Blind man files discrimination suit against Lee County after not being hired Bill Smith, Fort Myers News-Press A legally blind man has filed suit against Lee County claiming that he was discriminated against because of his disability when he was not hired for a position at the Pine Island branch library. Michael Phelps filed suit Feb. 15 in U.S. District Court, claiming violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Florida Civil Rights Act. The action claims that he has applied several times with the county but has not been hired. Phelps previously worked in a public library in West Virginia for six years, according to the lawsuit. The suit said he submitted "several job applications" for a job as a library associate at the Pine Island branch of the county library system.