The Arizona prisons are changing how they treat people who are blind or have low vision. They weren’t giving them aids or services like Braille, audio materials, or screen reading software so they could communicate well. It was also hard for people with vision disabilities to ask for help or complain about the problems. The … Continued
The U.S. Department of Transportation wants public transportation buildings and facilities to be usable by everyone. Their goal is to make sure everyone, with or without a disability, can use public transportation easily and independently. They’re looking for ideas from people on how to make these facilities easier for those with disabilities to use. They’re … Continued
The Department of Justice reached an agreement with Alameda County, California, and others who had filed complaints, to improve community-based mental health services. The Department found that Alameda County violated Title II of the ADA by putting people with mental health disabilities in institutions when they could have been helped with community-based services. The agreement … Continued
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has introduced an “accessibility” map for its recreation sites to help people with mobility or accessibility needs. This map is part of Disability Awareness Month and is the first step in a bigger effort by the BLM. A team of experts has improved the online map, allowing users to … Continued
The Justice Department has new guidance about how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)’s “integration mandate” applies to public employment and day services. The integration mandate says state and local governments have to provide services to people with disabilities in the most inclusive setting possible. Many people with disabilities are in sheltered workshops and day … Continued
The Justice Department reached a settlement with a Hawaii developer and others who were accused of not designing and building five multifamily housing complexes with the required accessible features. This violates the Fair Housing Act, which is a law that ensures housing is accessible to everyone. The agreement requires the companies to pay a fine … Continued
The American Council of the Blind (ACB) won a case in California against Quest Diagnostics. The case is about their self-service kiosks being inaccessible to blind people. This violates the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). The case can now go to trial and is for all legally blind people who visited Quest in 2018 and 2019 … Continued
A new resource from the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) talks about options an employer should consider if they can’t identify a reasonable accommodation after making a good-faith effort to do so. They could: Talk to the employee and review past attempts. If the employee can’t provide more ideas, look for help from outside resources like … Continued
Jan Garrett, Deputy Director of ADA Programs at the Pacific ADA Center, was recently interviewed by the L.A. Times. She shared guidance from the Americans with Disabilities Act on service animals in public spaces. Here are some key points: Service animals are trained to help people with many different types of disabilities. They don’t have … Continued
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has a new campaign called #AccessibleAirTravel to celebrate the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) and let travelers with disabilities know about their rights. The ACAA, created in 1986, makes it illegal to discriminate against people with disabilities in air travel. DOT has created the Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill … Continued
