Technical Assistance Publication: Examples and Resources to Support Criminal Justice Entities in Compliance with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act | PDF
WCAG 2.0 AA Is the New Accessibility Standard for Federal Agency Websites
Lexology
The federal government has adopted the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 Levels A and AA as its accessibility standard for federal agency websites, making it very likely that the Department of Justice will also adopt this standard for public accommodations websites in its forthcoming regulations.
Businesses working on making their websites accessible to individuals with disabilities often ask us what technical standard they should be using since the ADA Title III regulations do not yet specify a standard. We believe the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) will likely adopt the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 Levels A and AA (“WCAG 2.0 AA”) as the standard for public accommodations websites for a number of reasons, including the fact that WCAG 2.0 AA is the access standard used in all DOJ settlement agreements and consent decrees about websites and mobile apps.
Yesterday, the U.S. Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (the “Access Board”) announced a final rule, under the authority of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, requiring the websites and electronic content of federal agencies to conform to WCAG 2.0 AA within one year of the date the rule is published in the Federal Register (most likely in the next few weeks). The federal government’s adoption of WCAG 2.0 AA for its own websites makes it even more likely that the DOJ will adopt the same standard for the websites of public accommodations and state and local governments under Titles II and III of the ADA–someday.
As we have previously reported, the DOJ most recently stated that its proposed rule for public accommodations websites will be published in 2018. However, we have little confidence in that date given the number of delays thus far and the impending administration change. That said, this final rule applicable to federal agency websites should provide businesses with confidence that WCAG 2.0 AA is the standard to use if they are working on making their websites accessible.
Diallo’s Of Houston to Pay $139,366 to Resolve EEOC Disability Discrimination Lawsuit
In its lawsuit, EEOC charged that Diallo's violated federal law when it forced employee Felicia M. Parks to provide medical documentation to prove she was not HIV-positive, and then fired her when she failed to provide such documentation. EEOC charged that Diallo's owner/manager approached Parks and informed her that she had "heard" from an unidentified third party that Parks was HIV-positive. The owner/manager twice demanded that Parks provide documentation to show she was not HIV-positive, based only on the owner/manager's assumption that Parks' HIV status was hazardous to the company's business. The owner/manager then fired Parks when she did not provide the required documentation.
Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). EEOC filed its lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division against Diallo's Entertainment, Inc. dba Diallo's of Houston (Civil Action No. 4:16-cv-02909) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.
How US Supreme Court cases could reshape special education
Christian Science Monitor
While for most Americans there have been few eye-catching cases at the United States Supreme Court this year, for disabled students, their parents, and the cash-strapped school districts that educate them, this could be a banner year.
The high court will hear arguments Wednesday in what experts say is the most important special education case to come before the justices in almost 25 years. The case, Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District, will revisit the knotty question of what quality of education school districts must provide their disabled students.
The court heard arguments two months ago in another special education case, Fry v. Napoleon Community Schools, that questions when the parents of disabled students can seek damages from a school district in federal court.
Document every ADA accommodation
Business Management Daily
Employers that grant disabled workers more flexibility in work requirements need to make sure they document every ADA accommodation request and every accommodation decision.
Those records can become evidence later if another employee claims the disabled worker received preferential treatment.
Recent case: As a condition of her employment as a police officer at a Veterans Administration hospital, Alice was required to qualify twice a year with an approved firearm. The test required her to place 40 of 50 rounds completely inside a standard target in a certain amount of time, shooting from various distances and using different stances. Alice first qualified in 2002, and remained qualified through 2010.
Then she hurt her knee at work and was temporarily assigned to alternate duty, performing clerical work. While on alternate duty, she did not train with her firearm and was exempt from the firearm qualification requirement.
But before she could resume her normal duties, VA policy required her to re-qualify with her firearm. When Alice was cleared to resume her normal law enforcement officer duties, the VA directed her to report to the firing range with her gun before practicing. She shot poorly and abandoned her efforts to qualify after about 20 rounds.
Along with two other officers who also failed to qualify, Alice was sent to the Law Enforcement Training Center in Arkansas to receive firearms training. She received two and a half days of classroom training on firearms and one and a half days at the practice range. It didn’t help. She failed again and was terminated.
Alice sued, alleging sex discrimination, but her case was dismissed. She said one of the other officers got an extra chance to qualify. But it turned out that he had made the case that doing so was a reasonable accommodation. Alice, however, never requested any reasonable accommodations at all. (Buckhanan v. Shinseki, No. 15-60643, 5th Cir., 2016)
Training must accommodate disabilities
Business Management Daily
Disabled workers are entitled to reasonable accommodations during all phases of employment, including during the application process and employer-mandated training before they start working.
