Bound copies of the revisions to the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) and the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) issued by the U.S. Access Board are now available from The Great Lakes ADA and Accessible IT Center. This publication produced by the U. S. Access Board is the result of a ten-year process to revise the standards under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Architectural Barriers Act. The proposed guidelines are currently going through the rule-making process prior to being adopted as the enforceable standard by the U.S. Department of Justice. The Center is providing one bound copy free of charge. Individuals or entities may order bulk quantities of this document for a $5 handling fee plus shipping charges. To place an order contact The Center at 800-949-4232 (V/TTY) or via our online contact form.

The National Council on Disability has issued a report titled, "Saving Lives: Including People with Disabilities in Emergency Planning," calling for changes in emergency planning for persons with disabilities. The report provides an overview of recommendations the Federal Government should incorporate to include persons with disabilities in emergency preparedness, disaster relief, and homeland security planning.

The Federal Transportation Administration (FTA) is seeking public comments concerning technical assistance in transportation services. The FTA wants information from consumers, service providers, and transportation specialists regarding current services and ideas for proposed services that would improve access to transportation for persons with disabilities. Comments must be submitted by June 15, 2005. For additional information contact: Elizabeth Solomon 202-366-0242 (V).

This month's Audio Conference Session concludes the three part series focusing on issues surrounding reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The session will focus on decisions rendered by the U.S. Supreme Court and lower courts that impact the reasonable accommodation process mandated by the ADA.

You can receive the following continuing education units for your participation:

• Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC)
• Professional in Human Resources (PHR)
• Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) – Recertification

Plan to join us for this exciting program.

May 17, 2005: What Are The Courts Saying About Reasonable Accommodation?
The session features David K. Fram, Esq., Director, ADA & EEO Services for the National Employment Law Institute. In this position, Mr. Fram conducts seminars, briefings, workshops, and in-house training on the ADA and other EEO laws.

The Illinois ADA Steering Committee has been reorganized and renamed Illinois ADA Project. The new identity for the steering committee reflects its commitment to providing a full range of services to persons with disabilities and entities that have a vested interest in ADA issues. The Illinois ADA Project offers free in-house trainings on the ADA, technical assistance via telephone, and disseminates publications regarding the provisions of the ADA.

ADA Indiana has been a consistent and valued partner of The Center and is the source of many innovative ideas and initiatives designed to promote awareness of the ADA. Recent projects included the creation of a calendar commemorating the 15th anniversary of the ADA and a survey of citizens of Indiana regarding the impact of the ADA.

One of the hallmarks of the Michigan ADA Steering Committee is their active promotion of projects and organizations that promote the ADA through the allocation of mini-grants. A recent mini-grant recipient was the Michigan AgrAbility Project, which assists farmers and agriculture workers with disabilities to create a working environment that is accessible and safe.

ADA Minnesota provides a variety of services and information concerning the ADA: from publications regarding the provisions of the ADA, technical assistance, and the allocation of mini-grants. One of the unique projects funded by a mini-grant from ADA was an accessible Minnesota travel guide.

ADA Ohio has helped foster voluntary compliance of the ADA through the production of publications in partnership with entities such as the Ohio Board of Realtors. They have also co-sponsored a pre-conference seminar on FMLA and ADA issues in conjunction with The Ohio State University's Multiple Perspectives on Disability Conference.

ADA Wisconsin is active in promoting physical accessibility in small towns throughout the State via local Chambers of Commerce. In addition, they are sponsoring a session at the Wisconsin Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) conference focusing on accessible use of the Internet in employment.

Distance learning has the ability to increase and diversify audiences for learning through a variety of formats, from text, to audio and video. Distance learning programs can be asynchronous (one-way, from instructor with no pupil feedback), or synchronous (two-way communication between pupil and instructor). Distance learning technologies are also evolving, with the increased use of the Internet, web browsers, streaming media software and hardware, interactive whiteboards and chats, that all help in the exchange of course content and discussion. Much of the technology that is being used for distance learning is being purchased and used by the specialists in their areas, with content being published or created in many different forms.

