Day: September 12, 2025

The Department of Justice is suing the ride-sharing company Uber over allegations of discrimination against disabled passengers.

A lawsuit filed Thursday in a San Francisco federal court argued that “despite the importance of its services to people with disabilities, Uber denies people with disabilities full and equal enjoyment of its services in several critical ways.” Per the DOJ, drivers “routinely refuse” disabled passengers, including those with service animals.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

“Uber and its drivers also impose impermissible surcharges by charging cleaning fees related to service animals and cancellation fees to riders they have unlawfully denied service,” the lawsuit claims, alleging that Uber drivers “insult and demean people with disabilities or ask them inappropriate questions.”

The lawsuit details how Uber is “increasingly relied upon” by disabled Americans for work, medical appointments, and other life events.

Uber “fundamentally disagrees” with the DOJ’s allegations.

In a statement emailed to TIME, the ride-sharing company, which was founded in San Francisco in 2009, said: “Riders who use guide dogs or other assistive devices deserve a safe, respectful, and welcoming experience on Uber—full stop. We have a clear zero-tolerance policy for confirmed service denials, and we fundamentally disagree with the DOJ’s allegations.”

The DOJ has alleged that Uber “refuses to reasonably modify its policies, practices, or procedures where necessary to avoid discriminating against riders with disabilities,” and therefore violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) which “prohibits private transportation companies from discriminating against people with disabilities.”

In light of the alleged violations of the ADA, the DOJ is seeking a jury trial, as well as “injunctive relief, monetary damages, and a civil penalty” against the transportation company.

Read More: The Harsh Truth About Disability Inclusion

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of April 2025, over 28% of American adults, more than one in four, have some type of disability. Of the more than 70 million disabled American adults, over 12% have mobility issues that include “serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs.” Thus access to transportation services can be life-changing for some.

Uber was previously sued by the DOJ in November 2021, accused of unfairly charging disabled passengers who needed more time to enter the vehicle. In 2016, Uber began compensating drivers who waited more than two minutes for a passenger to show up.

But the 2021 lawsuit claimed that this discriminated against disabled passengers that were unable to arrive and enter the vehicle within the allocated time frame. The argument was that Uber did not adjust the wait time for these riders, in violation of the ADA.

“Uber and other companies that provide transportation services must ensure equal access for all people, including those with disabilities,” said Kristen Clarke, the Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s civil rights division.

In July 2022, under a two-year agreement, Uber committed to “waive wait time fees for all Uber riders who certify that they (or someone they frequently travel with) need more time to get in an Uber car because of a disability.”

It was mandated that Uber would “credit the accounts of more than 65,000 eligible riders who signed up for the waiver program for double the amount of wait time fees they were ever charged.”

Uber was also told to pay $1,738,500 to more than one thousand riders who complained to Uber about being charged wait time fees because of disability, and $500,000 to “other harmed individuals identified by the Department of Justice.”

• Jim Greberis has been serving classics like steak and eggs at Summit Diner for over four decades.
• He said he won’t put avocados on the menu partly because they go bad fast.
• While the diner’s interior has stayed nearly the same since 1939, a lot has changed over the years.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jim Greberis, who runs and co-owns Summit Diner with his wife, Michele. Summit began serving customers in the late 1920s and moved to its current location in 1939. It’s one of New Jersey’s oldest diners. This essay has been edited for length and clarity.

My uncle and father-in-law bought Summit Diner in 1964, and I began working here in 1980, so I’ve been here for 45 years. I’ve had customers who have been coming here since they were five and are now grown adults. It’s a tight-knit community. We get everyone from bankers and construction workers to tourists and professional athletes coming in here.

What’s kept me in the diner business for so long is that this is what I know. I’ve been in it since I was 12. My dad owned a diner in Irvington and would drag me to it every weekend.

As a young adult, I started working with my uncle at Summit and have been here ever since. A lot has changed over the years — my business partner left in 2013, so it’s just me and my wife now, and the price of nearly everything has gone up.

While we’ve tried different menu options over the years, we still serve the classics like steak and eggs, homemade corned beef hash, and Taylor Ham, egg, and cheese sandwiches. I like to joke that we don’t serve anything healthy here.

We tried fresh fruit, and people didn’t ask for it that much. Fish — we’re not known for something like that, so we’d just be throwing it out. Avocados are one of my pet peeves. I could get them and serve them if I wanted to, but we don’t know how to work with them here, and they go bad fast.

I have nothing against avocados, but I won’t serve them on Summit’s menu.

I don’t know who will take up my legacy

Summit has been in my family for over 60 years, but I’m saddened because it might be nearing the end of the line. I don’t have anyone to hand my legacy down to.

I have kids, but I overeducated them, and they’re not interested in this kind of work. Hopefully, my knees can hold up another five to six years, but my wife also wants to start traveling.

I see a lot of diners in New Jersey closing down or renting out. I worry that if I rent Summit, it won’t be the same. A lot of what’s in this diner is original to when it opened in 1939: the Mahogany wood trim and paneling, the Italian marble countertop, the tile on the floor and walls, and the stools, booths, and booth tables — all of it’s original.

