CURRENT LITIGATION

Does et. al. v. Spahn

Originally filed in September 2023 and later amended in May 2024, Bazelon, along with co-counsel Bryan Schwartz Law, P.C. (BSL) and Baker Hostetler, filed suit against the Peace Corps in federal district court in the District of Columbia, on behalf of qualified applicants invited to serve in the Peace Corps overseas who were denied medical clearances and excluded from service because of their mental health disabilities.  The lawsuit alleges that these policies and practices violate the Rehabilitation Act and the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) and seeks to ensure that qualified applicants are not punished for past mental health care, or otherwise discriminated against based on disability.  

The complaint tells the stories of numerous applicants who applied to the Peace Corps driven by a commitment to public service and whom the Peace Corps invited to serve abroad, contingent on medical clearance.  But based on their mental health diagnoses or histories, the Peace Corps revoked their invitations and excluded them from service.  Each of these individuals provided documentation showing that they could successfully serve as Peace Corps volunteers and that they had full support from their healthcare providers and mental health evaluators.  Despite the overwhelming evidence supporting their fitness to serve, the Peace Corps denied them medical clearance based on speculation and inaccurate assumptions about their disabilities.  The Peace Corps also failed to offer any accommodations.

When filed, the case received significant media coverage, including from the New York Times and Mental Health Weekly. 

After the Peace Corps filed a motion to dismiss all of our claims in March 2024, we filed an amended complaint in May 2024 adding additional Plaintiffs and declarants, as well as additional APA claims. The Peace Corps filed a second Motion to Dismiss on July 12, which we opposed. 

On May 6, 2025, the court denied the Peace Corps’ motion in part, allowing the case to proceed on the claim that Peace Corps discriminated against Plaintiffs on the basis of their mental health disabilities.

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