Due to the variety of media utilized in distance learning (video tapes, DVD, streaming media, electronic text formats, whiteboards, chat rooms), there are more opportunities for students with disabilities to face barriers, such as inaccessible web pages, non-captioned video, fast-moving chat rooms, inaccessible electronic text formats, or large files or interactive programs. When choosing products and creating distance learning content consideration should be given to the impact of the following:

• Range of abilities and disabilities
• Accessibility of Web Pages
• Multimedia Accessibility
• Accessibility of Interactive Media
• Electronic Text Accessibility
• Bulletin boards, chat room accessibility

All resources, regardless of medium, should provide access for people with mobility impairments, aids for cognitive impairments, captioning for sensory impairments, and alternatives to timed and interactive media and chat rooms. Electronic text documents, such as handouts, instruction sheets, syllabi, assignments, tests, and other material, should be presented in formats that help provide logical structure, and support alternate descriptions for multimedia content. For more information and checklists on Distance Learning Accessibility, contact Bob Alvarez, Project Coordinator of Accessible IT Initiatives, 800-949-4232 (V/TTY) or via our online contact form.

The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Services (OSERS) has scheduled a series of meetings to provide access to the general public to comment on proposed rule changes to implement programs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004. OSERS will publish specific session locations in the Notice of Proposed Rule Making in the Spring 2005 Federal Register. For more information contact OSERS 202-245-7468 or the Federal Information Relay Service 800-877-8339. The following date has been designated by OSERS for the public meeting in Region 5:

Wednesday, June 29, 2005
1:00 PM to 4:00 PM and 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Chicago, IL

The U.S. 3^rd Circuit Court reversed the ruling of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware granting summary judgment to Astrazeneca Pharmaceuticals and remanded the case back to District Court for further proceedings. The District Court ruled in favor of Astrazeneca who argued that employee Alvin Emory did not establish standing under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as a person with a disability when he brought suit against them under the ADA. Emory claimed discrimination because he was passed over for promotions and not provided reasonable accommodations. Emory is a person with a learning disability and cerebral palsy and the 3^rd Circuit Court ruled that Emory did establish genuine issue of fact regarding the substantially limiting effect of his impairments to perform manual tasks and learning.

The Illinois ADA Project will provide free disability rights workshops during the month of May:

• May 16 1-3pm ADA Update: What has the Supreme Court Said Lately?
• May 18 1-5pm Buses, Trains, Para transit & Taxicabs
• May 26 10am -12pm Requesting an Accommodation at Work & College

These workshops will be held at the Chicago Office of Equip for Equality located at 20 North Michigan Suite 300. Registration is required to participate in the workshops and can be done by contacting The Training Institute at Equip for Equality 800-537-2632 (V), 800-610-2779 (TTY), or contactus@equipforequality.org.

During March and April, ADA-Indiana supported several organizations by providing ADA materials at resource tables and for general dissemination at their annual conferences. The conferences were the Self Advocates of Indiana's Annual Conference, ATTAIN's (Indiana's statewide assistive technology program) Empowerment through Employment Conference, and the Indiana Association of Rehabilitation Facilities (INARF) Annual Conference. Frank Epperson of ADA-Indiana participated in a town meeting on employment issues for people with disabilities at Empowerment through Employment Conference.

ADA-Indiana is providing support for the three-part Great Lakes Reasonable Accommodation audio conference series in six communities in the state: Bloomington, Evansville, Indianapolis (2 locations), Richmond, and Westville. These training opportunities have been attended by more than 80 participants so far, with one more to go.

Statewide Survey: Are Indiana communities "MAKING THE GRADE" in complying with the ADA? ADA-Indiana, in conjunction with the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community and the Indiana Governor's Council for People with Disabilities, are surveying Indiana citizens to find out the answer to this question! The results of the survey will be announced this summer on July 26th, the 15th Anniversary of the Signing of the ADA. People with disabilities, family members, advocates, providers, and other interested community members from Indiana are welcome to complete the survey! To request the survey in an alternative format, or for additional information, contact Vicki Pappas by phone at 1-800-825-4733 (V - Indiana Only), 812-855-9396 (TTY) or e-mail adainfo@indiana.edu.

