Dunkin Donuts Denies Man In Wheelchair Access To Drive-In Window

A wheelchair-bound Weymouth man suffering from multiple sclerosis says he’s being denied his right to a hot cup of coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts.

Donald Hayes said he’s bought coffee before by driving his motorized wheelchair up to the drive-up window at a Dunkin’ Donuts shop in the middle of a Weymouth shopping-market parking lot.

But now, that Dunkin’ store, which has no inside seating and only serves drive-up customers, has told him he can’t use the window anymore and refused him service, citing traffic safety concerns.



“It’s discrimination,” said Hayes, 54, who says he’s an ordained minister with an online following.

Hayes said he’s thinking of taking legal action if he can’t whirl up to the window to get his java.

“I’m just defending my rights,” Hayes said. “I’m not looking for monetary compensation.”

A Boston lawyer who specializes in employment and discrimination law said Dunkin’ Donuts better listen to him, based on case law.

“I think they have a problem,” said Laura Studen, a senior partner at Burns & Levinson. “It’s a public place - and it needs to be accessible.”

And a motorized wheelchair is a motorized vehicle, she said.

A spokesman for Canton-based Dunkin’ Donuts said the giant chain doesn’t have a corporate policy regarding the use of wheelchairs at drive-throughs.

But he added: “Our number one priority is the safety of our customers. Our franchisee’s objective in this particular instance is to protect customers from potential injury in a traffic accident.”

Weymouth police Chief James Thomas said Dunkin’ Donuts’ safety concerns are valid, according to The Patriot Ledger of Quincy.

Hayes, who lives about three miles away from the shopping plaza, gets to the Dunkin’ Donuts via an MBTA van, which picks him up at his home. The van won’t go through the drive-up window to fetch coffee on behalf of riders, he said.

Hayes rejected the notion that he should go to a Dunkin’ Donuts across the busy street that has in-store service. “People don’t understand the problems faced by the disabled,” he said.