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Flagstaff awarded $5M to improve Amtrak Station accessibility

Posted on November 12, 2024

The City of Flagstaff received a Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration for $4,989,600 for its Amtrak Station Accessibility Project. The project includes the reconstruction of the north platform and the addition of a new south platform, which will improve passenger accessibility, rail efficiency, and...

DOJ Files Statement of Interest in L.A. County foster care lawsuit

Posted on November 12, 2024

The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a statement of interest in a federal lawsuit saying the foster care system operated by Los Angeles County and the State of California fails to provide youth with mental health disabilities with enough access to housing, behavioral health, and other services. Instead, it places them in institutions for care....

Cruz Construction to pay $56,000 for firing worker who requested accommodation for disability

Posted on October 31, 2024

Cruz Construction Co., Inc., agreed to pay $56,000 and complete other actions following an investigation by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC found that the company fired an administrative assistant in July 2023, two days after she requested a reasonable accommodation for a disability. This action violates the Americans with Disabilities Act....

American Airlines to pay record $50 million fine over its treatment of passengers with disabilities

Posted on October 24, 2024

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced a $50 million penalty against American Airlines for serious violations of the laws protecting airline passengers with disabilities between 2019 and 2023. DOT’s investigation into American Airlines uncovered cases of: Unsafe physical assistance that at times led to injuries and undignified treatment of wheelchair users, Repeated failures to...

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Disability and voting access resources

Posted on October 24, 2024

The Southeast ADA Center has updated its list of disability and voting access resources. It includes resources from many organizations, including the: U.S. Department of Justice, Great Plains ADA Center, National Disability Rights Network (NDRN), National Coalition on Accessible Voting (NCAV), American Association for People with Disabilities (AAPD), and U.S. Election Assistance Commission. For more...

Catalyst Family, Inc. settles EEOC charge that it fired assistant teacher instead of accommodating his disability

Posted on October 24, 2024

In response to a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) investigation, Catalyst Family Inc., a non-profit company that runs child development centers in California, has agreed to: Pay almost $150,000 to a former employee, Revise its non-discrimination policies and procedures, and Conduct training for all managers, recruiters, and HR personnel. The part-time employee worked for...

U.S. Justice Department sues LA Fitness for disability discrimination

Posted on October 16, 2024

The Department of Justice sued LA Fitness under the Americans with Disabilities Act for preventing members with disabilities from accessing their pools and fitness equipment. The problems included having broken pool lifts and elevators and charging extra to people with disabilities. If you or someone you know had trouble accessing an LA Fitness gym because...

CDC website has accessible resources on emergency preparedness for people with disabilities

Posted on October 16, 2024

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) webpage on Emergency Preparedness and Disability Inclusion now includes resources to promote the importance of emergency preparedness for people with disabilities. It includes videos, audio recordings, easy-read summaries, and infographics. For more information, see the CDC webpage on Emergency Preparedness and Disability Inclusion.

Accommodating public safety workers

Posted on October 16, 2024

A recent article from ODEP’s Job Accommodation Network (JAN) gives examples of helpful workplace accommodations for public safety workers. These workers often have difficult, sometimes dangerous jobs. Having a disability can sometimes make this hard work even more difficult to do. For these frontline workers with disabilities, job accommodations can help them carry out their...

EEOC sues Victra for discrimination due to pregnancy and perceived disability

Posted on October 16, 2024

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged that Victra, the business name of ABC Phones of North Carolina and a nationwide retailer of Verizon mobile devices, violated federal law when it denied a worker’s request to leave new hire training early for an important medical appointment related to her pregnancy and withdrew her job offer....

Department of Education resource about federal laws prohibiting discrimination in educational settings

Posted on October 3, 2024

The U.S. Department of Education resource, Protecting Students, provides information about the federal laws prohibiting discrimination in educational settings that receive funding from the Department. It talks about the types of discrimination students may face in an educational setting and how you can work to prevent or lessen the effects of this discrimination.

Lawsuit settlement creates protections for unhoused community

Posted on October 2, 2024

In a “first-of-its-kind” settlement, the city of San Bernardino has agreed to a new policy that will prevent the destruction of unhoused individuals' property and make sure there are reasonable accommodations for unhoused individuals with disabilities. Under the settlement, unhoused people with disabilities will receive “elevated levels of accommodation.” The lawsuit highlights how San Bernardino...

Arizona Walmart to pay $100,000 in EEOC disability lawsuit

Posted on October 2, 2024

Walmart, Inc. will pay $100,000 and provide other relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Walmart fired cashier Stevey Wiman from its Bullhead City, Arizona, location because she had seizures causing her to miss work. Walmart’s attendance policy allows absences to be excused for disability accommodations,...

New Department of Labor tool to provide ideas for workplace accommodations

Posted on October 1, 2024

The U.S. Department of Labor has a new tool that provides access to more than 700 accommodation ideas for workers with disabilities and their employers. The “Situations and Solutions Finder” offers examples of workplace accommodations shared by users of the Job Accommodation Network, a service of the department’s Office of Disability Employment Policy. The database gets...

Practices to keep persons with disabilities at federal agencies

Posted on October 1, 2024

With the 51st anniversary of Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a new report, “Retaining Persons with Disabilities in the Federal Workforce". Based on the report’s findings and current promising practices, the EEOC recommends that agencies make sure that they have: Required reasonable accommodations (RA)...

Making AI hiring tools inclusive and accessible

Posted on October 1, 2024

The Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology (PEAT) has a new resource, AI & Inclusive Hiring Framework. The framework helps employers use artificial intelligence (AI) tools more inclusively and reduces the risk of unintended forms of discrimination when hiring workers with disabilities. It has good information for businesses that use or plan to use hiring...

Available now: Free at-home COVID-19 tests, including a more accessible option

Posted on September 30, 2024

Every U.S. household can now order more free at-home COVID-19 tests through a partnership between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response and the United States Postal Service. These tests will detect the current COVID-19 variants and can be used through the end of 2024. Each order will...

Resource for poll workers and voters with disabilities

Posted on September 30, 2024

The Great Plains ADA Center has developed a series of web pages to help poll workers train their volunteers and staff to understand the rights and possible needs of voters with disabilities. It provides an overview of training topics recommended for polling place staff and volunteers, including: Voting rights Voter assistance Disability awareness Disability awareness...

New video! What NDEAM is all about

Posted on September 30, 2024

National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) is almost here! It’s not too late to find out about NDEAM which celebrates the important contributions of workers with disabilities across the country and the importance of workplace inclusion year-round. To figure out how you can take part, watch the Office of Disability Employment Policy's NDEAM video and...

New resource on substance use disorder in the workplace

Posted on September 19, 2024

The Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion has a new resource, Substance Use Disorder (SUD) in the Workplace. Understanding substance use in the workplace helps both employers and workers. This new resource contains: A toolkit to help employers develop recovery-ready workplace policies, A guide for employers on supporting workers with SUD, and A...

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