November 2023

Volume 17 Issue 2 

 

New Member of the Advisory Committee on Transportation Equity (ACTE) 

Our very own co-investigator, Dr. Yochai Eisenberg, has recently been appointed as a member of the the Advisory Committee on Transportation Equity (ACTE)! The ACTE will play an integral role in the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)’s Equity Action Plan and Strategic Plan. Check out our video to learn about the goals of the ACTE related to disability and access.

Military Families: Finding Disability Resources for Children after a Move

According to the Military Family Advisory Network, military families move on average every 2.5 years. For those raising children with disabilities, this can mean finding new healthcare providers, disability specialists, local resources and other supports every time you move. Luckily, there is a wide range of national disability-related programs available in every state, including some that are specifically for military families.

Read more about national resources for travelling military families raising children with disabilities.

Emergency Preparedness: Diabetes Care During Armed Conflict

Just like the COVID-19 pandemic, the recent violence in Israel and Palestine once again highlights the importance of including persons with disabilities and chronic health conditions—like diabetes—into emergency preparedness plans. While self-education and stress management have been shown to improve health outcomes for individuals with diabetes, crisis scenarios require additional preparation, not only from the individual, but also from front line healthcare workers, government agencies and humanitarian aid organizations.

Read more about the healthcare workers in Gaza and strategies for protecting people with diabetes during a national crisis. 

Accessible Shopping: Black Friday and Cyber Monday

The holiday season is fast approaching along with some of the biggest shopping days of the year: Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Even with the rise of new technology and increased corporate commitments to accessible shopping experiences, people with disabilities still encounter barriers which put some deals, discounts and products out of reach.

Check out the resources below to make shopping more accessible and enjoyable this November:

In-Person Shopping:

• ADA Requirements for Retail Stores: Setting Your Business Up for Success
• ADA Update: A Primer for Small Business
• Maintaining Accessible Features in Retail Establishments

Online Shopping:

• 7 Things You Can Do Now to Make Your eCommerce Business More Accessible
• Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA

Accessible Design: Recent Gains (and Setbacks)

World Usability Day falls on November 9, 2023. The goal is to solve global challenges through inclusive design. Recently, there have been several advancements in accessible design across multiple fields, such as:

• The new accessible PlayStation controller;
• The adaptable intimate apparel line from Victoria's Secret;
• The newly added default automatic captions in TikTok; and
• The integration of Microsoft's Immersive Reader into the social media platform LinkedIN.

With accessible design only growing in popularity, the recent decision to remove headlines from X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter) was an abrupt and confusing design change which will impact all platform users, including individuals who use screen readers.

Learn more about World Usability Day and the World Usability Initiative.

School District Delayed Special Education Services for Students with Learning Disabilities

The findings of an Illinois Human Rights Authority (HRA) report indicate that Dunlap School District 323 did not correctly use Response to Intervention (RTI) strategies when evaluating students with learning disabilities. The district's RTI plan stated that schools must "demonstrate evidence that early intervention has been attempted through a three-tier model before consideration of special education services." The HRA found that this was a direct violation of Child Find, a state law requiring school districts to actively seek out and identify students who may be eligible for special education services. 

Read more about the Human Rights Authority findings and recommendations for Dunlap School’s special education services.

Accessibility Survey for Early Voting Sites

The United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the Southern District of Indiana and Indiana Disability Rights (IDR) are partnering to review the accessibility of early polling sites for the 2023 General Election. This project, called “Access the Vote,” uses survey results to inform County Clerks about individualized solutions to make their polling places accessible to voters with disabilities.​ During early voting in several primary and general elections, IDR has conducted accessibility surveys based on the Department of Justice’s Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Checklist for Polling Places. Partnering with the USAO provides additional personnel needed to survey more counties and helps raise awareness about the project.

Read more about “Access the Vote.”

Grant Funding Impacts Health Care for People with Disabilities

The University of Minnesota recently announced one of the largest federal grants in its history, $54 million, which will transform how it expedites medical research discoveries into everyday clinical use. The University’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute will use the new funds to build on its previous successes which include a recent discovery of metformin as a low-cost therapy for Long-COVID, a telemedicine option for children with autism and immune-boosting therapies for patients with colon cancer.

Thirteen organizations across Minnesota will also be receiving resources to increase awareness of Alzheimer’s-related dementia thanks to $750,000 in new grants from the Minnesota Board on Aging.

Read more about how the University of Minnesota plans to improve the health of persons with disabilities and other underserved communities.

Read more about the Minnesota Board on Aging grants to support people with Alzheimer's dementia.

Legal Overhaul of Michigan's Guardianship System

Michigan's guardianship system is facing a huge overhaul due to a number of recently passed House Bills. The proposed legislation (House Bills 4909, 4910, 4911, 4912, and 5047) would implement a range of changes to the state's guardianship and conservatorship systems, including:

• More protections for a person under a guardianship before they are removed from their home
• Protections against personal items of sentimental value being thrown out by the guardian. Under current law, items that belong to someone in a guardianship can be thrown out
• Required certification for guardians and conservators
• More frequent visits from guardians and conservators
• Requirement for a judge to publicly explain why a family member who wants to be a guardian is not suitable
• Elimination of a judge's ability to stop challenges to an appointed guardianship/conservatorship for a maximum of six months
• Clear asset and income thresholds for a conservator to be appointed
• Requirement to establish a person's right to an attorney during proceedings
• Standards for the Guardian ad Litem report for the court

Disability Rights Ohio's Goals for 2024 and New Employment Series

Disability Rights Ohio (DRO) recently released their 2024 goals and objectives after receiving hundreds of surveys submitted by Ohioans with disabilities. ​The new goals include: ​

• Strengthening and expanding the community mental health service system​
• Expanding access to community supports for people with traumatic brain injury 
• Improving access and quality services for youth with disabilities
• Increasing positive educational outcomes for students with disabilities and others

DRO also launched a new #WorkTipWednesday social media series on Facebook and X (formerly known as Twitter). This series offers a weekly bit of information from their Client Assistance Program (CAP) team. This series covers topics like explaining Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) eligibility and application for VR services, individualized plans for employment, employment goal setting, and more.

