JFActivist

Department of Housing and Urban Development Acts to Stop Discriminatory Prohibitions Preventing Persons with Disabilities from Using Service Animals or Emotional Support Animals

By David Heymsfeld, AAPD Policy Advisor

The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development recently began a series of cases against property owners and condominium associations for applying “no pet” rules to prevent persons with disabilities from using service animals or emotional support animals on the property. 

The cases were brought under the Fair Housing Act which requires that in the sale or rental of housing there must be reasonable accommodations necessary to afford equal housing opportunity for persons with disabilities.

 According to HUD Assistant Secretary John Trasvina , HUD interprets the law as requiring the honoring of “requests for animals like service dogs if a person with a disability requires that dog for daily life activities. In these cases, people with disabilities are not seeking special treatment: they are seeking the equal opportunity to enjoy their dwelling just as anyone else can”

The practices challenged in the cases include:requiring residents with assistance animals to use service elevators; requiring burdensome medical documentation  of the need for a service or emotional support   animal;and refusing to allow a tenant to be visited by a friend with an emotional support animal.

The cases may result in the property owners being ordered to pay fines and attorney”s fees.   

Click here for a summary of the recent cases 

 

Click here for general information about filing a claim of discrimination under the Fair Housing Act

 

United States Supreme Court will decide important cases on the rights of persons with disabilities

By David Heymsfeld, AAPD Policy Advisor

In the next few months the United States Supreme Court is expected to decide two important cases on the rights of persons with disabilities.

The first case, Douglas v. Independent Living Center of Southern California, is a challenge to the decision of the State of California to lower the rates paid to doctors and hospitals for Medicaid services.  The suit was brought by persons receiving Medicaid and doctors and hospitals, who assert that the lowering of rates will cause doctors and hospitals to drop out of the program, making it harder for enrollees to get services.

The question before the Supreme Court is whether Medicaid enrollees and doctors and hospitals can also go to a court and ask the court to prevent this type of reduction in rates. If the Supreme Court decides that the courts can consider these cases, Medicaid enrollees will have an important new tool in advocacy to ensure that State Medicaid programs provide adequate services.

In the second case, Hosanna-Taylor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v EEOC, the Court will decide whether ministers and other teachers in religious schools are protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act. The case involves a teacher in a church-affiliated school who was fired because she threatened to bring an ADA case to protect her rights to continue in her job despite a history of sleep disorders. The church claims that in her teaching role she was also serving as a minister of the church, and that the courts have ruled that the ADA does not apply to ministers.

In this case, the Supreme Court may develop broad principles on whether employees of a church with religious duties are exempt from the ADA. If so, the court may also decide which employees are exempt; only those who teach classes in religion, or those who teach subjects such as history and literature, but are expected to be guided by religious principles in their teaching. Hundreds of thousands of employees could be affected.

Let's Get to Work: Disability, Poverty and the American Jobs Act

by Frankie Mastrangelo, JFA Moderator

Although it’s no secret that we are in tough economic times, new data from the Census Bureau shows just how tough the times really are for people with disabilities. Last year, the nation’s poverty rate rose to 15.1 percent, the highest it’s been since 1993.  This is alarming in itself, but the numbers relating disability and poverty status are even more striking. In 2010, 27.9% of people with disabilities were living below the poverty line, compared to 12.5% of people without disabilities. People with disabilities are far more likely to live in poverty and householders with disabilities are, on average, earning less than half of those without disabilities. Last year, householders without disabilities’ earned a median income of $58,736/year while those with disabilities brought in an average of $25,550/year.

Not surprisingly, the data also reflects income drops for people both with and without disabilities. Yet despite a two-percent drop in median income --to $49,445-- workers without disabilities’ earned more than workers with disabilities.  Male workers without disabilities earned an average of $6,525 more than male workers with disabilities. Working women without disabilities earned $37,028/year compared with working women with disabilities, who earned $31,851 per year.

