Trainings & Events
ADA Celebration - State of Illinois
ADA Audio Conference
2008 Accessible Technology On-line Seminar Series
18th Anniversary of the Signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act
2008 Accessible Technology On-line Seminar Series
The Kennedy Center's Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability conference and training (LEAD)
- Legal issues with representatives of the U.S. Department of Justice Disability Rights office, and Peter Blanck, PhD.
- Marketing and building audiences with Nadine Vogel
- Exploring exciting ways to make inclusive educational programs effective
- Hands on surveying of the physical environment for those renovating, building new facilities or putting on an addition
- Ticketing policies and how to craft good ones.
National Center on Accessibility
News from the Federal Agencies
U.S. Access Board
The Access Board will hold a public meeting on the topic of beach access on July 23, 2008 to help further the board's development of guidelines for out-door areas. The meeting will take place from 9:00 - 12:00 at the Westin Arlington Gateway, 801 North Glebe Road, in Arlington, VA. The public meeting will focus on design and maintenance considerations for accessible routes at beaches. Read more about the meeting at http://www.access-board.gov/news/beach-meeting.htm.
The Access Board held a Town Hall meeting in conjunction with the 2008 National ADA Symposium in St. Louis, MO. Attendees of the ADA Symposium had an opportunity to provide comments to the Access Board. Several comments focused on bathroom and hotel room access, including the provision of seats in roll-in showers, questions about how the minimum dimensions of such showers are to be measured, and the need to limit the height of hotel beds to facilitate transfer. Participants also urged the Board to take action or provide guidance on addressing the opening force of exterior doors, accessible traffic signals, the provision of closed captioning in movie theaters. Read more about the meeting at http://www.access-board.gov/news/town-meeting2008.htm.
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced that Wal-Mart will pay $200,000 to settle a lawsuit the Commission had brought on behalf of a former pharmacist. The lawsuit alleged that Wal-Mart had failed to provide a reasonable accommodation and then improperly fired the employee stating that the individual was unable to perform the essential functions of the job when in fact the employee was able to perform the job satisfactorily. Wal-Mart entered into negotiations to settle the case after its motion for summary judgment was denied. Read more about the Wal-Mart settlement at http://www.eeoc.gov/press/6-9-08.html.
Department of Justice
The U.S. Department of Justice will be holding a public hearing on its notices to revise its regulations under Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The public hearing is scheduled for July 15, 2008, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., EDT. The hearing will be held at the Marriott Hotel at Metro Center, 775 12th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. For further information contact Linda Garrett, Civil Rights Program Specialist, Disability Rights Section, Civil Rights Division by email at Linda.Garrett@usdoj.gov or by telephone at (202) 353-0423 (TTY or Relay). Read more about the public hearing at http://www.ada.gov/NPRM2008/nprmhearing08.htm.
The Department of Justice announced that it had reached a settlement agreement with the International Spy Museum. The settlement resolves a complaint filed under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act alleging discrimination against individuals that are blind or that have low vision. The complaint filed in 2004 with the Department of Justice stated that the Museum failed to provide print materials in alternative formats, that exhibits were inaccessible, computers lacked speech output and tours were not accessible. The Museum will ensure the content of its exhibits, public programs, and other offerings are accessible and effectively communicated to individuals with disabilities. When necessary, appropriate auxiliary aids and services will be available to ensure effective communication to individuals with hearing and vision impairments unless taking such steps would fundamentally alter the nature of the content of such exhibits, public programs and offerings or result in an undue burden. Read more about the International Spy Museum settlement at http://www.ada.gov/spymuseum.htm.
Great Lakes In Focus
Proposal to Revise ADA Regulations under Title II and Title III
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued proposals to adopt revisions to its Title II and Title III regulations and new design standards for facilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The proposed revisions to the standards for accessible design are based on revised guidelines issued in 2004 by the U.S. Access Board. The DOJ has responsibility for enforcing standards for new construction and alterations under the ADA. DOJ’s standards apply to the construction and alteration of all facilities covered by the ADA except transportation facilities, which are subject to standards enforced by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).