If you have neglected your responsibility under the ADA, the EEOC just issued a reminder. It’s suing the Cheesecake Factory restaurant chain on behalf of a deaf part-time dishwasher. Oleg claims the restaurant failed to provide him with the help he needed during his interviews, orientation training and initial working period. Oleg also says that because he wasn’t properly trained, he wound up being fired for alleged attendance problems. He contends he didn’t learn how to get his schedule adjusted.
According to the EEOC lawsuit, Oleg initially asked for his orientation training to be conducted using either American Sign Language interpretation or closed-captioned video. The Cheesecake Factory refused, instead using a system consisting of passing written notes back and forth during both the interview and orientation training sessions.
This case teaches several important lessons. First, all disabled applicants and employees are entitled to reasonable accommodations to allow them to do their jobs. That obligation starts during the hiring process.
Deaf applicants may need an interpreter during interviews and any training sessions.
This is especially important during safety-related orientation training. Employers have an obligation to assure that all employees understand safety rules, including employees who are disabled or for whom English is not their primary language. For deaf workers, relying on note passing won’t be enough.
The EEOC offers extensive guidance on accommodating deaf employees in the workplace. Find it at www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/publications/qa_deafness.cfm.
You Want More Time Off? Dealing With Employee Disability Leave Requests
Mondaq News Alerts
Disability discrimination claims filed against employers hit an all-time high in 2015. Seeing this troubling trend, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) set out to improve employer education on what is required under the law and to provide them with a resource document to help assist them as they grapple with leave requests from employees.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment and applies to employers with 15 or more employees. It requires employers to provide disabled employees or applicants for employment with reasonable accommodations unless doing so would cause an undue hardship. Reasonable accommodations are changes in the work environment or changes in process or how things are done that allows an employee with a disability to perform the essential functions of their job. New Hampshire's Anti-Discrimination Statute also recognizes disability discrimination and applies to employers with 6 or more employees.
Accommodation Process Where There Was Safety Risk Failed
SHRM
Reasonable accommodation issues are often convoluted matters for supervisors and human resource professionals. Compliance with accommodation obligations requires careful and thorough attention, as recently addressed by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In the case at hand, absent a trial error by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), an employer that had undertaken good-faith efforts to accommodate an employee's disability would have nonetheless been liable for a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) due to a failure to place the employee into a vacant position for which she was arguably qualified.
Price tag growing for KC to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act
Kansas City Star
As Kansas City tries to confront its giant backlog of roads, bridges and sidewalks, there’s another hugely expensive and equally important category of infrastructure that gets much less public attention and prominence.
Yet these low-profile improvements carry the teeth of a federal mandate. They have to be done. And the price tag is daunting.
“By the time we’re done, we’ll probably spend $100 million,” said City Manager Troy Schulte.
He’s talking about a federal consent decree that requires Kansas City to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Niles Conducts ADA Self Review
Journal & Topics Newspapers Online
Niles village officials are conducting a plan update and self-evaluation of the village’s compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a federal law mandating accommodations be made for those suffering disabilities such as difficulty walking, blindness, deafness or other conditions.
The village’s review is meant to keep the village current with state and federal requirements in the ADA. Niles Public Services Director Mary Anderson is the village’s ADA coordinator heading up the review. She said this review addresses public facilities, roads, sidewalks and other village rights of way, not compliance by private businesses in Niles under ADA.
Make things easier with travel tips for wheelchair users
The Daily Tribune
Travel can be stressful for anyone, but add the need to find wheelchair-accessible transportation, hotel rooms or restaurants, and that stress is amplified considerably.
The experts at Mobility Ventures, maker of the MV-1 — the only mobility vehicle built with wheelchair users in mind — are offering tips and an interactive map that highlights cities with MV-1 vehicles in their taxi and rental car fleets, to make accessible travel easier for wheelchair users and their friends and families.
“Mobility and accessibility can improve the quality of life, independence and mobility of all wheelchair users,” says Pat Kemp, executive vice president, Mobility Ventures.
It's not vet's place to recommend emotional service dog
Miami Herald
Q: Help! My veterinarian refuses to write a letter saying that my dog is an emotional service dog so he can travel with me. She says it’s not her place. My sister’s veterinarian wrote a letter for her. Why the difference?
A: Your veterinarian is 100 percent correct. Much though she may care about you personally, the state of your emotions is not in her professional wheelhouse, legally speaking. It’s absolutely not her place to write a letter certifying that you require the emotional support of your dog to travel.