After telling a customer that it did not have a toilet adapted for people with mobility disabilities, the wine bar SOMM in Vilnius restricted the accessibility of its services. This was determined by the Equal Opportunities Ombudsman's Office, which investigated the complaint and issued the establishment with a warning.
The complaint was filed with the Service by a man with mobility impairment, who, when reserving a table at SOMM, asked whether the entrance to the bar and the toilet were wheelchair accessible. Representatives of the establishment indicated that there is no such toilet, and that they could provide a ramp to the entrance stairs.
When the service contacted the establishment's representatives, it turned out that the bar had a partially adapted toilet, although it was located in the office premises. However, the potential customer was not informed about this.
"Such presentation of information, stating that the bar does not have infrastructure adapted for people with disabilities, could have led to the assumption that the establishment's environment is not accessible, which in turn could be viewed as indirect discrimination on the basis of disability," said Audronė Daukšaitė-Timpė, Head of the Service's Legal Group.
The lawyer reminded that according to legal acts, all institutions providing public services must be accessible to persons with disabilities.
Wine bar SOMM was warned for violating the Equal Opportunities Act, and the establishment was recommended to complete the toilet adaptation, install permanent wheelchair access, and publicly inform customers about the available technical assistance measures.