The Michigan ADA Steering Committee continues to provide support in making the 2005 Michigan Rehabilitation Conference the most accessible conference possible. Recently, Steering Committee members met with high-level state officials to discuss a plan to address programmatic and physical accessibility for conference presenters, exhibitors and attendees. In addition to creating a cross-disability site survey team, The Steering Committee will be hosting trainings for presenters to discuss tips for making their presentations accessible to diverse audiences. For more information on being a presenter at the 2005 Michigan Rehabilitation Conference November 8-10 in Grand Rapids, MI visit the MARO 2005 Conference and Seminar Website. to download forms in Word or PDF format. Proposals are due May 13, 2005.

Mark your Calendars! ADA Minnesota has partnered with local disability organizations to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. . "ADA 15 Years Strong: Then, Now and Beyond," is a free celebration that will be held at the Earle Brown Heritage Center in Brooklyn Center from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., on Tuesday, July 26. The celebration features presentations by Peabody and Emmy-award winning NBC Dateline correspondent John Hockenberry, and Barry Taylor, Legal Advocacy Director at Equip for Equality, Inc., the Illinois Protection and Advocacy organization. Six educational group sessions will take place throughout the day. These sessions will address, aging and disability, mental health issues in the workplace, reasonable accommodations at work, accessible web design, understanding social security and emergency preparedness for people with disabilities.

The celebration is open to the public. For more information about the event, contact ADA Minnesota at 651-603-2015 (V/TTY).

ADA-OHIO is one of the collaborators with the lead agency, DNOS (Disability Network of Ohio - SOLIDARITY), in presenting SOLIDARITY 2005. SOLIDARITY is Ohio's largest and oldest conference for and by people with disabilities. SOLIDARITY 2005 will offer 35 workshops on topics including education, employment, occupational rehabilitation services, independent living, voting, transportation, and housing. There will also be a special ADA tract featuring training on all five titles of the ADA, presented by ADA-OHIO. These trainings include:

Utilizing the ADA: Guidance for the Employer and the Employee
This training will provide information on the employment aspects of Title I of the ADA. Presenters will emphasize elements of a successful job interview and discuss ways to avoid common interview mistakes.

Making Your Government and Public Transportation Work for You Under the ADA
Participants in this training will be presented with information about Title II of the ADA and the requirements that local and state governments must meet. There will also be a discussion of one's rights to accessible transportation, including buses, rail, and para-transit systems.

Accessing the Community: What ADA Means to You
This training will focus on information about the requirements of Title III of the ADA to assure access to public accommodations that are operated by private entities such as restaurants, doctors' offices, and recreational facilities. Information concerning Title IV (Telecommunications), and Title V (the relationship of the ADA to other laws), will also be discussed.
Presenters for the trainings are David Cameron, ADA Coordinator for Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission; Shawn Dunaway, Technical Specialist for ADA-OHIO; Scott Lissner, ADA Coordinator for The Ohio State University; Cindy Stankiewicz, Program Analyst for the Cleveland Regional Office of EEOC.

Additionally, in response to requests from previous conference participants, an expanded, in-depth workshop will be presented on just the issue of para-transit. The presenter will be Ken Campbell, a member of the ADA-OHIO Board of Trustees, who is also Director of Project Mainstream in Columbus, OH, and ADA Coordinator for the City of Columbus. More information about SOLIDARITY 2005 can be found at their web site or call 800-863-0344 (V), or for registration call 800- 877-6079(V).

