Kmart settles suit on disability access

Kmart agreed Monday to a $13 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit over access for disabled shoppers, a company spokesman said.

The agreement, filed in U.S. District Court in Denver, also gives the company 7 1/2 years to bring its stores nationwide into compliance with federal standards for merchandise, counters, restrooms, fitting rooms and parking lots.

The $13 million includes $8 million in cash and $5 million in gift cards. It will be distributed to class-action plaintiffs in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon and Texas, whose laws have minimum damages for failing to comply with disability access rules, plaintiffs’ attorney Amy Robertson said.

Robertson said the most an individual could receive would range from $100 in Colorado to $8,000 in California.

Kmart did not say how many of Kmart’s 1,400 stores might require changes or how much they might cost.