December 2022

Volume 16 Issue 3 

 

Accessible Holiday Parties & Events

Whether you are organizing a holiday party at work or a public event, make sure any planned festivities are inclusive by following these basic tips on How to Make Your Holidays More Accessible to persons with disabilities.

The article discusses the following:

• Asking persons with disabilities about their needs
• Holding events in accessible places
• Addressing disability-related requests
• Planning for inclusion
• Taking the pressure off the person with the disability
• Making accommodations as seamless as possible

For a more in-depth guide, check out the ADA National Network’s Accessible Meetings, Events & Conferences Guide for temporary events.

Accessible Shopping: Online and In-Person

Holiday shopping can be stressful, especially for persons with disabilities when they encounter a lack of access and disability awareness in retail.
Follow these tips and guidelines to improve the accessibility of your holiday shopping experience.

Businesses & Retail Stores:

• Accessibility In Retail: How to Make Your Store More Accessible To People With Disabilities
• 5 Tips to Address the Common Complaints of Customers with Disabilities (Press Release: Purple Tuesday)
• The Twelve Days of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

Shoppers with Disabilities:

• Tips for Online Shopping With Disabilities: A Website Accessibility Guide
• 9 Shopping Tips for All People With Disabilities

Consider supporting entrepreneurs with disabilities whose products are featured in the following gift guides:

• 2022 Disability Holiday Gift Guide
• Disability Owned Business Enterprises (DOBE) Holiday Gift Guide

EEOC Releases Updated “Know Your Rights” Poster

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) new “Know Your Rights” poster uses plain (straightforward) language and bullet points making it easier for employers to understand their legal responsibilities and for workers to understand their legal rights. It also includes a QR code for fast digital access to how to file a charge webpage. The poster is available in English and Spanish and will be available in additional languages at a later date.

White House Fact Sheet: Supporting American’s Veterans and Their Families, Caregivers, and Survivors

This fact sheet provides information on the:

• Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) ACT
• VA announcement of $16 million in funding to help veterans participate in adaptive sports
• New grant opportunities
• Expanded VA services for women veterans
• Resources for training and employment
• Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers
• And more!

Illinois

Opening of Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD) Career Center

Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot and MOPD recently announced the opening of the MOPD Career Center, dedicated to serving job seekers with disabilities and providing career readiness.  The career center also serves businesses and potential employers by matching applicants with available job opportunities, while providing technical assistance on inclusive hiring practices.

Indiana

How to Make Future Autonomous Transportation Accessible to Everyone

Purdue University professors will use $1 million prize money from the U.S. Department of Transportation Inclusive Design Challenge to establish a center at Purdue on accessible design for transportation. Through this center, Purdue researchers will engage with industry partners and governmental bodies to keep working toward inclusive vehicle design standards.

Disability and Sexual Health Initiative with condom use study 

The Kinsey Institute at Indiana University is launching a new Disability and Sexual Health Initiative that will focus on under-researched populations with disabilities, starting with a study on condom use.

A Surge of Emotional Support Animals in Indiana College Dorms

The number of emotional support animals permitted as an accommodation under the Fair Housing Act in college dorms doubled, tripled even grew fivefold at some colleges and universities over several school years.

Michigan

U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Take Up Deaf Michigan Man’s Case Against School District

A deaf Michigan man wants to sue his former school district for compensatory damages under the Americans with Disabilities Act for failing to provide him with a suitable teacher who knew sign language for more than a decade and inflating his grades when he could neither read or write.  No date has been set for oral arguments before the Supreme Court.

New Michigan SPARKS Grants

The SPARKS Grants will support projects that provide safe, accessible, public recreation facilities and spaces to improve people’s health, introduce new recreation experiences, build on existing park infrastructure and make it easier for people to enjoy both indoor and outdoor recreation. First-round funding applications are now being accepted through December 19, 2022.

Minnesota

Stranded without care, Minnesota Man Loses Limbs

A double amputee from Minnesota says that if it weren’t for a shortage of personal care assistants in the in-home healthcare industry, he’d still have his legs. The shortage of personal care assistants reflects the reality facing thousands of Minnesotans with significant physical disabilities who depend on federally funded nursing services to live at home.

Facilities Needed for Children with Developmental Disabilities

Hospitals in Minnesota are facing a growing problem - the boarding of children with uncontrolled behavioral and developmental problems. With children staying as long as six months in the ER, there is a dire need for more specialized residential treatment and group home facilities as well as more staffing to maximize the use of facilities that already exist.

Grants for Providers Will Improve Choices for People with Disabilities

Innovations that improve options for people with disabilities will go forward over the next two years across Minnesota. Ten service providers will share approximately $2.9 million to support people with disabilities to live and engage with others in their communities and access better employment opportunities.

Ohio

Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD) Six-Part Webinar Series for Employers

OOD is hosting a six-part webinar series, The Employers’ Reasonable Accommodation Handbook, to help employers identify ways to provide reasonable accommodations for all disability types. The last live session is on December 14th and the first 5 sessions are available to view as well as the associated fact sheets and guides

Policing Alternatives and Disability Justice

Disability Rights Ohio (DRO) Legal Advocacy Director Kevin Truitt recently participated in a panel on “Community Safety and Liberation.” Kevin spoke on DRO’s work and participation in the  Columbus Safety Collective and DRO’s public report “Policing and Racial Injustice: A Disability Rights Perspective”,  which was accepted and published by the United Nations in 2021.

