Court: Make Currency Recognizable To Blind

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government discriminates against blind people because American currency is not designed to be distinguishable to visually impaired people, a federal judge said on Tuesday.

U.S. District Judge James Robertson said the government needed to figure out a way to design and distribute currency that includes an element to help blind people tell the bills apart.

Robertson was ruling on a lawsuit filed by The American Council of the Blind against the U.S. Treasury Department. The council accused the department of violating the Rehabilitation Act, which was passed by Congress to ensure that people with disabilities can maximize their independence and "inclusion and integration into society."

"It can no longer be successfully argued that a blind person has 'meaningful access' to currency if she cannot accurately identify paper money without assistance," Robertson wrote in a 26-page order.

"Of the more than 180 countries that issue paper currency, only the United States prints bills that are identical in size and color in all their denominations," he wrote.

The American Council of the Blind had proposed several possible changes to U.S. currency including different size bills for different denominations, embossed dots and raised printing.

The U.S. government said such changes would be expensive, could render currency more vulnerable to counterfeiting and could undermine international acceptance of the U.S. dollars -- an argument the judge dismissed as "fairly absurd."

Robertson rejected a government request to dismiss the case and ordered a hearing in about 30 days to discuss possible remedies.

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