That’s what makes diners important — they’re nostalgic. I don’t intend on rehauling Summit like some other diners have, like Tops. Everything here holds up, and people come here because it’s nostalgic, but this business is getting tougher.

It hasn’t been the same since COVID

Before COVID, we were paying $1 to $1.20 for a dozen eggs. The price shot up to $8.60 and then went back down. Now, we’re paying about $3.75 a dozen.

Even the price of Taylor Ham went up, and pork is one of the cheapest things we can buy. Before COVID, it was under $3 a pound; now we’re paying $5.75 a pound.

As a result, I had to raise my prices after COVID, but they’re still reasonable, I think.

Another thing that’s changed since COVID is our hours. COVID helped me realize that we could still make a decent living without having two shifts.

We used to run our kitchen from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., but now we stop cooking at 3:30 p.m. We also ramped up our number of takeout orders and added outdoor seating, which pretty much doubled our seating capacity.

I now only work four days a week, Thursday through Sunday. Other longtime employees run the diner while I’m out. Being in this business is definitely taxing at times, but like I said, I grew up with it, so it never felt unattainable.

I hope American diners can keep going in the future. I mean, that’s what New Jersey is known for; we have more diners than any other state. But I recognize that it’s getting tougher. Hopefully, I can find someone to turn Summit over to.

This story was adapted from Jim Greberis’ interview with Business Insider’s Abby Narishkin for the “Big Business” video series. Learn more about Greberis and the rise and fall of American diners in the video below:

• My wife left her tight-knit Texas family to move 9,000 miles to Australia for me in 2014.
• We’ve found creative ways to maintain family bonds across hemispheres.
• It’s hard for her as an only child, but we make it work.

In January 2014, during a business trip to Texas, I met Cecilia at a music video shoot.

Within 24 hours, I convinced her to fly to Australia to meet my children. After almost a year of long-distance dating, she packed up her life and moved Down Under with me.

Becoming an instant stepmother wasn’t in her plans

Moving hemispheres is challenging enough, but Cecilia also stepped into a ready-made family. She was the first person I’d introduced to my 8-year-old twins since my divorce five years earlier.

Cecilia never pictured herself as a parent, but bonded with them instantly. They were thrilled to gain a stepmom and cultural ambassador who introduced them to Tex-Mex food, US sports, and the San Antonio Spurs, their new NBA team.

As an only child, the distance from her family hasn’t been easy

Though initially upset, her parents have been very supportive. We established a four-person group chat that remains my most active digital space. We message daily, sharing everything from morning coffee photos to major milestones.

To ease homesickness, we committed to annual monthlong Christmas trips to Texas. We’ve developed many traditions during these visits. We keep clothes and personal items at her parents’ house in San Antonio, eliminating the need to pack everything for each trip. Cecilia’s parents even built a small guesthouse in their backyard, giving us our own space during visits.

Not long after Cecilia moved, she was asked to be a bridesmaid for two of her closest friends. Unfortunately, with the weddings scheduled three months apart, we could only afford to attend one of them. This meant she had to make a difficult decision. Similar difficult decisions followed with missed birthdays, baby showers, and other significant events.

Fortunately, some friends from Texas have visited Australia. Most meaningful was when one of Cecilia’s college friends from LSU met an Australian and relocated nearby, giving her a connection to home.

In 2023, Cecilia’s mother finally made her first trip to visit us. We’re still working on convincing her father to make the journey, using the lure of Australian golf courses as bait.

We’ve built hybrid holidays

Maintaining cultural traditions has been essential for Cecilia’s well-being. We’ve established an annual “Friendsgiving” celebration in Australia, introducing our local friends to this American tradition. Cecilia prepares traditional dishes like her mother’s jalapeño cornbread, bringing a taste of Texas to Australia.

These hybrid celebrations serve multiple purposes. They help Cecilia feel connected to her roots and create new traditions that blend our cultural backgrounds. Our Aussie friends now look forward to Thanksgiving almost as much as Christmas.

Technology bridges the 9,000-mile gap

When Cecilia’s cousin’s 11-year-old son got his first phone, one of his first actions was texting us. We now have a three-person NBA group chat, much to Cecilia’s amusement and occasional annoyance. Since I don’t have nephews or nieces of my own, I’ve embraced her extended family as my own.

When my sons took up golf a year ago, they found a mentor in Cecilia’s father, an avid golfer. During our Christmas visit, they played every other day, and he bought them equipment. The golfing relationship didn’t end when we returned to Australia. I FaceTime him from the driving range so he can watch their swings and offer tips, and he tracks their scores via an app.

I’ve learned to make every trip count

Now I’ve learned that spontaneity matters as much as planning. Last October, when Cecilia turned 40, I surprised her with a ticket home to celebrate with her family. These last-minute trips cost a fortune, but are worth every dollar.

Cecilia gave up proximity to her loved ones to be with me, and I’ve learned that a sacrifice like that deserves daily recognition, not just grand gestures. Eleven years after Cecilia left everything familiar, we’ve learned that love can span hemispheres, thanks to creativity, technology, and a commitment to making the distance work. We can’t shrink the 9,000-mile distance, but we’ve gotten good at making it feel smaller.