Federal Agency Update

The Access Board has released a second draft of its proposed accessibility guidelines for the public right-of-way. The new draft incorporates many of the industry and consumer recommendations submitted in comment to the Board's June 2002 draft. It is being released to the public in order to facilitate the development of the cost/benefit analysis that is the next step in PROW rulemaking under the ADA. The Board's guidelines, which cover pedestrian access to sidewalks and streets, including crosswalks, curb ramps, street furnishings, pedestrian signals, parking, roundabouts, and other components of public rights-of-way, serve as the basis for DOJ and DOT standards. Noting that the current ADA standards were developed largely for buildings and facilities on sites and are difficult to apply to the public right-of-way, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) encourages use of the draft guidelines as a best practice.

The agreement settles a suit filed on August 17, 2004 by Lawrence Dilworth, Willie Cochran, Carolyn Reed, and Elbert Davis. The suit alleged that the City of Detroit had failed to maintain and repair the wheelchair lifts of its fixed route bus system, and otherwise denied individuals with disabilities the benefits of the fixed route bus system, in violation of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. On March 30, 2005, the Court granted the United States' motion to intervene in the Individual Plaintiffs' action against the City.

As part of the settlement the City of Detroit shall comply with all requirements of Title II of the ADA and Section 504, and the implementing regulations at 28 C.F.R. Part 35 and 49 C.F.R. Parts 37 and 38, with respect to the provision of the services and benefits of the City's Fixed Route Transportation System to individuals with disabilities who use Wheelchairs. Additionally, buses in the Fixed Route Transportation System will continue to have wheelchair lifts that are in operative condition in conformance with the order. All buses with disabled lifts in the Fixed Route Transportation System shall be retired from the fleet.

This agreement settles a complaint that alleged that the Apollo Theater violated Title III of the ADA. The complaint alleged that the Theater failed to remove architectural barriers where it was readily achievable to do so, failed to use readily achievable alternatives to barrier removal where barrier removal was not readily achievable, and failed to make reasonable modifications to policies, practices and procedures to make the goods and services offered at the Theater accessible to individuals with disabilities.

The DOJ has updated its web site with additional settlement agreements, briefs that have been filed in ADA related court actions and other new materials. The filings pertain to Titles I, II and III of the ADA and to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

The EEOC issued a report detailing best practices undertaken by states to promote the hiring, retention, and advancement of individuals with disabilities in state government employment. An interim report was issued on October 29, 2004, which covered four states: Florida, Maryland, Vermont, and Washington. The final report covers those four states and five others - Kansas, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, and Utah.

The EEOC initiated the "States' Best Practices Project" in part because of the number of people state governments employ, and the unique opportunities to serve as model employers for other public entities and for the private sector. The purposes of this project are twofold. First, EEOC hopes that all states (as well as local governments and private employers) will learn from the best practices of the participating states. Second, EEOC is offering participating states free, informal, technical assistance to aid in voluntary compliance with the ADA.

The EEOC received a prestigious national award from the Department of Defense for its leadership in increasing employment and accessibility for people with disabilities. The receipt of the award highlighted the successful efforts of EEOC Chair Cari M. Dominguez to make the agency a model workplace.

The Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program (CAP) of the U.S. Department of Defense presented its 2005 CAP Achievement Award to the EEOC which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination against people with disabilities, and for acting on its own principles in maintaining a disability-friendly workplace. CAP provides thousands of accommodations annually to disabled employees throughout the federal government.