Trainings & Events
- Transitory and Minor Impairments
- ADA Specific Exclusions
- Employee Count Thresholds and Title II Entities
- If and how ADA applies to American Indian Tribes & Reservations under Titles I, II and III
- The ADA and Private Clubs
- The ADA and Churches, Clergy & the Ministerial Exception
- ADA borders, Cruise Ships and International Air Carriers
News from the Federal Agencies
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
EEOC Sues S&B Industry for Disability Discrimination
A Fort Worth cellphone repair facility, violated federal law by denying employment to two hearing-impaired applicants because of their disability, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charged in a lawsuit it filed. The EEOC lawsuit also alleges that S&B Industry violated the law by denying the two applicants a reasonable accommodation during the application process.
Disability Services Company Sued by EEOC for Discriminating Against Disabled Employees
ValleyLife, a disability support services company, unlawfully discriminated against disabled employees by refusing to provide them with reasonable accommodations in violation of federal law, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it has filed in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona. ValleyLife is an Arizona corporation which provides programs and support services for individuals with disabilities in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area.
Wal-Mart to Pay $150,000 to Settle EEOC Age and Disability Discrimination Suit
Wal-Mart Stores of Texas, L.L.C. (Wal-Mart) has agreed to pay $150,000 and provide other significant relief to settle an age and disability discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC),. The EEOC charged in its suit that Wal-Mart discriminated against the manager of the Keller, Texas Walmart store by subjecting him to harassment, discriminatory treatment, and discharge because of his age and failed to provide him with a reasonable accommodation for his diabetes.
EEOC Sues Sims Recycling and All-Star Personnel for Disability Discrimination
The An international electronics recycling company and a local staffing agency refused to assign an employee because of her hearing impairment in violation of federal law, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed. In its complaint, the EEOC charges that Sims Recycling Solutions, Inc. and All-Star Personnel, Inc. refused to assign an individual temporary work because she has a hearing impairment.
St. Alexius Medical Center of Hoffman Estates To Pay $125,000 to Resolve Disability Suit
St. Alexius Medical Center of Hoffman Estates will pay $125,000 to a former employee as part of a two-year consent decree resolving a civil rights suit by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC),. The EEOC charged that the hospital violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by failing to provide a disabled employee, who worked as a greeter, with reasonable accommodations which would have allowed her to do her job and by terminating the employee instead.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
HUD Awards Money to Provide Permanant Homes and Services To Low-income Persons with Disabilities
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced it is awarding $150 million in rental assistance to 25 State Housing Agencies. The state agencies will provide permanent affordable rental housing and needed supportive services to nearly 4,600 households who are extremely low-income persons with disabilities, many of whom hoping to transition out of institutional settings back to the community. HUD's support of state housing agencies is made possible through the Section 811 Project Rental Assistance (PRA)
U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)
Justice Department Announces New Online ADA Complaint Form
The Department of Justice announced that, as of March 3,2015, individuals wishing to file ADA complaints with the Department will be able to fill out an online form and submit it completely electronically. Filers will also immediately receive a "reference number" that can be used whenever contacting the Department about that complaint. Effective March 15, 2015, e-mail complaints will no longer be accepted by the Department. However, complaints will still be accepted by U. S. mail.
Settlement with Rapid City, South Dakota Continues Year of ADA's 25th Anniversary
The Justice Department announced an agreement with Rapid City, South Dakota (City), to improve access to aspects of civic life for people with disabilities. The agreement was reached under Project Civic Access (PCA), the department's wide-ranging initiative to ensure that cities, towns and counties throughout the country comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Under the agreement, the City will take important steps to improve physical access for people with disabilities to the City's Rushmore Plaza Civic Center, such as providing: the appropriate number of accessible parking spaces adjacent to the various designated accessible entrances; seating and companion seating for wheelchair users, public restrooms, interior ramps, drinking fountains, and dressing rooms for performers with disabilities. For additional information about the Rapid City settlement, please visit the Justice department blog where we will highlight each month different ways that the ADA benefits people with disabilities.