Today, White House officials will be hosting a live event to answer the public’s questions on President Obama’s job creation plan: the American Jobs Act.  The President says this plan will “put more people back to work and put more money in the pockets of working Americans”. People with disabilities and our supporters need to know whether the AJA will put more Americans with Disabilities back to work.  If we are to change these Census numbers in years to come, our community needs jobs. Let’s make sure the administration hears our concerns and creates policy solutions that benefit all working Americans.

 

In LA: State Agencies Not Offering Voter Registration Forms, DOJ Steps In

via the Department of Justice (7.12.11):

Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against Louisiana Alleging Violations of the National Voter Registration Act

WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against the state of Louisiana and a number of Louisiana state agencies and officials alleging that the state has violated its obligations under the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).

The complaint, filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana, alleges that Louisiana has violated the NVRA by failing to provide voter registration services at offices providing public assistance and serving persons with disabilities in Louisiana.   Specifically, the complaint alleges that Louisiana officials have not routinely offered voter registration forms, assistance and services to the state’s eligible citizens who apply, recertify or provide a change address for public assistance or disability services, or benefits.

>>>For the Press Release

Senate Introduces Independent Living Administration!

via NCIL (6.24.11): 

Senate Introduces Independent Living Administration!

The National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) is very proud and excited to announce that a bill has been filed with the Senate HELP Committee which creates the establishment of a new Independent Living Administration (ILA), and strengthens America’s Independent Living (IL) Program. The ILA would elevate the IL Program at the federal level, and would create an organization independent of the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) within the Department of Education.

The creation of this new administration marks a truly historic moment in the Independent Living Movement, and IL advocates across the country have much to celebrate this week.

The ILA is created through the reauthorization of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which is contained in the larger Workforce Investment Act (WIA). NCIL has been pushing for the reauthorization of WIA and the Rehabilitation Act for nearly a decade, and the introduction of a bill to reauthorize both pieces of legislation presents a unique opportunity to improve the IL Program and substantially increase consumer-control at the federal level.

>>>For the Full Press Release

Sen. Harkin's 2008 Letter to Ability Magazine Readers, Addresses Importance of 2009 ADA Amendments Act

via Ability Magazine (Vol 2008/09 Dec/Jan): 

Dear ABILITY Readers,

Recently, the ADA Amendments Act was signed into law, and I was proud to be its chief sponsor. When it is enacted in early 2009, the legislation will allow us to fulfill the original promise of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

As you may know, the ADA was one of the landmark civil rights laws of the 20th century, and helped us make enormous progress in advancing the four goals of the ADA: equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living and economic self-sufficiency.

Despite these strides, we have left some people with disabilities behind. The problem is a series of Supreme Court decisions, which have greatly narrowed the scope of who is protected by the ADA. First of all, these cases held that mitigating measures, such as medication, prosthetics, or other assistive devices, must be considered in determining whether a person has a disability under the ADA. Secondly, they asserted that there must be a demanding standard in assessing whether an individual has a “disability.”

As a result, people with conditions that common sense tells us are disabilities, are being told by courts that they are not disabled, and thus not eligible for protections under the law...

>>>To Read Harkin's Full Letter

DOJ Intervenes in Texas Case to Enforce Olmstead

via The Department of Justice (6.22.11): 

Justice Department Moves to Intervene in Texas Case to Enforce the Supreme Court’s Olmstead Decision

The Justice Department today filed papers seeking to intervene in Steward, et al. v. Perry, et al., a case filed on behalf of thousands of Texans with developmental disabilities to enforce their right under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to receive services provided by the state in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs...

The proposed complaint by the United States, which must first be approved for filing by the U.S. District Court in San Antonio alleges that Texas unnecessarily segregates individuals with developmental disabilities in nursing homes instead of providing them the opportunity to receive integrated, community-based services. The proposed complaint also alleges that Texas places individuals with developmental disabilities who currently live in the community at risk of unnecessary placement in nursing facilities by failing to provide necessary community-based services in violation of the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act...

