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April, ARCHIVES Mar., '02 Sept., '01 |
In the case of US Airways v. Barnett the justices said that employees with disabilities are not always entitled to jobs intended for workers with more seniority. The decision is another one in a series of rulings in which the court has sided with employers instead of workers with disabilities. Robert Barnett, a former US Airways baggage handler from San Francisco, injured his back while on the job. At his doctor's suggestion, Barnett was reassigned to the mail room. The company later told Barnett that, according to company policy, he would have to give up that job to make room for another employee that had more seniority. Barnett sued US Airways claiming the company had not given him a reasonable accommodation as required under the ADA. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with Barnett that workers with disabilities should have priority over more senior workers who do not have disabilities. Monday's 5-4 decision overturned the Court of Appeals ruling and sent the case back for further review. The court did say that workers can show "special circumstances'' that would make exceptions reasonable, but that this has to be done on an individual basis. The ruling itself is available at this Findlaw Web page: http://laws.findlaw.com/us/000/00-1250.html Police Say Mom Dropped Son From Window by Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express This article is reproduced here under special arrangement with Inclusion Daily Express Email News Service. Denver, Apr. 24, 2002 -- Cecelia Martinez, 31, is being held for investigation of attempted first-degree murder, child abuse, and third degree assault for allegedly dropping her 7-year-old son out an apartment window. Neighbors told police they heard something fall outside the complex about 10 p.m. Sunday. They found the boy lying on the stone-covered ground, and saw his mother staring silently down from the third floor apartment window. The boy, who reportedly has autism, was in a local hospital in serious condition Tuesday. Police claim that Martinez initially told officers that her son fell accidentally, but investigators determined later that he had been picked up and dropped the three floors. Martinez was charged for the crimes Tuesday. Bail was not set. Supreme Court To Rule If Cities Can Be Punished For Violating ADA by Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express This article is reproduced here under special arrangement with Inclusion Daily Express Email News Service. Washington, DC, Apr. 23, 2002 -- Jeffrey Gorman sat in the back of the courtroom at the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday, even though his case was being argued. The reason: The courtroom was not accessible for his wheelchair. Federal courts do not have to comply with the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act. More. Disabled Kept Out of Louisiana Capitol by Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express This article is reproduced here under special arrangement with Inclusion Daily Express Email News Service. BATON ROUGE, April 22, 2002 Security measures at the Louisiana state Capitol in the wake of the September 11 attacks are designed to keep terrorists out of the building. But they're keeping people with disabilities out, too. Nell Hahn, attorney for Louisiana's Advocacy Center, said that the entrance to the Capitol located near handicapped parking can only be accessed by people with electronic swipe cards. Hahn claims this violates the Americans with Disabilities Act, because it leaves people using wheelchairs with no accessible way into the building. Hahn said the Capitol itself is on a hill and a steep slope makes it hard to get from designated parking areas to front entrances. She added that even the automatic doors in the front of the building were not working properly on a recent visit. "This situation here cannot be allowed to stand," said Hahn. "It's got to be fixed. Basically, it's saying 'People with disabilities, you can't get into the Capitol.'" More from the April 22 Baton Rouge Advocate. Deaf flyers sue San Francisco Airport for access violations San Francisco, April 17, 2002 -- For Colin Pitrowski, the San Francisco Airport is a continual nightmare. Gates are switched; he never finds out. He's paged but can't respond. Although the airport just completed a $84 million renovation, it did not bother with TTD machines, with visual boarding signs, with the numerous things it was required by law to do to make its airport accessible to deaf travelers like Pitrowski. So he and other deaf travelers sued. More. Student Told Not to Display Art At Wheelchair Height by Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express This article is reproduced here under special arrangement with Inclusion Daily Express Email News Service. FLORENCE, ALABAMA, April 16, 2002 Denise Taylor is a 37-year-old mother of two. She is also a talented art student who plans to graduate from the University of Northern Alabama later this year. Yet even though she has a 3.7 grade point average, university officials are threatening keep Taylor from passing if she insists on displaying her artwork