Justice Department Announces Settlement Agreement with Washington County, Missouri
The Justice Department announced a settlement agreement with Washington County, Missouri, to improve access to all aspects of civic life for people with disabilities. The agreement was reached under Project Civic Access, the department's wide-ranging initiative to ensure that cities, towns and counties throughout the country comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Under the agreement, the County will take important steps to improve access for people with disabilities, such as: physically modifying facilities surveyed by the Department so that they are accessible; retaining an Independent Licensed Architect; appointing an ADA Coordinator; adopting a Grievance Procedure; providing auxiliary aids and services necessary to ensure effective communication; ensuring accessibility of polling places; ensuring that emergency procedures, plans, and shelters accommodate people with disabilities; and posting and publishing a notice to inform members of the public of the provisions of Title II and their applicability to the County's programs, services, and activities.
Great Lakes In Focus
U.S. Access Board Proposes Updated ICT Accessibility Requirements
The U.S. Access Board has released for public comment a proposed rule updating accessibility requirements for information and communication technology (ICT) in the federal sector covered by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. The rule also would jointly update guidelines for telecommunications equipment subject to Section 255 of the Communications Act. Public comments on the rule, as well as on a preliminary assessment of its estimated costs and benefits, are due on or before May 28, 2015. The Board also will hold public hearings on the rule in San Diego on March 5 and in Washington, DC on March 11.
Read the ICT Proposed Rule Summary...The NPRM is available on the Access Board's website...
Regulations.gov
The Docket
votny v. Health Alliance Medical Plans, Inc
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower Court's summary judgment in favor of an employer in an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) case. The Court held that the employee was not a "qualified individual with a disability" under the ADA because she could not perform the essential function of regular attendance. The court held that regular attendance could be an essential function even where the employer has allowed the employee to work from home pursuant to a work-at-home policy. In this case, the policy required employees working from home to maintain an agreed-upon schedule and to be accessible by phone or email during that timeframe. The employee failed to meet these legitimate requirements, so she was therefore not a "qualified individual with a disability."
The court further stated that even if the employee had been a qualified individual with a disability, she would not have been meeting the employer's legitimate expectations because she failed to report her time accurately or notify her supervisor when she was tardy or absent.
The court also held that the employer had made good-faith efforts to accommodate the employee's disability by seeking information from her physician about her accommodation needs, participating in the interactive process and providing several accommodations to the employee.
From the ADA Expert
Question: I am the ADA Coordinator for a local community college and the college allows local organizations to hold events in the college's facilities. Some groups use classrooms and others use larger spaces such as the theater. The college only provides the rooms and does not have anything to do with putting on the event. Recently I was contacted by an individual needing an interpreter for an upcoming event and wanted to know if the college was going to provide the interpreter because the organization putting on the event said they will not provide one. Does the college have any responsibility to provide the interpreter for this event?
Answer:The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that state and local governments and places of public accommodation to provide individuals with disabilities with the same level of access to information that is provided to individuals without disabilities. In some instances that may require the provision of auxiliary aids and services. An example of such an auxiliary aid or service used to communicate with something that is deaf is a qualified interpreter. Every time a covered entity communicates with some one that is deaf an interpreter may not be necessary. Consideration of the complexity of the information being communicated and the length of the communication taking place, along with consultation with the deaf individual should help determine what auxiliary aid or service is needed.
Addressing your specific question, if as you state the college is only providing the space for the event then the college has no responsibility for insuring equal access for the individual that is deaf to the information being presented. The group putting on the event would have the responsibility for providing access to the information if the group is covered by the ADA or receives federal funds requiring compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
For additional information please contact the Great Lakes ADA Center at (800) 949-4232 (V/TTY) or by completing the online form: http://adagreatlakes.com/WebForms/ContactUs/>