>>>For the Full Press Release

 

 

Know Your Rights! DOJ Issues New Technical Assistance Document on Enforcement of Olmstead

via The Department of Justice (6.23.11):

Justice Department Issues Technical Assistance Document on Enforcement of the Supreme Court Decision in Olmstead v. L.C.

WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice released a new technical assistance document describing public entities’ obligations and individuals’ rights under the integration mandate of title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the 1999 landmark Supreme Court decision, Olmstead v. L.C.  The Olmstead decision held that the ADA requires public entities to provide community-based services to persons with disabilities when such services are appropriate; the affected persons do not oppose community-based treatment; and community-based services can be reasonably accommodated.  The document also provides questions and answers on a variety of ADA enforcement issues related to Olmstead. 

Additionally, in commemorating the 12^th anniversary of the Olmstead decision yesterday, the department launched a new section of its ADA website, www.ada.gov/olmstead, providing information and resources about the decision and its enforcement. In addition to the newly created technical assistance document, users can visit the site to find briefs filed by the Department, as well as other materials relevant to this important area of law. 

The ADA website provides easy access to an extensive collection of ADA technical assistance materials and settlement agreements, as well as information about enforcement, mediation, technical assistance and certification activities and links to other sites with ADA information. The addition of the new Olmstead section of the site will provide critical information to individuals with disabilities, advocates and state and local officials responsible for complying with the ADA’s integration mandate...

 

>>>To Read the Full Press Release

 

Knowledge is power! How will you help spread the word about this crucial information? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Olmstead Champion Meets the President

via the White House blog (6.22.11):

Olmstead Champion Meets the President

by Sue Jamieson

The memories of living in institutional settings since the age of 13 will always be with Lois Curtis even though her life today is beyond what she ever could have imagined when she made the first of many brave phone calls to my office at the Atlanta Legal Aid Society saying, “I want to get out!” The journey (and struggle) from that day includes an historic Supreme Court decision, a home of her own and a successful career as an artist. And now, a meeting with President Barack Obama in the Oval Office as we observe the 12th anniversary of the Olmstead decision.  

The Olmstead story began long before the Supreme Court decision. Lois and another plaintiff, Elaine Wilson (who passed away in 2004), were in a state psychiatric hospital in Georgia. They filed suit in 1995 seeking disability services in the community...

...And, as we all now know, the U.S. Supreme Court eventually held that the unjustified institutional isolation of people with disabilities is a form of unlawful discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act, thus taking a giant step forward for the millions of people with disabilities across the country.

Lois’ story did not end after that landmark Supreme Court decision. In fact, that decision launched a new journey. After living in staffed residential homes since her release from the institution, Lois now rents a beautiful home in the Stone Mountain area of Georgia...

>>>To Read the Full Post

 

On this 12th anniversary of Olmstead, how can we honor Lois and Elaine's legacy? Please share your thoughts in comments below.

On the Anniversary of Olmstead, Obama Administration Recommits to Assist Americans with Disabilities

via the White House (6.22.11): 
 

On Anniversary of Olmstead, Obama Administration Recommits to Assist Americans with Disabilities

On June 22, 1999, the Supreme Court ruled in Olmstead v. L.C. that, under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the unjustified institutional isolation of people with disabilities was a form of unlawful discrimination.  Since taking office, the Obama Administration has taken many steps to uphold both the letter and the spirit of the ADA.

“The landmark Olmstead case affirmed the rights of Americans with disabilities to live independently,” said President Obama. “On this anniversary, let’s recommit ourselves to building on the promise of Olmstead by working to end all forms of discrimination, and uphold the rights of Americans with disabilities and all Americans.” 

Since the Olmstead ruling, much progress has been made. Many individuals have successfully transitioned to community settings, but waiting lists for community services have grown considerably and many individuals who would like to receive community services are not able to obtain them...

>>>For the Full Press Release