at 45.5 inches from the floor -- low enough for her own mother, who uses a wheelchair, to view comfortably. The dean of the art department says that Taylor must either comply with the course requirements to display the work at 68 or 69 inches off the floor -- or fail the program. Taylor says her mother has been an inspiration for her work, and that hanging the exhibit at wheelchair level not only makes sense, but is also her own right to free expression. "The display just means too much to me," Taylor told the Northwest Alabama TimesDaily. "This is a First Amendment issue. They've put me in position where I'm not allowed to express myself." More details from TimesDaily. Policy shift brings more accessible housing by Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express This article is reproduced here under special arrangement with Inclusion Daily Express Email News Service. FAIRFAX, VA, April 14, 2002 People with disabilities in Fairfax will now have a better chance at gaining affordable, accessible housing because of recent changes in how the local housing authority allocates such dwellings for rent or purchase. The Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority last month created a priority system that favors applicants with disabilities for accessible housing units. The new policy ensures that homes with features such as wheelchair-wide doors, ramps, lowered light switches and countertops, and raised toilets go to those who need them most, the authority said. The authority is also encouraging developers to create more low-cost units that are fully accessible. "There's now attention focused on resolving some of the problems of accessible, affordable housing," said Barbara Gilley, a local resident who heads Disability Housing Advocates of Northern Virginia. "In the next few years, we're going to see some dramatic changes," she added. Details from the April 14 Washington Post. No new trial for Kevorkian by Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express This article is reproduced here under special arrangement with Inclusion Daily Express Email News Service. PONTIAC, MI, April 12, 2002 The Michigan Supreme Court has refused Jack Kevorkian's request for a new trial in the 1999 second-degree murder case for which he was convicted. The decision was applauded by disability rights advocates who have long opposed Kevorkian's crusade to make physician-assisted suicide legal in the United States. Kevorkian, 73, has admitted to "assisting" dozens of people to commit suicide. Nicknamed "Dr. Death", Kevorkian insisted that his "patients" were in the final stages of terminal illnesses and were experiencing intense pain. Studies have shown, however, that most of them were people with disabilities, or who were afraid of becoming disabled. Kevorkian is currently serving a 10- to-25-year prison sentence for murdering Thomas Youk who had ALS, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Kevorkian video-taped Youk's death and then gave the recording to the television show "60 Minutes" to air nationally. The recording was instrumental in his conviction. Kevorkian appealed his conviction on the grounds that he had poor legal representation. Last November, the state's Court of Appeals rejected his appeal noting that Kevorkian had gone against his attorney's advice and insisted on representing himself. In a 6-1 decision, the high court declined to review the appeals court ruling. "It's gratifying to see Kevorkian's deadly logic rejected by the courts," said Diane Coleman, founder and president of the disability rights group Not Dead Yet, in a press release. "The basis of this appeal was laughable on constitutional grounds. But then, he has repeatedly made it clear that he has no respect for the law, and even less respect for people with disabilities. In fact, he holds both the law and disabled people in contempt." The Detroit Free Press put together a special section related to Kevorkian's crusade. It is available on their Web site: http://www.freep.com/suicide/index.htm Concert promoter sued for discrimination Philadelphia, April 10, 2002 The Department of Justice has sued owners of Clear Channel Entertainment for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by refusing to let people with diabetes carry insuling yringes and blood testing equipment into concert and sports events. Clear Channel Entertainment, owned by SFX, operates over 100 entertainment venues across the country. A woman who had her diabetes kit confiscated at Philadelphia's Electric Factory nightclub is one of those named in the suit. The DOJ says people have been forbidden to bring their equipment to shows at the Tweeter Center in Tinley Park, Ill and at the Post-Gazette Pavilion in Burgettstown, PA. SFX's ban on patrons bringing outside food into events is also an issue, says the suit, since eople with diabetes often need to carry food with them. "Individuals with diabetes are entitled to attend and enjoy community events, like anyone else, without putting their lives at risk," a DOJ spokesperson told reporters. "SFX's policy is unnecessary and reflects outdated fears about individuals with disabilities." 