Americans With Disabilities Act - Patricia E. Kefalas Dudek

Access is An Attitude, Not Just a Law (StarNews - 5/12/10)
Under the ADA (American with Disabilities Act) historic buildings have different guidelines than new construction.

ACLU Joins Civil Rights Organizations for Disability Rights Briefing - (ACLU - Jan. 8, 2008)
The American Civil Liberties Union participated in a briefing in conjunction with the Leadership Conference for Civil Rights, to discuss the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Restoration Act of 2007.

ADA Changes Better Late Than Never (Employee Rights Post - 11/9/09)
The ADA was intended to protect individuals with disabilities from discrimination. Because of the way in which the Act was written, combined with the way in which it has been interpreted by an exceedingly conservative federal judiciary, most cases got thrown out on summary judgment because the courts determined that the individual plaintiff employee was not disabled.

Another Story Illustrating Why We Need the ADA - (Growing Up With a Disability Blog - Jan. 24, 2008)
A blog entry from a college student with cerebral palsy who believes society often underestimates the complexity of living with a disability - the joys, the challenges, the ordinary, and the extraordinary.

Briefs Filed in Three States to Enforce Supreme Court's Olmstead Decision (US Dept. of Justice - 12/2/09)
Last week proved to be a landmark for federal enforcement of the Supreme Court decision in Olmstead v. L.C., a ruling requiring States to eliminate unnecessary segregation of persons with disabilities and to move persons who can function in the community out of segregated facilities.

Celebrating the ADA - Reflections from Tom Harkin (Ability Magazine)
We have come a long way in the last 20 years. Before the ADA, life was very different for people with disabilities, and discrimination was both commonplace and accepted.

Court Rules for Moviegoers in Disability Access Case (Business Insurance - 5/3/10)
The owners of movie theaters could be required to install special equipment for patrons with hearing and visual impairments under the Americans with Disabilities Act as a result of a federal appeals court ruling that that has been hailed as groundbreaking. Also see related article from Consumer Affairs.

Disabled Access (BBC - 10/2/08)
How effective is government legislation to make shops, bars and restaurants accessible to disabled people?

Doing Good Work? You're Fired! - (Reunify Gally - Oct. 28, 2007)
A story about a man who got fired because his disability did not interfere with his ability to perform the job for which he was hired.

EEOC Regulations May Spur More ADA Suits (Wisconsin Law Journal - 10/12/09)
According to plaintiffs’ lawyers, proposed new regulations from the EEOC broadening the definition of “disability” mean that more ADA cases might get before a jury.

Expansion of American Disability Law Now Looks Likely (Kiplinger Business Resource Center - Jan. 24, 2008)
Employers should brace for an expansion of the Americans with Disabilities Act. A bipartisan group of lawmakers is pushing a bill that would broaden the reach of the ADA.

Happy Birthday to the ADA (Our Rights, Our Future - 7/26/10)
As with most other laws designed to protect against discrimination, enforcement of the ADA is an ongoing battle. The Supreme Court recently agreed to hear the case Virginia Office for Protection and Advocacy v. Reinhard (“VOPA v. Reinhard”). This lawsuit concerns whether a state agency responsible for advocating on behalf of people with disabilities may sue another state entity to obtain for information about possible abuse and neglect of people with disabilities.
Patti's Comment: All advocates for folks with challenges should read this important article and case.

Helping Patients Access Protections of the ADA (CancerNetwork.com)
The Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA), which became effective on January 1, 2009, amends the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to restore the original intent of Congress to protect people with chronic conditions such as cancer, diabetes, epilepsy, and mental illness from discrimination at work, school, public places, and elsewhere. The ADAAA provides hope that in the future, cases will be decided differently. This hope can only be realized with the help of healthcare professionals.

July 26, 2010, sing the accomplishments of 20 years of disability rights through the ADA (Media dis&dat - 7/16/20)
You can find out about the hundreds of 20th Anniversary celebrations around the USA at the anniversary Facebook page.

Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against Arkansas Alleging Statewide Violations of the ADA (PR Newswire 5/6/10)
The complaint encompasses all six Arkansas Human Development Centers and the state's restrictions on services in integrated settings. It seeks to enforce the ADA's requirement that Arkansas provide services to individuals with disabilities in the most integrated settings appropriate to their needs. The lawsuit also addresses the state's systemic failure to comply with the ADA in how it provides services to individuals with developmental disabilities.

Let Elders Age Independently and With Dignity (Clearinghouse Review - Sept./Oct. 2008)
Assisted-living and nursing home providers may reject certain people because "we can't meet your needs." But is this legal? The Fair Housing Act is a powerful tool to ensure that people with disabilities (including dementia) are treated equally and as individuals who have choices in their housing.

News, Commentary and President Obama's Remarks About the ADA's 20th Anniversary (Media dis&dat - 7/27/10)
President Obama's comments about the ADA 20th anniversary. (The President also created an ADA anniversary PSA about disability rights with AAPD.)

Restoring the Americans with Disabilities Act (DREDF eNews - Oct. 2007)
Info from the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund on legislation that will restore important civil rights for people with disabilities.

Service or Companion Animals for Disabled Tenants
If you’re a landlord, you are required to make “reasonable exceptions” to ensure disabled folks are not discriminated against. For example, even with a “no pets” policy, you may be required to make an exception to accommodate a service or companion animal.

Speech on Olmstead (Samuel R. Bagenstos - Cincinnati College of Law - 3/3/10)
Eleanor Roosevelt, the mother of international human rights law, posed the fundamental challenge for those who, like me, are charged with protecting civil rights: Where, after all, do universal human rights begin?

Supreme Court to Decide Question Re Disabled Employee Reassignment (CA Labor & Employment Law Blog - Dec. 23, 2007)
The Court will attempt to harmonize differing appellate court rulings by deciding whether the ADA requires an employer to give a disabled employee a preference in job reassignments.

Using the Olmstead Decision as an Advocacy Tool for Your Clients (5/20/02)
This landmark 1999 Supreme Court decision, built upon the promises made in the Americans with Disabilities Act almost a decade earlier, held that "unjustified isolation" of individuals with disabilities "is properly regarded as discrimination based on disability, as it perpetuates negative stereotypes and severely restricts and infringes upon the everyday life activities of individuals with disabilities."

Women Face Workplace Weight Discrimination (MSU Today - Oct. 26, 2007)
Women are 16 times more likely than men to report weight discrimination in the workplace, according to a MSU-led study that provides the most dramatic evidence yet of the weight bias working women face.