The ADA Wisconsin Partnership has recently unveiled a new logo and website. The Partnership has also begun planning for two one-day conferences that will address basic provisions of the ADA. "The ABC's of the ADA" will be held in Wausau, Wisconsin on August 10, 2005 and in Madison on August 11. The morning portion will be directed to small business owners and offer introductory information on Title III facility accessibility and an overview of the Title I employment provisions of the ADA. The afternoon will be geared to government agencies and municipalities and will cover access to programs and services covered by Title II of the ADA and also provide information on employment issues applicable to government agencies. Attendees will have the option to register for the full day, morning or afternoon sessions only.

Question:  I have recently moved into a human resources position with a small employer. I don't have a great deal of knowledge or experience with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the concept of reasonable accommodation. What exactly is a reasonable accommodation under the ADA?

Answer:  In general, an accommodation is any change in the work environment or in the way things are customarily done by an employer that enables an individual with a disability to apply for a position, perform the essential functions of their job and enjoy the benefits and privileges offered by their place of employment. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's guidance on reasonable accommodation there are three categories of "reasonable accommodations":

• Modifications or adjustments to a job application process that enable a qualified applicant with a disability to be considered for the position; or
• Modifications or adjustments to the work environment, or to the manner or circumstances under which the position held or desired is customarily performed, that enable a qualified individual with a disability to perform the essential functions of that position; or
• Modifications or adjustments that enable a covered entity's employee with a disability to enjoy equal benefits and privileges of employment.

If there are workplace barriers that keep individuals from performing the essential functions of their jobs the ADA mandates that an employer should work with the employee in an interactive process to determine if the barrier(s) can be removed through some form of reasonable accommodation(s) absent undue hardship. Undue hardship means that an accommodation is too expensive or too administratively difficult to put into place. Workplace barriers may be physical obstacles such as inaccessible facilities or equipment, or they may be procedures or policies such as rules concerning when work is performed, when breaks are taken, or how essential or marginal functions are performed. Reasonable accommodations must be provided to qualified employees regardless of whether they work part- time or full-time, or are considered "probationary". Individuals are covered by the ADA if they:

• Have a physical or mental impairment that substantially impairs one or more major life activities or:
• Have a record of such an impairment or:
• Are regarded as having such an impairment.

The accommodation provided should relate to the limitation caused by the physical or mental impairment and must be effective in removing a work place barrier. The basic principles of providing a reasonable accommodation are:

• An employer is not required to implement a reasonable accommodation preferred by an employee if an alternative accommodation that is effective in removing a workplace barrier can be implemented.
• An employer is not required to provide personal use items such as wheelchairs or hearing aids or personal services as a reasonable accommodation.
• An employer is not required to lower quality or quantity production standards for an individual with a disability.

An employer should provide any needed accommodation that would allow the individual with the disability to meet the production standards required by the employer absent undue hardship. For additional information on the employment provisions of the ADA you can contact the Great Lakes ADA and Accessible IT Center at 800-949-4232 (V/TTY) or via our online contact form.

The Great Lakes ADA Center disseminates publications related to all aspects of the ADA to inform and raise awareness of disability issues and to foster voluntary compliance with the ADA. The Great Lakes ADA Center distributes materials including posters, regulations and technical bulletins on various ADA topics. Materials are available in alternative formats.

The following publications provide general and in-depth information on the Title I Employment provisions of the ADA:

Your Responsibilities as an Employer
This publication provides basic information concerning the rights and obligations of employers who are covered by the Title I Employment provisions of the ADA.

Small Employers and Reasonable Accommodation
This publication focuses on the impact of the employment provisions of the ADA and the factors small employers should consider in order to comply with the law.

Enforcement Guidance: Reasonable Accommodation and Undue Hardship Under the Americans with Disabilities Act
This publication addresses the informal interactive process, information needed to provide and accommodation, and factors that should be considered to determine if an accommodation is reasonable.

Your Employment Rights as an Individual with a Disability
This publication provides basic information on the employment rights of qualified individuals with disabilities under the ADA.

Hardcopy versions of these documents and as well as other publications concerning the employment provisions of Americans with Disabilities Act can be ordered from the Great Lakes ADA & Accessible IT Center 800-949-4232 or via our online contact form.