Justice Department announced it has reached a settlement with the Mountain Valley, Pa., Midget Football League to ensure that children with disabilities are offered an equal opportunity to play youth football.

The Justice Department announced today a settlement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with Trinity Health Systems to ensure that Trinity Regional Medical Center in Fort Dodge, Iowa, provides effective communication to individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.

The Justice Department today announced a settlement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with the city of Flint, Mich., to make all the city’s polling places more accessible for individuals with mobility impairments. The case was commenced based on a complaint from the Michigan Protection and Advocacy Service, and was investigated jointly by the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Michigan.

The Justice Department released two technical assistance documents today regarding the application of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to swimming pools. The documents can be found at www.ada.gov//qa_existingpools_titleIII.htm and www.ada.gov/pools_2010.htm.

"In the Civil Rights Division, we still see every single day barriers facing individuals with disabilities that stand in the way of allowing all people to maximize the contribution they can make to society," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

The Justice Department today announced its largest-ever disability-based housing discrimination settlement fund to resolve allegations that JPI Construction L.P. and six other JPI entities based in Irving, Texas, discriminated on the basis of disability in the design and construction of multifamily housing complexes throughout the United States.

Ward Diesel Filter Systems Inc. has agreed to pay the United States $628,000 to resolve allegations that it knowingly submitted false claims to federal agencies under a contract to provide diesel exhaust filtering systems for fire engines through the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Multiple Award Schedule program, the Justice Department announced today.

Detroit-area resident Tariq Mahmud, 54, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn in the Eastern District of Michigan.

The Justice Department today announced agreements with Wills Point, Texas, and Randolph County, Ga., to improve access to all aspects of civic life for individuals with disabilities

The agreement is the 200th settlement reached under Project Civic Access (PCA), the department’s wide-ranging initiative to ensure that cities, towns and counties throughout the country comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

U.S. Attorney’s offices across the nation are partnering with the Civil Rights Division to target their enforcement efforts on a critical area for individuals with disabilities through a new Barrier-Free Health Care Initiative, the Justice Department announced today. The announcement comes on the 22nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which was passed on July 26, 1990. Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez announced the new initiative today at an event celebrating the anniversary of the ADA in Washington, D.C.

"Thanks to the work of so many of you in this room, the ADA has both literally and figuratively opened millions of doors for individuals with disabilities across this nation. Just as importantly, it has revolutionized the way our society thinks about individuals with disabilities, and it has revolutionized the way people with disabilities live in our communities," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

The Justice Department today announced it has filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland against Baltimore County, Md.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has approved a comprehensive settlement agreement between the United States and the Commonwealth of Virginia, resolving the department’s findings that Virginia’s system for serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The department had found that Virginia was violating the ADA requirement, as interpreted by the Supreme Court’s decision in Olmstead v. L.C., to provide people with intellectual and developmental disabilities the opportunity to live and receive services in the community.

The Justice Department announced today that it seeks to intervene in a class action lawsuit against the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) in federal court in San Francisco to remedy violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The lawsuit, The Department of Fair Employment and Housing v. LSAC, Inc., et al., charges LSAC with widespread and systemic deficiencies in the way it processes requests by people with disabilities for testing accommodations for the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). As a result, the lawsuit alleges, LSAC fails to provide accommodations where needed to best ensure that those test takers can demonstrate their aptitude and achievement level rather than their disability.

The Justice Department announced the release of its “Section 508 report to the President and Congress: “Accessibility of Federal Electronic and Information Technology.”

The Justice Department today announced an agreement with Schuylkill County, Pa., to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities. The agreement was reached under Project Civic Access (PCA), the department’s initiative to ensure that cities, towns and counties throughout the country comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The Justice Department today announced a settlement agreement with Grand Circle LLC, based in Boston, doing business as Grand Circle Travel, to resolve alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and ensure that persons with disabilities, including those who use wheelchairs or other mobility aids, are afforded full and equal access to the company’s travel services and facilities.

Bank of America N.A. has agreed to maintain revised policies, conduct employee training and pay compensation to victims to resolve allegations that it engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination on the basis of disability and receipt of public assistance in violation of the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA).

Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance Director Denise E. O’Donnell today announced more than $11 million in awards to address neighborhood-level crime in 15 locations nationwide.

The Justice Department reached four settlement agreements with over-the-road bus companies in Florida in the last month, to ensure that bus transportation is accessible for people with disabilities. The settlements under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) are with Dynamic Tours &s Jet Tours Corp./Pegasus Transportation.

The Justice Department today announced an agreement with the city of North Adams, Mass., to improve access for people with disabilities to civic life in North Adams. The agreement was reached under Project Civic Access (PCA), the Justice Department’s initiative to ensure that cities, towns and counties throughout the country comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The compliance review was initiated in response to a complaint that the city’s police station was physically inaccessible.

"For more than half a century, Americans have come together every October to celebrate the achievements of workers with disabilities, to call attention to the obstacles and challenges that have yet to be overcome, and to ensure that all employers fulfill their responsibilities to create the conditions and opportunities for citizens with disabilities to grow, to thrive, and to fulfill their full potential – both personally and professionally," said Attorney General Holder.

A federal judge issued an order today allowing the Justice Department to intervene in a disability discrimination lawsuit against the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). The department’s intervention expands the case from a statewide class action limited to California residents to a nationwide pattern or practice lawsuit.

The Justice Department announced today that it reached a settlement with Mrs. K’s Tollhouse Restaurant of Silver Spring, Md., to remedy alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The agreement resolves allegations that the restaurant failed to remove architectural barriers that made parts of it inaccessible to people with disabilities, including those who use wheelchairs.

The Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against the city of San Jacinto, Calif., alleging violations of the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act based on its treatment of group homes for persons with disabilities. This lawsuit is part of the Justice Department’s continuing effort to enforce civil rights laws that require states and municipalities to end discrimination against, and unnecessary segregation of, persons with disabilities.

The Department of Justice today announced the opening of their comprehensive grant solicitation period for funding to support public safety, victim services and crime prevention improvements for American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments.

Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, U.S. District Judge Sterling Johnson, Jr. accepted a guilty plea by American biotechnology giant Amgen Inc. (Amgen) for illegally introducing a misbranded drug into interstate commerce. The plea is part of a global settlement with the United States in which Amgen agreed to pay $762 million to resolve criminal and civil liability arising from its sale and promotion of certain drugs. The settlement represents the single largest criminal and civil False Claims Act settlement involving a biotechnology company in U.S. history.

Today, the Justice Department announced that yesterday afternoon it filed in federal court a comprehensive agreement that will resolve long running litigation with the state of Tennessee originally concerning conditions of care at the former Arlington Developmental Center (ADC).

"Our Declaration of Independence declared in 1776 that “all men are created equal,” but it took 100 years and a civil war that took hundreds of thousands of lives to end slavery; another hundred years to create legal equality for African Americans; and we struggle to this day to make equality a reality. I see this every day in my work as the chief civil rights law enforcement official for the United States," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.