Rulemaking addressing Web accessibility requirements is a high priority for the Department. The increasingly interconnected and dynamic nature of Web sites allows for easy and convenient access to the programs, services, and activities of public entities covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Yet, individuals with disabilities are often denied equal access to the services, programs, and activities of State and local governments because many public entities’ Web sites are inaccessible. Public entities have also expressed the need for accessibility standards to help them meet their responsibility to provide equal access. The Department believes that adopting technical standards clarifying how to make a Web site accessible is crucial to achieving the ADA’s mandate.
On April 28, 2016, the Department of Justice (the Department) withdrew its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) titled Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability; Accessibility of Web Information and Services of State and Local Government Entities (RIN 1190-AA65), which was submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review pursuant to Executive Order 12866 on July 9, 2014. Contemporaneously, the Department is issuing a Supplemental Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SANPRM) titled Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability; Accessibility of Web Information and Services of State and Local Government Entities.
National Federation of the Blind Condemns Delay of Web Accessibility Regulations
PR Newswire
The National Federation of the Blind, the nation's leading advocate for equal access by the blind to information and technology, today condemned the announcement by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) that it will further delay issuing regulations under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and instead seek further comments from the public on what those regulations should contain. The original Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking expressing the intent to issue regulations was published on July 26, 2010. At that time, President Obama said that the regulations would be "the most important updates to the ADA since its original enactment." This is the DOJ's second recent announcement of a delay relating to the issuance of ADA regulations on internet access.
JD Supra
The converging paths of the Family Medical Leave Act’s (FMLA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ranks among the most difficult legal issues for employers to safely traverse. Employers should think twice before terminating an employee who cannot return to work after 12 weeks of FMLA leave. This is because courts across the country have held that additional leave may be a necessary reasonable accommodation under the ADA. The question then becomes, how much additional leave does one need to provide an employee before he or she is no longer protected by the ADA.
The Sixth Circuit provided an example of when additional leave is no longer a reasonable accommodation in its recent decision, Boileau v. Capital Bank Financial Corp. Boileau, a bank teller, suffered from the inflammatory disease lupus. Boileau took intermittent leave of varying lengths to address lupus flares. During her most recent three month leave, Boileau’s physician certified that going forward, flares would incapacitate Boileau every one to two months for the duration of her life, with each flare lasting from eight to twelve weeks.
Capital Bank terminated Boileau’s employment two weeks before her scheduled return date, but after Boileau exhausted her FMLA leave, because she was unable to work. Boileau sued, asserting FMLA retaliation and ADA claims. The Court rejected both.
In straightforward fashion, the court held Capital Bank’s decision to terminate Boileau was non-discriminatory under the FMLA. Boileau could not return to work after being provided 12 weeks of leave, and the FMLA does not require employers to provide additional leave.
Due to the ADA’s reasonable accommodation requirement, Boileau’s ADA claim was not so simple. Ultimately, the court agreed with Capital Bank’s position that Boileau’s inability to regularly attend work meant she was not a “qualified” individual with a disability. In so holding, the court rejected Boileau’s argument that she needed only two more weeks of leave. The court emphasized that even if Capital Bank provided her with an additional two weeks of leave, Boileau’s medical certification indicated she would require 8-12 weeks of intermittent leave indefinitely into the future.
There is no precise formula for determining when an employee’s lack of attendance renders her unqualified under the ADA. Determinations should be made on a case-by-case basis.
Disney Did Not Discriminate Against Autistic Kids, Federal Judge Decides
Deadline
After more than two years and courts from California to Florida, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts today was exonerated in a lawsuit claiming it discriminated against families with children with autism and other developmental disorders in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act.
“The Clerk is directed to enter judgment providing that Plaintiff shall recover nothing on his claims and that Defendant shall recover costs from Plaintiff,” U.S. District Judge Anne Conway ordered on Thursday, granting Disney’s motion for summary judgment and closing plaintiffs A.L. and D.L.’s case.
“Plaintiff was given an opportunity to experience Magic Kingdom in a similar manner as guests that do not need accommodations,” said the Orlando-based Conway today (read it here). “Nondisabled guests visit Magic Kingdom for rides and attractions that most of them have to wait more than an hour to experience,” the Sunshine State-based judge added. “Comparing this to Plaintiff’s experience, DAS (Disability Access Service) and readmission passes allow him access to those same rides in a fraction of the time.” Giving Disney points, Conway concluded, “thus, DAS and readmission passes afford Plaintiff a similar, or better, experience as those not needing them.”
Eleventh Circuit - Indefinite Light Duty Is Not A Reasonable Accommodation
Lexology
The Eleventh Circuit confirmed that indefinite light duty is not a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and employers are not required to create a permanent light-duty position for an employee.
Court Expands California's Reasonable Accommodation Duty
SHRM
A California Court of Appeal decision expanded the reasonable accommodation duty under state law to employees “associated with persons with disabilities.” While other courts may not glom onto this holding, managers in the state should take the accommodation requests of those associated with disabled persons seriously, management attorneys say.
Are New Mexico Employers Required to Accommodate Obesity under the ADA?
Lexology
Between 25% and 30% of all adults in New Mexico are obese.1 With such a significant percentage of New Mexicans being affected by obesity, employers are increasingly faced with issues regarding whether or not they must accommodate employees for impairments relating to their weight and whether obesity itself qualifies as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). The ADA makes it unlawful for a covered employer to discriminate against any “qualified individual on the basis of disability”.2 The purpose of this article is to explain the current state of the law affecting New Mexico employers who are faced with employees claiming obesity as a disability.
One NOLA law firm behind more than 100 ADA lawsuits in five years
The Louisiana Record-
New Orleans' historic St. Charles Avenue streetcar is among the latest targets of the Bizer Law Firm, which has filed more than 100 Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuits for the same group of plaintiffs in five years.
The law firm represents three men with varying disability levels who are suing the city of New Orleans; the Regional Transit Authority (RTA); and the RTA's private manager, Transdev, claiming lack of access to the St. Charles Streetcar. That lack of access, according to the lawsuit filed in federal court on April 19, violates the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act.
Accommodating Disabilities Case by Case
Washington College Elm
Approximately 15 percent of students at Washington College disclose some sort of disability. Most of those students are acquainted with Andrea Vassar, director of disability services and the Office of Academic Skills (OAS). The OAS provides disability services, including Americans with Disability Act (ADA) accommodations.