'Large campus' sounds like segregation by Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express This article is reproduced here under special arrangement with Inclusion Daily Express Email News Service. TWIN OAKS, CA, April 10, 2002 For the last several decades we have been witnessing and pushing for the movement toward individualized, community-based services and away from institutional settings. So it's disheartening to learn that a California non-profit is purchasing land so it can bring all of its services together onto one large campus. The Training, Education & Research Institute for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities, currently serves more than 220 adults through vocational training and an "adult daycare program." T.E.R.I. wants to purchase 20 acres of unincorporated rural land. The plan includes building a developmental center there to serve about 200 adults. The first phase would have offices, an auditorium, a computer lab and a library. Later phases would include a private school, an aquatic center, gardens, sports courts and picnic areas, and a transportation and maintenance building to house the agency's fleet of 22 vehicles. "Our goal is to get everyone back together on a main campus," Susan Zandstra, T.E.R.I.'s director of health services, told the North County Times. Is this what we have been fighting for all these years? Read the North County Times article. Judge orders ADA modifications In late March, U.S. District Judge Roger Hunt ordered Las Vegas's Stratosphere Tower to modify 532 of its 2,444 rooms with 32-inch interior bathroom doorways by autumn. The hotel-casino was sued by Nevada's Disabled Rights Action Committee for failing to offer a range of rooms that are accessible. The suit also charged the hotel with having inaccessible public restrooms, telephone booths and restaurants. Stratosphere Tower insists it is not violating the Americans with Disabilities Act. Read the story in the March 27, 2002 Las Vegas Sun. Olive Garden settles disability suit by Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express This article is reproduced here under special arrangement with Inclusion Daily Express Email News Service. Concord NH, Apr. 4, 2002 The first New Hampshire workplace disability discrimination and harassment lawsuit has been settled out of court for $125,000, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced Wednesday. The suit was filed in February 2001 on behalf of Jody Terrio, 36, a former dishwasher at the Olive Garden in Concord. The suit alleged that Terrio, who has mental retardation, had endured a daily barrage of physical and verbal abuse while he worked there. Coworkers called him offensive names, put him in head-locks and other painful wrestling moves -- even pulled his sweatpants down in front of a crowd. Sometimes they would hide Terrio's bicycle, or push him to work faster, just to watch him fly into a rage. Terrio performed very well on job performance reviews from 1994 through 1997. But he started "throwing temper tantrums" on the job after the harassment began, an attorney with the Disabilities Rights Center discovered. The suit claimed that management did little to intervene, but instead fired Terrio when his work performance dropped. The lawsuit sought back wages and punitive damages, and sought a change in Olive Garden's employment policy to eliminate future disability-based harassment. The case was considered significant because it was one of a handful filed on behalf of employees with mental retardation. Only 79 of the 23,000 disability discrimination charges filed in 1998 were related to such workers. "One of the goals of this lawsuit would be to establish precedent on this," said EEOC trial attorney Markus Penzel upon filing the suit last year. Olive Garden officials did not admit to any wrongdoing in the settlement. "We are pleased that The Olive Garden worked cooperatively with the commission to settle this claim quickly after the lawsuit was filed, and that it is committed to providing a positive work environment for qualified individuals with disabilities, including those with mental retardation," Katherine Bissell, regional lawyer of the EEOC's New York District office, said Wednesday. The Associated Press noted that Terrio has been working successfully as a dishwasher elsewhere in the Concord area. AK to get accessible voting by Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express This article is reproduced here under special arrangement with Inclusion Daily Express Email News Service. Juneau, Apr. 4, 2002 For years, advocates for voters with disabilities have been pushing for an election process that would allow them to exercise their right to cast a secret ballet. A new law in Alaska will make that soon become a reality. Last month, Governor Tony Knowles signed H.B. 320 directing the state's Division of Elections to provide technology so voters who are blind, have vision problems, or do not read for other reasons, can cast "private, independent and verifiable ballots." The bill, named the "Frank Haas Act" in memory of a long time disability rights advocate, was passed by lawmakers quickly with bipartisan support. "Our goal here has always been to treat voters the same," division director Janet Kowalski, told Federal Computer