The new standards would apply to state and local government facilities subject to title II of the ADA and to places of public accommodation and commercial facilities covered by title III of the law. DOJ issued separate notices under each title. The notices also address issues relating to the effective dates.
The DOJ is also revising other sections of its Title II and III regulations. New or revised provisions are proposed concerning removal of barriers in existing facilities, accommodation of service animals, maintenance of accessible features, policies and practices governing various services, including hotel reservations, ticket sales and accessible seating, and provision of auxiliary aids, services, and effective communication, including captioning, narrative description, and video interpreting services.
The DOJ has announced a 60 day public comment period as part of the rule making process. Comments are due by August 18th and can be submitted through the www.regulations.gov website.
DOJ plans to hold a public hearing on the notices in Washington, D.C. during the comment period. In addition the DOJ is participating in a special ADA Audio Conference on July 8, 2008. Information about the audio conference may be found in the Events section of this issue of the Chronicle.
In Focus Suggested Resources
- Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to amend 28 CFR Part 35: Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in State and Local Government Services
http://www.ada.gov/NPRM2008/t2NPRM_federalreg.htm
- Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to amend 28 CFR Part 36: Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability by Public Accommodations and in Commercial Facilities
http://www.ada.gov/NPRM2008/t3NPRM_federalreg.htm
- Appendix A: Analysis of the Proposed Standards
http://www.ada.gov/NPRM2008/appendix_a.htm
- Appendix B: Initial Regulatory Assessment
http://www.ada.gov/NPRM2008/appendix_b.htm
- Initial Regulatory Impact Analysis Of The Proposed Revised Regulations Implementing Titles II And III of the ADA, Including Revised ADA Standards For Accessible Design
http://www.ada.gov/NPRM2008/ria.htm
- Proposed ADA Standards For Accessible Design
http://www.ada.gov/NPRM2008/ada_standards/proposedadastds.htm
The Docket
Bellino, Joseph v. Mineta, Norma
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/7th/072068p.pdf
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a lower Court’s dismissal of a lawsuit alleging violations of the Rehabilitation Act for failure to provide reasonable accommodations, retaliation for filing a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and creating a hostile work environment. The lawsuit was filed by a former air traffic controller against the Federal Aviation Administration. The lower Court’s summary judgment ruling for the defendant was affirmed because the Court of Appeals found that a job offer to the plaintiff was a reasonable accommodation, the plaintiff failed to show that a similarly situated employee who did not file an EEO complaint was treated more favorably and, the plaintiff failed to show that defendant's treatment of his disability created a hostile work environment.
From the ADA Expert
Question: Our town has an ordinance limiting the number of dogs to two per household. There is a family that has stated that they have one dog that is a pet and two others that are guide dogs for the father and the son. They both have vision impairments. Does the town need to allow this family to have more than 2 dogs in their home?
Answer: The ADA prohibits state and local governments from discriminating on the basis of disability against qualified individuals in the provision of all programs, activities and services. Individuals with disabilities should have an equal opportunity to benefit from all programs provided. The ADA requires state and local governments to make reasonable modifications in policies, procedures and practices in order to allow individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity to participate. An example could be modifying an ordinance that limits the number of dogs in a household.
In this situation the first question is whether the animals are service animals under the ADA. The law states that a service animal is: An individually trained animal that performs tasks for people with disabilities such as guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling wheelchairs, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, or performing other special tasks.
You may ask an individual if the animal is a service animal and ask the individual what task it performs. The ADA prohibits asking what an individual's disability is. Additionally, individuals can not be required to show that the animal has been certified. A service animal should be allowed to go where ever the general public is allowed to go and an individual with a disability should not be restricted from any programs or facilities because of the use of a service animal.
For additional information contact the DBTAC - Great Lakes ADA Center by calling (800) 949-4232 (V/TTY) or email us via our online contact us form.
Suggested Resource
- ADA Business Brief: Service Animals http://www.ada.gov/svcanimb.htm
- Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in State and Local Government http://www.ada.gov/reg2.html
- ADA Title II Technical Assistance Manual http://www.ada.gov/taman2.html
