Project Civic Access Agreement:
ADA: Workplace accommodations must be effective, not perfect
HR.BLR.com
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit—which covers Connecticut, New York, and Vermont—recently issued a decision that focused on what constitutes a reasonable accommodation for an employee with a disability.
Nursing facility agrees to $97500 Disability Act settlement
McKnight's Long Term Care News
A Virginia long-term care provider reached a settlement this week after complaints that it discriminated against deaf relatives of one of its residents, the Department of Justice has announced.
A complaint was filed against Fairfax Nursing Center, alleging the center failed to provide auxiliary aids and services to two deaf family members of an 83-year-old patient in 2014. The family alleged that Fairfax violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by not providing them with services such as a sign language interpreter during “critical interactions” related to the resident's care.
Fairfax Nursing Center settled the case with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia earlier this month. As part of the settlement, the center will have to adopt policies and procedures ensuring both patients and companions who are deaf or hard of hearing will receive aids and services allowing them to effectively communicate with healthcare workers.
Fairfax also will have to train its staff on the ADA's effective communication requirements, pay $80,000 to the complainants and $5,000 to the U.S. in a civil penalty, and create a $12,500 fund to sponsor ADA training for other Virginia nursing facilities.
Fairfax Nursing Center did not return calls by press time.
Website Accessibility: Department of Justice's Filings in Lawsuits Give Warnings
JD Supra
For many years, the U.S. Department of Justice, an enforcer of the accessibility provisions (Title III) of the Americans with Disabilities Act, applicable to public accommodations, has dragged its feet on promulgating regulations on website accessibility. Starting in the Fall of 2010, when DOJ issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM), and thereafter, DOJ has expressed its intention to (a) issue proposed regulations on the subject, (b) receive public comments on the proposed regulations, (c) issue final rules on the topic after the public comments, and (d) give public accommodations time after the final rules are issued to bring their websites into compliance with any specific technical accessibility standards in the final rules. Technical accessibility standards could be, for instance, some or all of those found in the “Level AA Success Criteria of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0,” the voluntary guidelines issued by the Worldwide Web Consortium in December 2008. See generally http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/wcag. A parallel process for promulgating regulations for state and local governmental agencies under Title II of the ADA has also moved at a glacial pace.
Disabled consultant sues former employer claiming discriminatory discharge
The Pennsylvania Record
A Montgomery County professional filed suit against her Bucks County-based company and its parent firm claiming intentional age and disability discrimination in her 2014 job loss.
Christa Bick, of Huntingdon Valley, sued Model Consulting Inc. of Trevose, Pa., and CBIZ Inc. of Cleveland, Ohio, in the U.S. District Court Eastern District of Pennsylvania on July 1 claiming violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act in her January 2014 dismissal.
The suit states that Bick, hired on or about Aug. 21, 2000, was terminated on or about Jan. 9, 2014, at the age of 64, purportedly due to her age and disability.
ADA 25th anniversary: The Internet should be accessible for the disabled
Slate Magazine
Last month FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly told us the Internet is “not a necessity.”
At a speech to the Internet Innovation Alliance, an organization that promotes broadband accessibility, O’Rielly said people “can and do” live without Internet access. “Instead,” he offered, “the term necessity should be reserved to those items that humans cannot live without such as food, shelter, and water.”
Mass. attorney general to meet with Uber, Lyft over disabled access
BetaBoston
A campaign to increase the accessibility of Uber and Lyft may be getting traction, after criticism by advocates and officials who say the companies are defying the law by not serving passengers who use wheelchairs and others with disabilities.
Birmingham EEOC: ADA noncompliace biggest issue
WIAT 42
Tuesday afternoon, the Birmingham Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) office held a big open house to celebrate. EEOC regional attorney Emmanuel Smith said their mission hasn’t changed, but it has expanded.
Woman with PTSD battles harassment for service dog
WBXH
When it's not obvious what service an animal provides, staff may ask, "Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability" and "What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?"
Cooper says the questions and treatment became so overwhelming she took to social media to vent about a few major issues she's had with businesses and people over her service dog.
The Americans with Disabilities Act turns 25: now we must work for global equality
The Guardian
America leads on disability rights by example, but we must advance them internationally
Employment Barriers Remain for People with Disabilities
Northeast Indiana Public Radio
Getting a job can be difficult. It can be even harder if a person has a disability. In fact, the unemployment rate for people with disabilities is about double the rate of people without them.