November 2025
Volume 19 Issue 2
CANCELLED - Common Mistakes: Easily Missed or Misunderstood Accessible Design Requirements
Unlocking a Way Out: Networking to Provide a Pathway for Inmates
The Born-Accessible Design Approach: Cost-Effective, Inclusive, Compliant
New Resources from the Centers in the ADA National Network (ADANN)!
A new fact sheet was released that provides an overview of the 10 Things to Know About the ADA. Also, check out the animated School Series on the ADA from the Northeast ADA Center. These short videos are designed for children from kindergarten through fifth grade and explore key ADA concepts like service animals, communication and technology.
Designing a Hiring Process that Works for Everyone
Check out this Employer Guide from Microsoft that provides practical steps employers can use to simplify the hiring process and provide equal access to qualified applicants with disabilities. This includes guidance on ADA requirements like accommodation requests.
PBS Lesson Plan on Making Schools More Accessible
PBS has created a lesson plan called “Opening more doors - Inventing ways to make schools more accessible.” The plan asks students to identify a space at school that is not ideal for wheelchair users and then allows them to redesign the space to make it more functional and accessible. The goal is for children to learn how invention and inclusive design can be used to solve problems in their lives and communities.
Answer: In general, yes. The ADA prohibits disability discrimination in the programs, services and activities of covered entities like businesses, nonprofits, state and local governments. It also requires employers to make reasonable accommodations to provide equal opportunity to employees with disabilities. If an entity has plans or policies around emergency preparedness, these should be designed in a way that complies with the ADA and does not deny people with disabilities equal access to aids, benefits, services, etc. For example:
Resource(s):
Learn more by visiting our ADA Frequently Asked Questions.
Hughes v. Certified Flooring Installation, Inc.
This blog by William D. Goren, J.D. LL.M. reviews this case and examines how alcoholism can be considered a disability in several different ways under the ADA (actual disability, regarded as, episodic, etc.). It also illustrates how state law and federal law on disability discrimination don’t always match up.
Mark Granas v. Union Pacific Railroad Company
This blog, written by William D. Goren, J.D. LL.M., explores this case and discusses what happens when an employer has an inflexible return to work rule and imposes permanent restrictions without engaging in an individualized analysis. This case resulted in an award of $952,863 in front and back pay along with $25 million in punitive damages.
Jackson v. Queens Borough Public Library
A Magistrate Judge granted final approval to this class action settlement which will result in significant changes to ensure visitors with mobility disabilities are able to visit, benefit from, and enjoy this public library to the same extent as non-disabled visitors. The library will remedy inaccessible multi-level seating in the children’s area and rooftop terrace and provide stair-free access to two previously inaccessible tiered sections of the library. The library will also remediate over a hundred other smaller accessibility barriers, including in the bathrooms and study areas.
Wylene Lena Hinkle v. Michelle Baass
District Court Judge Maxine M. Chesney granted final approval to a class action settlement of a case filed in San Francisco Federal Court against the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) and three counties for failing to provide Medi-Cal notices in accessible formats, such as Braille.
This blog by William D. Goren, J.D. LL.M. reviews a decision from the Third Circuit on a case decided October 8, 2025, that involved an inmate who collapsed in his cell and then was forced to “drag his body over to the cell door” before he was eventually taken to the medical unit in a wheelchair. It discusses who can be sued for disability law claims; what programs, services, and activities were involved; and ADA/504 nondelegable duties amongst other details.
Home Depot has agreed to a $65,000 settlement and will make accessibility improvements to payment terminals within four years. The class action lawsuit claimed payment terminals lacked proper audio feedback and tactile accessibility, preventing customers who are blind or visually impaired from completing cash-back transactions privately and independently. Learn more about this settlement.
This article written by disability rights lawyer, Lainey Feingold, reviews a lawsuit filed by a blind person who could not use the website of the clothing company, Fashion Nova. The case was settled as a class action lawsuit after 5 years of fighting for $5.15 million.
