DBTAC: Great Lakes ADA Center

Welcome to the DBTAC:
Great Lakes ADA Center's monthly Newsletter

Trainings & Events

The Great Lakes Center offers technical assistance on a variety of issues under the ADA and Accessible Information Technology

Federal Agencies

The Great Lakes Center offers customized trainings on a variety of issues under the ADA and Accessible Information Technology.

Great Lakes Affiliates

The Great Lakes offers resource materials on a variety of issues under the ADA and Accessible Information Technology.

Resources from the Technical Assistance Desk

In the Headlines

U.S. Access Board

The U.S. Access Board announced that two newly formed committees held their first meetings. The Committee on Emergency Housing is examining the accessibility issues faced by persons with disabilities with portable emergency housing. The committee plans to issue guidelines to assist federal, state, and local agencies to insure that portable housing used in emergency situations is accessible to individuals with disabilities. The second committee, Vessel Alarms Committee, is examining issues for providing access to emergency alarms systems on vessels to individuals that are deaf and hearing impaired. This committee plans to issue guidelines to assist vessel manufacturers, vessel operators and others on how best to make emergency vessel alarms accessible. Read more about the committeesat http://www.access-board.gov.

U.S. Departemnt of Education

The U.S. Department of Education announced that twenty-seven states were awarded fourteen million in grants to assist in the assessment of children with disabilities under No Child Left Behind and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The grants will be used by the states for developing Modified academic achievement standards, state assessments based on modified or alternate academic achievement standards, clear and appropriate guidelines for Individualized Education Program teams, and training on the guidelines. Read more about the dept. of Education grants at www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2007/10/10092007.html.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced grants to assist lower income individuals with obtaining accessible affordable housing. The $124.8 million in Grants through Section 811 will assist low-income individuals with disabilities by increasing community supports services and by enlarging the supply of rental housing. Individuals will pay 30 percent of adjusted incomes with the government paying the remainder of the monthly rent. Read more about the HUD grants at www.hud.gov/news/release.cfm?content=pr07-157.cfm.

U.S. Department of Justice

The U.S. Department of Justice announced that Sarasota County, Fla., has agreed to pay $760,000 to settle two lawsuits alleging that the county discriminated against persons with disabilities. The lawsuits alleged that the county was in violation of the ADA when it refused to allow group homes operate that serve persons in recovery from alcohol and substance abuse. Read more about the Sarasota County settlement at www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2007/October/07_crt_854.html.

The U.S. Department of Justice has settled a housing discrimination Case with an Iowa landlord. The lawsuit alleged the landlord was in violation of the Fair Housing Act because it maintained a policy of requiring prospective tenants to divulge mental health information. The complaint further alleged that in certain instances individuals were required to provide medical records. Under the consent decree the defendants will pay $40,000 in monetary relief to the complainants and the United States. Read more about the settlement at http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2007/October/07_crt_847.htm.

The U.S. Department of Justice has announced a settlement agreement with Sylvan Learning Centers, L.L.C. Sylvan provides in person and online tutoring and personalized instruction to students primarily in grades pre-K through 12. The agreement resolves a complaint filed under Title III of the ADA by a mother of an individual who is deaf. Sylvan has agreed to adopt policies and procedures that will insure that needed auxiliary aids and services are provided to deaf and hearing impaired individuals so effective communication is achieved. Further, Sylvan agrees that it will not discriminate on the basis of disability in the services they provide. Read more about the Sylvan settlement at www.ada.gov/sylvanlearn.htm.

The U.S. Department of Justice has updated its web site with new ADA court filings. The updates are briefs that the DOJ has filed in ADA related court cases. The cases pertain to Titles I, II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act and to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The Briefs include:

• Access Living v. Chicago Transit Authority
• House v. City of Jackson
• Kitson v. Peoples Heritage Savings Bank
• Lonberg v. Sanborn Theaters
• Padilla v. Ryan
• Pinnock v. International House of Pancakes Franchisee
• PVA v. Ellerbe Becket Architects
• Spector v. Norwegian Cruise Line Ltd.
• United States v. HealthTexas Medical Group of San Antonio, Primary Carenet of TX, Humana Gold Plus, Pacificare of TX and Secure Horizons
• United States v. NY State Dept. of Motor Vehicles, NY State Dept. of Education and Three Villages Central School District
• United States v. US Golf Association

Read more about the ADA briefs at www.ada.gov/briefs/adabrief.htm.

U.S. Department of Labor

The U.S. Department of Labor announced that it will recognize seven businesses, organizations and individuals for exemplary disability employment practices. The sixth annual New Freedom Initiative Awards for exemplary and innovative efforts in furthering the employment for people with disabilities will go to:

• The Dow Chemical Co., Midland, Mich.
• Gap Inc., San Francisco, Calif.
• Northrop Grumman Corp., Los Angeles, Calif.
• The Laurie Mitchell Employment Center, Alexandria, Va.
• Positive Vibe Café, Richmond, Va.
• John D. Kemp Esq., Powers, Pyles Sutter & Verville P.C., Washington, D.C.

