BUSINESS DIGEST | Disabled man sues Disneyland

Disabled man sues Disneyland

ANAHEIM, Calif.

A quadriplegic man is suing Disneyland in federal court, alleging the theme park left him on the “It’s A Small World” ride for 40 minutes after it had stalled while staff evacuated other passengers.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court, alleges Disneyland violated the Americans With Disabilities Act because it didn’t have proper procedures in place for evacuating disabled passengers from the ride.

Jose Martinez also is suing for negligence, emotional distress and liability.

He alleges Disney employees did not summon paramedics when his blood pressure spiked while he was trapped on the ride.

Disneyland Resorts says in a statement it is accessible to all guests and has procedures in place for evacuating disabled customers.

Employers could face higher taxes

WASHINGTON

Employers could face higher taxes in 2014 under an Obama administration budget proposal designed to help states hard-hit by the recession and the weak recovery to refill their unemployment-insurance funds and repay money borrowed from the federal government.

The proposal would give states the choice of increasing tax payments from businesses, altering their benefits or a combination of both.

Businesses would be the most likely to be affected by the increase, but some economists say workers also could feel the change if businesses pass on the costs of the tax to their employees through wage freezes or smaller pay raises.

Dow closes higher for 7th-straight day

NEW YORK

The Dow Jones industrial average closed higher for the seventh-consecutive day Tuesday. That’s the longest series of gains for the index since July.

McDonald’s Corp. was the biggest gainer of the 30 stocks in the Dow, rising 2.6 percent after reporting January sales that were higher than analysts expected.

Investors took in stride a move by China’s central bank to control inflation by raising short-term interest rates.

Associated Press