Wisconsin

AgrAbility Keeps Farmers in the Game Despite Disabilities

AgrAbility of Wisconsin connects farmers living with limitations or disabilities to resources that help them continue farming. To learn more about AgrAbility, a national USDA-sponsored program, check out Great Lakes ADA Center’s archived webinar Agriculture as the Next Mission for Military Veterans of All Abilities.

Survey Research Opportunity: How is COVID-19 Impacting People with Developmental or Intellectual Disabilities in Wisconsin?

If you are a person with an intellectual and developmental disability OR a care partner, you can complete the survey.

Call for Change of Wisconsin “Disabled Hunt” Rules to Increase Opportunity

"Disabled hunt" program is stunted by unnecessary restrictions and red tape, much of which dates to rules established 30 years ago. Members of the program and Access Ability Wisconsin are calling for change. Department of Natural Resources has had internal discussions about potential changes to benefit more hunters with disabilities.

New Guide: Overview of the Division of Hearing and Appeals (DHA) Hearing Process for Children’s Long-Term Support (CLTS) Waiver

Disability Rights Wisconsin has published this common-sense quick guide for parents to represent their child at a hearing to challenge a denial of CLTS services.

EEOC Sues Global Medical Response (GMR) and American Medical Response (AMR) for Religion and Disability Discrimination

A nationwide class of applicants and first responders have sued under the ADA after they were denied a reasonable accommodation to their employer’s “no facial hair” policy for EMTs and paramedics. Some were forced to shave in violation of their doctor’s orders or risk termination.

Jury Returns Verdict in ‘Regarded As’ Disability Case Against West Meade Place

A laundry technician with anxiety was fired by her employer who claimed that she was unable to perform her job duties after the employee requested FMLA. The former employee will receive $6,000 in damages and about $6,000 in back pay.

Grady Memorial Hospital Corporation to Pay $55,000 to Settle EEOC Disability Suit

After requesting five weeks of medical leave due to a medical condition, an employee was fired for allegedly violating a work rule. Under the consent decree, Grady will pay the former employee $55,000; train its employees on the ADA; make policy changes; and allow the EEOC to monitor its handling of future accommodation requests.

Settlement Reached with Andersen Corporation Over Rescinded Job Offer

Window and door manufacturer Andersen Corporation must pay a former job applicant a year’s worth of pay after withdrawing an offer of employment, stating the applicant could not safely operate a forklift due to their disability.

Read more on this case in last month’s issue of the Chronicle:

Great Lakes Chronicle – November – 2022 Vol. 16 Issue 2

Voters with Disabilities Sue Wisconsin Over Absentee Ballot Rule

Four Wisconsin voters with disabilities argued against a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling in July that eliminated ballot drop boxes across the state and required voters to personally mail or deliver absentee ballots to their municipal clerk. The group argued the Wisconsin law didn’t allow voters with disabilities to receive third-party assistance in returning their ballots.

Tippecanoe County Properties Face ADA Lawsuits From Out-of-State Legal Team

The lawsuits allege noncompliance with the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with two apartment complexes. The Accessibility Coalition of Tippecanoe County stated that they found no issue with an individual bringing to light these issues. Instead, their concern was over the method these complaints were presented to the property owners.

Justice Department Launched Disability Rights Investigation into Missouri’s Use of Skilled Nursing Facilities

The Justice Department has opened an investigation under the ADA to determine whether the State of Missouri unnecessarily institutionalizes adults with serious mental illness in skilled nursing facilities. The department will investigate whether these individuals could be served in the community with services such as supported housing, assertive community treatment, crisis services, and peer support services, instead.

ADA Settlement with Greater Waterbury YMCA Ensures Access to Programs for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Under the agreement, Greater Waterbury YMCA is obligated to take critical steps toward improving access for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, including revising its policies and procedures, conducting mandatory training for all employees, and performing initial and ongoing assessments of the need for reasonable accommodations.

ADA Settlement with Cinemark Improves Accessibility of Enfield Movie Theatres

The settlement agreement requires Cinemark to add ADA-compliant signage at exits and auditoriums, provide an accessible dining surface in the concession area, and acquire more receivers to use with its assistive listening system. It also requires Cinemark to make numerous changes in the bathrooms, such as moving grab bars, removing a step up at a threshold, and making a bathroom door easier to open.

Settlement with Portland Motel Lacking Accessible Entrances or Guest Rooms

Studio 6, a Portland motel, has agreed to make certain modifications to improve accessibility at its property, including installing an exterior wheelchair ramp to the main entrance, providing three accessible guest rooms and parking spaces, altering the lobby area and first floor to increase overall accessibility, and conducting annual ADA staff training.

988 Suicide and Crisis Hotline

The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is a national network of local crisis centers that provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the United States. Available in Spanish.

You can call or text 988 to reach the hotline; or visit 988lifeline.org/ for specific resources for:

• Veterans
• Individuals with neurodivergence
• Maternal Mental Health
• Native Americans and Alaskan Natives
• Black Mental Health
• LGBTQ+
• Loss survivors
• and more.

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:

Are you a veteran with a disability? Do you understand your employment rights under the ADA? The Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) A Guide for Veterans addresses questions that veterans may have regarding the ADA.