Blind Money

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Treasury Department discriminates against millions of Americans who are blind or have poor vision by printing paper money that makes it impossible for them to distinguish between denominations, a federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday.

By a 2-1 vote, the court upheld a ruling by U.S. District Judge James Robertson in a lawsuit filed by the American Council of the Blind seeking to force the department to redesign the U.S. paper currency.

The group has proposed several possible changes, including different sized bills for different denominations, embossed dots and raised printing. The court called such accommodations reasonable, effective and feasible.

The council accused the department and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson of violating the Rehabilitation Act, which was meant to ensure that people with disabilities can live independently and fully participate in society.

The court rejected the Treasury Department's arguments that accommodating the group's proposals would impose a costly and undue burden on the government.

The appeals court sent the case back to Robertson to decide on the specific steps to be taken in granting the group's request for relief.

"A large majority of other currency systems have accommodated the visually impaired, and the secretary does not explain why U.S. currency should be any different," Judge Judith Rogers wrote in the appeal court's opinion.

Rogers said millions of individuals with visual impairment face daily obstacles in using U.S. paper currency. She cited a 1995 study that found that more than 3.7 million Americans are visually impaired, of whom 200,000 are blind.