DOT rules Intercity Buses must have lifts
Washington, D.C., Sept. 24 Fulfilling a key element of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, U.S. DOT published rules on ADA requirements for over-the-road buses like Greyhound, who had been balking for years at complying with the ADA. The rule is a victory for disability activists, says ADAPT, who has fought Greyhound's segregationist policies for years.
Under the new rule, large, fixed-route carriers like Greyhound, whose service is the backbone of the intercity bus system, will have to make sure that all new buses they obtain are accessible, with wheelchair lifts and tie-downs that allow passengers to ride in their own wheelchairs. The rule requires fleets to be completely accessible by 2012.
Charter and tour companies will have to provide service in an accessible bus on 48 hours† advance notice. Fixed-route companies must also provide this kind of service on an interim basis until their fleets are completely accessible. The rule makes carriers accountable for providing this advance notice service by requiring them to compensate passengers when they fail to provide the required service on time.
read the rules from DOT
Activist pushes for legal
access to historic ship
July 22 -- Longtime disability activist Robert Reuter has gotten the
Maryland Commission on Human Relations to file a discrimination suit against
the group involved in restoring the 1850s battleship Constellation. The
arguments are the typical ones: they say it's historic and can't be made
accessible without damaging the integrity. Reuter says "if you denied
entry to historic buildings" to everyone, then "why should you
care if they survive" in the first place?
more
on this story from The Baltimore Sun
NOD survey shows little
gain despite ADA
Washington, July 23 -- Eight years after passage of the Americans with
Disabilities Act, only 29 percent of disabled persons of working age are
working -- compared to 79 percent of the non-disabled population, according
to a new poll by Louis Harris & Associates released today by the National
Organization on Disability. This is a figure unchanged in decades. The
survey also reported findings about disabled people's perceptions as to
how life has improved since the ADA.
More
on this story from NOD
Doctors' offices must be
accessible, says court
All physicians' and dentists' offices must be accessible to people with
physical disabilities, or the doctors and dentists will be terminated from
Pennsylvania's new HMO Medical Assistance program, says Stephen F. Gold,
one of the attorneys for plaintiffs in this class-action suit against the
Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, which was settled June 29.
In addition to physical access, the settlement agreement requires all
HMO directories and handbooks be available in formats usable by clients
with visual disabilities.
"Under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act," says
Gold, when the state begins a new program, as this is, "states must
only enroll health care providers who have accessible offices." Gold
predicts that "with this settlement agreement, 5,300 doctors' and
dentists' offices" in Pennsylvania will not become accessible.
Not Dead Yet testifies
before Congressional Subcommittee
July 14 -- Pointing out that "policymakers have completely ignored
the ADA violation inherent in assisted suicide laws," Not Dead Yet
founder Diane Coleman testified today before the Constitution Subcommittee
of the House Judiciary Committee in support of a bill that would preclude
Oregon physicians from prescribing lethal overdoses under the Oregon assisted
suicide law.
The bill would overturn a recent Department of Justice ruling on the
issue. Coleman's testimony will focus on discrimination based on disability
and race in the health care system.
"I wish that this civil rights violation were as obvious to everyone
as it would be if assisted suicide were legalized based on gender or race,"
Coleman told the Committee. "Neither the civil nor criminal justice
systems will draw the line and protect our lives," she added.
Not Dead Yet is a national disability rights group which opposes the
legalization of assisted suicide and euthanasia, claiming that any potential
benefit to a few is far outweighed by the lethal danger to this nation's
largest minority group, people with disabilities.
Bill seeks to exempt prisons
from ADA
Washington, DC July 7 -- Warning that prisoners would "file an
endless number of lawsuits demanding special privileges" if the law
weren't changed, Sen. Strom Thurmond (R. SC) introduced a bill to amend
the Americans with Disabilities Act (and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973)
to exempt state and local agencies operating prisons. The U. S. Supreme
Court ruled last month that prisons were indeed covered by the ADA; now
prison officials are working to wiggle out of what Thurmond calls "an
undue burden" by Congressional means. Thurmond insisted that the ADA
had had "unintended consequences." He said that managing prisons
was " an activity traditionally reserved to the states." The
bill, S 2266, was referred to the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources.
NationsBank agrees to accept
IDs
MEMPHIS, June 25 -- Responding to Memphis activists' charges of unequal
treatment, NationsBank has agreed to accept State ID cards as identification
equal to drivers' licenses. The Memphis Center for Independent Living had
used the Americans with Disabilities Act to argue that the NationsBank
practice failed to accommodate individuals with disabilities that did not
drive, yet held a valid State non-driver ID.
More
on this story
FDR gets Memorial wheelchair
WASHINGTON, July 2 -- Bowing to pressure from disability rights activists,
the FDR Memorial Commission has agreed to add a statue to the FDR Memorial
with the president in his wheelchair. The move is a victory for activists
who insisted that history must reflect accurately on the president who
"never walked a step."
More
on this story
Supreme Court confirms
ADA in AIDS case
June 25 -- The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday affirmed that the Americans
with Disabilities Act covers people with AIDS. Court watchers say that
the ruling appears to mean that people with disabilities such as epilepsy
and cancer are covered under the law (a point some lower courts have questioned.)
More on this story
Shell Oil agrees to access
June 18 -- Shell Oil Co. settled a class-action lawsuit, agreeing to
upgrade as many as 3,840 gas stations to comply with federal disability
standards. Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Inc., (DREDF)
a national policy group that advocates civil rights for people with disabilities,
announced the settlement with Shell Oil and Equilon Enterprises LLC, a
refining joint venture between Shell and Texaco Inc.
More
on this story
Other
DREDF lawsuits
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