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Federal class-action alleges Wendy's restricts late-night access for visually impaired

June 19, 2019

Wendy's was named in a federal accessibility class action lawsuit filed in Chicago on June 14 over the ease of access people with impaired vision have with the chain's late-night drive-thrus. The case filed in federal court by an Illinois and California resident alleging Wendy's committed "systematic civil rights violations" by allowing access to the chain's locations later at its drive-through windows than in its dining rooms, restricting the hours of the day people who do not drive or ride in vehicles can order from the restaurant, according to the Cook County Record. 

"Since they are unable to drive, and because it is not safe for them to walk through the (drive-through), visually impaired individuals are totally precluded from accessing [Wendy's] products during late-night hours," the complaint alleged. 

A similar suit was filed against Wendy's competitor, McDonald's, three years ago, though that chain asked for a summary judgment in the case this year, which the plaintiffs have opposed, though it remains unresolved.

In the Wendy's complaint, the plaintiffs have sought a jury trial, compensatory and statutory damages as well as injunctions that would make Wendy's  make its late-night drive-through locations "accessible and usable" by the visually impaired.