Read more about the awards at www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/odep/odep20071611.htm.

The U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy, announced an alliance with CVS Caremark. The purpose of the partnership is to promote the employment of workers with disabilities. The alliance will allow the sharing of information, guidance and resources that will help to develop programs that may be used by other employers to increase the employment opportunities for workers with disabilities. Read more about the agreement at www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/odep/odep20071653.htm.

Great Lakes In Focus

Beginning with the December/January issue of the Great Lakes Chronicle, the online newsletter will be enhancing the information and resources provided to assist businesses, employers, organizations and government agencies with their compliance responsibilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Each issue of the Chronicle will focus on a single topic/issue. Each issue will provide the ADA requirements, excellent resources and also include examples of best practices that employers, businesses, government agencies and other covered organizations use to comply with the ADA and are also use to enhance organizational procedures and practices. The goal is to highlight best practices so they may be used by other organizations.

The Chronicle will continue to provide the latest information from federal agencies regarding technical assistance materials, rule making, new regulations, resources and enforcement. In addition, the newsletter will include the listing of more events/conferences that organizations may use for training purposes. The list of topics/issues to be covered over the next twelve months include:

• December 2007/January 2008: Maintenance of Accessible Building Features
• February 2008: Writing Effective Job Descriptions
• March 2008: Applications and Interviews: Insuring Access to All Applicants
• April 2008: Barrier Removal and Improving Access
• May 2008 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Statistics and What They Mean for Employers
• June 2008: Planning Accessible Temporary Events
• July 2008: An Effective Accommodation Process Pt. 1
• August 2008: An Effective Accommodation Process Pt. 2
• September 2008: Serving Customers with Disabilities in the Hospitality Arena
• October 2008: Disability as Part of Employer Diversity Outreach
• November 2008: Accessible Web Sites

Accessible Technology

The DBTAC Great Lakes Accessible Technology Initiative provides individuals, businesses, governmental entities, and organizations with technical assistance, training, referrals, materials, and resources on information technology and its accessibility. The Center's trainings are customized to fit the specific needs of the organizations requesting the presentations.

Visit the Accessible Technology section at www.adagreatlakes.org/AIT/ of the Great Lakes web site for more information on the services provided by the Center.

To get additional information about accessible technology visit the Accessible Technology Bulletin at www.adagreatlakes.org/Publications/ATBulletin/.

For technical assistance questions contact the Great Lakes Center by calling 800-949-4232 (V/TTY) or by visiting the on-line contact form at www.adagreatlakes.org/WebForms/ContactUs/.

The Docket

Jones vs. UPS (http://caselaw.findlaw.com/data2/circs/10th/063088p.pdf)

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower district court's summary judgment in favor of UPS. Mr. Jones was a UPS driver when he suffered a shoulder injury on the job. One of the essential functions of this position is being able to lift 70 pounds over the head. Jones was unable to perform this function following several medical examinations.

The supervisor for Jones told him that UPS had no positions for him if he had permanent restrictions. Jones filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and subsequently filed his lawsuit. The lawsuit alleged that the UPS policy regarding permanent restrictions was a violation of the ADA and that UPS retaliated against him for filing a workers compensation claim.

The district court granted summary judgment in favor of UPS stating that Jones had not established that he was a qualified individual with a disability under the ADA. The Appeals Court reversed that the lawsuit could continue on whether the policy was a discriminatory policy under the ADA.

Technical Assistance Desk

Question: I am constructing a two story building that qualifies for the elevator exemption because it is less than three stories. If a building qualifies for the elevator exemption, do any other ADA standards for accessible design apply on the second floor of the building? The owner of the building thinks that only the first floor must comply with the ADA standards.

Answer: The ADA elevator exemption, ADAAG section 4.1.3 (5) Exemption 1, applies to buildings with less than three stories and les than 3000 square feet per floor. The building does not need to meet both requirements in order to qualify for the exemption. The exemption applies unless the building is:

• A shopping Center/Mall or:
• The professional offices of a Health Care Provider or:
• A Public Transit station or Airport Passenger Terminal.

State and local government facilities do not qualify for the elevator exemption under the ADA standards.

While an elevator is not required in buildings qualifying for the exemption all other ADA requirements apply. For example, if a newly constructed two-story building will be used as real estate offices and there will be bathrooms on both the ground floor and the second floor both bathrooms must comply with the ADA standards. Any other features located in common use spaces, drinking fountains, pay phones, must also follow the standards. Stairs connecting levels not served by another accessible means, ramps, elevators, lifts, must comply with ADAAG section 4.9 applying to stairs. In addition, parking provided for employees, visitors and customers, ADAAG section 4.1.2 (5) and section 4.6, as well as accessible routes from the parking lot and public sidewalks and public transportation, ADAAG section 4.3, must comply with ADA requirements.

If you have questions about the ADA you may contact the DBTAC: Great Lakes ADA Center by calling 800-949-4232 (V/TTY) or by visiting our on-line contact form at www.adagreatlakes.org/WebForms/ContactUs/.