June 2026
Volume 19 Issue 8
The Bumpy Path Ahead: Accessibility Considerations for Exterior Surfaces
Beyond Code Minimums: Designing Accessible Kitchens & Bathrooms
New Guide for Law Enforcement: Mental Health and IDD
The Arc created a new resource to help law enforcement and other first responders with disability-related communication strategies, de-escalation and trauma-informed approaches. Check out the guide on co-occurring mental health and intellectual developmental disabilities (IDD) for law enforcement.
Toolkit: Secure Your Financial Future
This toolkit is a resource designed to support people with disabilities and the people who assist them. Whether you're preparing for a new job, navigating your current role, planning for retirement, or assisting someone in this process, the toolkit offers financial education tools and resources for every stage of the employment journey. Learn more about this toolkit from the Employee Benefits Security Administration.
Research & Policy: Caregivers with Disabilities
An estimated 36% of adult family caregivers in the U.S. are disabled themselves. Despite disabled caregivers making up over a third of the caregiving population in the United States, we do not know much about their caregiving experiences, health or well-being. Check out this Brandeis research brief and their findings from recent data on caregivers with disabilities.
Answer: Yes. People with disabilities may request modifications to zoning laws or other local ordinances that have an adverse impact on people with disabilities and/or limit a qualified person’s equal access to local government programs, services or activities based on disability. Programs, services and activities can include things like public infrastructure, land usage, etc.
It may not always be reasonable to modify a law or ordinance. The ADA requires an individualized analysis to determine if a modification is necessary to avoid discrimination, if the request would result in a fundamental alteration and/or if it would result in a direct threat to health or safety. Local governments are also expected to consider reasonable alternatives when a particular request would result in a fundamental alteration or a direct threat.
Common examples of local ordinances which can lead to discrimination include:
Set-Back Minimums: City zoning ordinances may require a minimum distance, or “set-back”, between a business and the curb (e.g. 12 feet). This can limit the business owner’s ability to install ADA-compliant ramps without a variance from the municipality
Animal Ordinances: Local animal ordinances may dictate the species or number of animals a person can legally own and where they can take them (e.g. a local ordinance may ban animals from entering healthcare clinics). In some instances, these ordinances impact the use of trained service animals or people with disabilities who keep animals at home for emotional support.
In addition to making modifications upon request, cities and local municipalities should consider updating modification processes and local laws, where reasonable, to proactively address discrimination and meet the disability-related needs of their community.
Resource(s):
Learn more by visiting our ADA Frequently Asked Questions.
Walmart agreed to pay $230,000 and furnish other relief to settle a disability hiring discrimination lawsuit. According to the suit, a deaf applicant requested an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter when contacted for an interview. Walmart never followed through and instead hired three hearing applicants.
EEOC v. Magnera Corporation, formerly known as Berry Global, Inc.
Magnera Corporation will pay $130,000 and provide other relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit. According to the suit, they discriminated against an employee by requiring her to produce a doctor’s release clearing her to return to work after she took approved personal time off. Although the company’s onsite certified physician assistant cleared the employee to return to work, the human resources manager demanded the employee complete family medical leave paperwork even though she had not requested medical leave. The company fired the employee when she could not produce the requested paperwork.
A G Equipment will pay $4,250,000 to over 40 workers and provide other relief to settle a religious and disability discrimination lawsuit. According to the suit, A G Equipment mandated that all employees receive a COVID-19 vaccination and told workers no exemptions would be permitted for any reason. One worker supplemented their request with a doctor’s note requesting an exemption due to a medical condition. The company refused to discuss the employees’ requests and fired all individuals who did not provide proof of vaccination including workers who requested accommodations.
According to the lawsuit, a Buc-ee’s cashier requested a reasonable accommodation for physician-imposed restrictions related to his disability, myasthenia gravis, a chronic neuromuscular condition. Among the accommodations, he requested to have seating available at his workstation so that he could avoid standing continuously for more than 15 minutes at a time and regain his stamina after standing. Buc-ee’s denied the cashier’s request, requiring that he stand continuously, and eventually the company fired him after he was unable to return to work due to denial of his accommodation request.
Tumbleson v. Lakota Local School District
A teacher with hearing and vision disabilities, sought paid sick leave to attend a mandatory three‑week out‑of‑state guide dog training course. The district denied her request, citing its sick‑leave policy, which did not classify such training as a “personal illness.” Instead, it offered her unpaid leave as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA. Finding no violations of the ADA, the 6th Circuit determined the teacher could not point to any examples of nondisabled employees who were granted paid sick leave “even when the employee’s proposed absence did not qualify for that leave.” Further, it said, unpaid leave was a suitable reasonable accommodation, even if it was not her preferred one.
National Federation of the Blind v. Oregon State University (OSU)
OSU has agreed to a $475,000 settlement with the National Federation of the Blind (NFB). The NFB presented claims on behalf of a student which asserted that STEM course material wasn’t provided to the student in a timely or accurate manner. OSU is adding positions, training new and existing staff, working with course material providers, and investing in technology.
Payan v. Los Angeles Community College District
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ordered the trial court to reinstate a jury verdict awarding $242,500 in damages to two blind students who experienced disability discrimination while enrolled at Los Angeles City College, part of the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD). In a published decision, the court confirmed that plaintiffs who bring claims under Title II of the ADA may receive substantial non-economic damages for lost educational opportunities. Throughout their time at LACCD, the two students faced problems like inaccessible course software, delayed or inaccessible textbooks and course materials, inaccessible library resources, difficulties obtaining testing accommodations, inaccessible school websites and registration systems, and discriminatory “steering away” from certain courses.
United Spinal Association v. Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
United Spinal Association and others filed a complaint in the Northern District of Florida federal court challenging a Florida law that impacts access to disability parking spaces. Under the Florida law that went into effect on July 1, 2025, the only requirement to receive a pregnancy parking permit is pregnancy. The applicant does not need to show any mobility impairment or other disability. As a result, thousands of Floridians without disabilities are parking in accessible spaces that, under federal law, are reserved for people with disabilities. The complaint alleges that this violates the ADA.