Read Disability Rights Ohio's full list of Goals & Objectives for 2024

Read more about the #WorkTipWednesday Series

New Job Accommodation Training Library

During National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), the Wisconsin Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) posted new online accommodation training videos for employers, workers, and job seekers. The Accommodation Training Library includes topics such as hiring people with disabilities, the reasonable accommodation process, disclosing a disability, disability discrimination, and other informational videos related to disability employment law. The videos were created as part of a U.S. Department of Education grant awarded to DVR in 2021.

Read more about DVR’s new job accommodations training videos. 

EEOC Lawsuits Spike in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023

After reviewing preliminary data, the EEOC recently announced a significant increase in lawsuits for FY 2023. 143 new employment discrimination lawsuits were filed with 48 of those being disability-related cases. Claims concerning employee and applicant hearing impairments were common which may have been related to the EEOC’s recent guidance regarding hearing disabilities in the workplace published in late January 2023. Since the guidance was issued, the EEOC has filed 9 ADA cases on behalf of employees with hearing impairments, 3 in Illinois as well as 1 in Florida, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, and Ohio.

UPS Policy Excluded Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Applicants from Driver Positions

EEOC’s Chicago District Office has filed a lawsuit against UPS for a policy that allegedly contains an illegal qualification standard that screened out deaf as well as hard-of-hearing applicants. A class of individuals argue that they were denied driver positions with UPS even though they could have completed training and performed the essential job functions with reasonable accommodations.

Disability Discrimination Settlement with Community Hospital Results in $158,000 Settlement

Munster Medical Research Foundation, Inc., doing business as Community Hospital in Indiana, agreed to settle a federal charge after failing to transfer an injured nurse to a vacant job she could perform. Instead, the employee was terminated when she could not return to work dur to her lifting restrictions.

Washinton State Prisons Now Required to Provide Gender-Affirming Care to Trans Inmates with Gender Dysphoria and Other Health Conditions

A recent settlement agreement with Disability Rights Washington will require the Washington Department of Corrections to provide gender-affirming healthcare and services that are consistent with the Washington Health Care Authority’s Transhealth Program for people living in the community. The Department also agreed to retain gender-affirming care specialists to implement the program throughout the state prison system.

Lawsuit Alleges New Orleans Streetcars Are Inaccessible to Wheelchair Users

New Orleans Regional Transit Authority is facing a lawsuit that alleges 74 percent of streetcars and 90 percent of streetcar stops along St. Charles Avenue are inaccessible to passengers in wheelchairs which violates the ADA. The suit was filed by the father of a 7-year-old boy who uses a wheelchair due to a rare genetic condition.

State of Colorado Sued For Institutionalizing People with Physical Disabilities in Nursing Facilities

After notifying Colorado of its findings of civil rights violations in a letter to Colorado Governor Polis in 2022 , the Justice Department has filed suit against the State of Colorado for allegedly segregating individuals with physical disabilities in nursing facilities. The ADA and the Olmstead decision require state and local governments to make services available to people with disabilities in the most integrated setting  possible, but many Coloradans with physical disabilities are denied the choice to receive services in their own homes and communities, instead of in nursing facilities.

Target Faces Class Action Lawsuit for Inaccessible Website Allegations

Target Corporation is facing a class action lawsuit filed by the National Federation of the Blind on behalf of a Minnesota plaintiff. The suit claims Target's website is not accessible to consumers who are blind or have low vision and is missing adequate descriptions for certain links and/or buttons which makes browsing the website a process of trial and error for screen reader users.

Illinois Hotel Settles Lawsuit Over Physical Access and Reservation Issues

The Hampton Inn & Suites hotel in Grand Prairie agreed to settle a Department of Justice lawsuit which stated they violated the ADA when they provided a guest with a disability a room which lacked grab bars despite the guest reserving an accessible room in advance. The complaint also alleged that the hotel stated they had no physically accessible rooms available and cancelled the guest's reservation leaving them with nowhere to stay.

National Assistive Technology Act Technical Assistance and Training (AT3) Center

Looking for information and resources on different assistive technologies (AT)? The National Assistive Technology Act Technical Assistance and Training (AT3) Center provides training and technical assistance for all AT Act Programs and provides up-to-date information and resources related to assistive technology. 

The AT3 Center provides: 

• AT Awareness Resources
• Issue Briefs on AT Policy
• Webinars 
• Digital Accessibility Courses 

Contact your State AT Program for free assistive technology information and assistance.  

Stay informed on the ADA, disability topics, and resources by following us on social media @ADAGreatLakes.

Check out one of our most recent popular posts, image to the left:

In honor of National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), we highlighted the hot ADA topics in employment, starting with reasonable accommodations in the workplace. Check out the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)'s resource on Enforcement Guidance on Reasonable Accommodation and Undue Hardship under the ADA to learn about reasonable accommodations. 

#NDEAM #Inclusion #Employment