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 youre 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.