Week. "What the legislation says is that anytime the Division of Election buys electronic balloting equipment, it must be disabled-accessible." Kowalski said the state plans to test some machines during the general election in November, including a device that would enable voters to navigate their choices with an electronic button while listening on a headset. The state legislature is considering a special capital improvement fund to help pay for electronic voting machines, she added. "With the revolution in technology, it's just far easier for election administrators to put these machines in place," Kowalski said. Sympathy for Robert Latimer linked to increase in child murders by Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express This article is reproduced here under special arrangement with Inclusion Daily Express Email News Service. Edmonton, Alberta, Apr. 3, 2002 Between 1990 and 1994, the average number of Canadian murder cases in which parents killed their children was 34 each year, according to University of Alberta psychology professor Dick Sobsey. Between 1994 and 1998, the average rate of such deaths was 49, with 62 cases in 1997 alone. Why the increase? More. Muscatatuck on track for closure Butlerville, IN, April 1, 2002 -- If all goes according to plan, Muscatatuck State Developmental Center will close on schedule in mid-2003. More. Assisted suicide now legal in Netherlands April 1, 2002 -- Euthanasia becomes legal in the Netherlands today, a year after parliament voted to make legal a practice that has been tolerated in the country for at least two decade. Anyone from the age of 12 on may request assistance from doctors with suicide. Rules governing the practice say people must "face a future of unbearable, interminable suffering and must make a voluntary, well-considered request to die," according to Reuters news service. French health minister Bernard Kouchner is pressing for the legalization of euthanasia in France. in Britain, a paralysed woman known as Miss B this month won court permission for assisted suicide (see story). Groups rally against 'wrongful life' case From reports from Inclusion Daily Express Email News Service. and Not Dead Yet Waco, TX, April 1, 2002 The Texas Supreme Court will hear arguments April 3 in the case of Miller v. HCA. The parents of 11-year-old Sidney Ainsley Miller claim that their child represented "wrongful life" and sued a hospital for providing standard care that enabled Sidney to survive. Members of Not Dead Yet, ADAPT and other disability rights supporters say they will be demonstrating their support for the lives of disabled children and adults, and protesting discrimination based on disability as the Texas Supreme Court hears the case. They and other disability rights organizations nationwide filed a legal brief earlier this month arguing that Sidney should have had the same treatment and protections guaranteed to people without disabilities. "This case is about whether medical treatment can be withheld from a premature infant at birth solely because the infant may be, or may become, disabled," say Texas Not Dead Yet members. "This case, despite all the emotional issues, is about whether Sidney Miller as a child with possible disabilities had the right to live. It is about whether the Texas Supreme Court will sanction the discrimination that would have occurred if medical care and treatment were withheld because of perceived or actual disabilities."Judge calls building access 'aesthetic destruction' by Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express This article is reproduced here under special arrangement with Inclusion Daily Express Email News Service. Baltimore, Apr. 1, 2002 A federal judge ruled last week that Bank of America does not have to make changes to its high-rise office building in Baltimore in order to accommodate customers with disabilities. According to the Baltimore Sun, Jacqueline A. Speciner and Making Choices for Independent Living Inc. (MCIL) sued the bank claiming it should make the main entrance more accessible and should add a wheelchair ramp to the skyscraper's second entrance. Judge Marvin J. Garbis admitted that people using wheelchairs must follow a "tortuous assisted path" in order to get around in the building, but said that the bank "provides disabled customers with reasonable alternative service accommodations." Those accommodations include asking for help from a security guard and taking the narrow employee passageways to get to a manually operated elevator. In his decision, Garbis ruled that Bank of America is not legally required to make any changes, because the historic building meets the minimum accessibility guidelines under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and because the changes would not be feasible. "The bank has removed all barriers to accessibility to the extent readily achievable," Garbis wrote. "Regretfully, there is no feasible way to provide an unassisted accessible path from the Light Street lobby to the banking hall. To accomplish such a result would require enormous expenditures and aesthetic destruction." A representative with MCIL said they are considering an appeal. |
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