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Advocacy Action News

ADVOCACY ACTION NEWS
July 2008, Issue 127

WORLD
NATIONAL
STATE
LOCAL
LEGAL
RESOURCES ON THE NET
ANNOUNCEMENTS

Disability and human rights activist Harriet McBryde Johnson died at home in South Carolina on June 3, 2008. The world has lost a passionate and dedicated advocate for social change. Untold numbers in the disability community and beyond have lost a caring friend and role model.
Harriet McBryde Johnson was a civil rights lawyer, a weaver of tales, and a spokesperson for the dignity and humanity of people with disabilities. Her 2006 memoir, a 2007 teen novel, and numerous articles and essays for the New York Times, including a cover piece in the Sunday magazine, helped thrust Harriet onto the national stage. She was featured as New Mobility Magazine’s 2003 Person of the Year.

Johnson wrote passionately and with humor about a quite serious topic: her right and the rights of others, to exist in the world as a person with a disability. Her withering critique of those who would deny her existence was delivered with a calm and open-hearted voice. She had a warmth and generosity of spirit that was evident always.

On the quotation-finding website thinkexist.com, there is only one quote from Harriet, despite the abundance of her words of wisdom. She is quoted as saying “Death is natural and necessary, but not just. It is a random force of nature; survival is equally accidental. Each loss is an occasion to remember that survival is a gift.”

Through her activism, political commitment, and personal connections, Harriet left no doubt that her gift will be deeply missed.
SOURCE: http://lflegal.com/2008/06/mcbryde-johnson-obituary/

WORLD

U.N. Issues Stamp Set Commemorating Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities From the United Nations Postal Administration:

In June 2008, the United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) issued six commemorative stamps in the denominations of US$ 0.42, US$ 0.94, CHF 1,00, CHF 1,80, € 0,55 and € 1,40 on the theme “Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was adopted on December 13, 2006 during the sixty- first session of the General Assembly, by resolution 61/106. In accordance with its article 42, the Convention was opened for signature by all States and by regional integration organizations at United Nations Headquarters in New York on March 30, 2007. The Convention is intended as a human rights instrument with an explicit, social development dimension. It adopts a broad categorization of persons with disabilities and reaffirms that all persons with all types of disabilities must enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms. It clarifies and qualifies how all categories of rights apply to persons with disabilities and identifies areas where adaptations have to be made for persons with disabilities to exercise their rights effectively and areas where their rights have been violated, and where protection of rights must be reinforced.There are eight guiding principles that underlie the Convention and each one of its specific articles:

i. Respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy including the freedom to make one’s own choices, and independence of persons
ii. Non-discrimination
iii. Full and effective participation and inclusion in society
iv. Respect for difference and acceptance of persons with disabilities as part of human diversity and humanity
v. Equality of opportunity
vi. Accessibility
vii. Equality between men and women
viii. Respect for the evolving capacities of children with disabilities and respect for the right of children with disabilities to preserve their identities
SOURCE: Justice For All, 6/3/08

National Forum on Disability Issues featuring the 2008 Presidential Candidates
July 26, 2008, Columbus, Ohio

The National Forum on Disability Issues, featuring the 2008 Presidential Candidates (invited) is a historic, nonpartisan forum on national disability policy to be held on July 26, 2008 in Columbus, Ohio. We plan to welcome over a thousand Americans with disabilities and their friends and family (registration required) to attend the event and to commemorate the 18th anniversary of our civil rights law, the Americans with Disabilities Act. The forum will feature time slots for the presidential candidates to individually present their visions for the future of disability policy in America followed by questions from the audience, asked by Judy Woodruff, news anchor and journalist ("The News Hour with Jim Lehrer"), who will act as the Moderator.
SOURCE: Justice For All, 5/19/08

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
~Charles Darwin~

ADVOCACY IN ACTION

“Awhile back, my wonderful intern, Jill Potkay and I, along with an adhoc team of women on wheels wrote a letter to several of the stores at Bayshore Mall to ask them to consider providing an easier way to get into their stores – the doors were really heavy to open. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) does not have a standard for entry doors; and some of these doors took 22# of pressure to open! We sent them some ideas to accomplish this, and provided them with important and impressive information from the Dept. of Justice outlining the benefits to serving people with disabilities and older adults. Soon after I received a call from one store owner who asked me about door assists, etc. I sent him a number of resources and guess what?? He called me today to say that he has installed push pads and auto assist door systems at his store! I’m writing you today, because this is a very exciting thing to have happen in our work! The name of the store is Relax Your Back. I believe they are located at the south (Silver Spring) area of the Town Center. Just had to share this with you all!”
From Diana Sullivan, IF Disability Rights & Access Specialist

NOTE: DOJ ON-LINE COURSE ON REACHING THE DISABILITY MARKET: The U.S. Department of Justice's Disability Rights Section's has an online course for businesses, “Reaching Out to Customers with Disabilities.” The course explains how the ADA applies to businesses in ten short lessons. Putting these lessons into practice enables businesses to both comply with the ADA and attract the disability market. The course is at http://www.ada.gov/reachingout/intro1.htm

AT YOUR SERVICE: WELCOMING CUSTOMERS WITH DISABILITIES: A free, accessible, self-paced web course for people interested in discovering best practices for working with customers who have disabilities. This course has recently been revised and expanded in response to requests from more than 10,000 participants who have taken the course. It was funded with federal dollars for training local public customer service representatives, but has been found to be a valuable training tool for the private sector. http://www.wiawebcourse.org/

NATIONAL

HUD NOTICE REGARDING TAX REBATE CHECKS. This notice applies to Public and Indian Housing (PIH) rental assistance programs including: Public Housing, Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation, Housing Choice Voucher and Section 8 Project-Based Voucher and Certificate Programs. Under the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, more than 130 million American households filing federal tax returns for 2007 will receive economic stimulus payments. During annual and/or interim reexamination of family income for public housing and for Section 8 programs, PHAs are to exclude all IRS economic stimulus payments. Program administrators are not to include the amount of the economic stimulus payment when determining a family’s annual income. Therefore, the stimulus payments will not affect a family’s eligibility for or level of HUD rental assistance benefits. Direct inquiries to Public Housing Management and Occupancy Division, Office of Public Housing and Voucher Programs at (202) 708-0744 (v/relay).

STATE

BUDGET REPAIR BILL IS FINAL. On May 16, 2006 Governor Doyle signed Special Session AB 1 into law creating Act 226.
The following is a brief summary of some of the key points in Act 226:

* $270 million reduction to state agencies; requires state agencies to make more cuts;
* $24 million reduction in the state compensation reserve fund; this fund provides salary and benefits to state employees;
* $18.6 million increase to the Wisconsin Shares program (child care subsidies);
* $15 million increase in corporate taxes; this closes some tax loopholes to corporations;
* $77 million for highway development and rehabilitation;
* $50 million is transferred from the transportation fund but DOT is authorized to make up this transfer through bonds;
* $209 million reduction to the Medicaid program; this is a complicated fund transfer between the tobacco settlement fund and program savings; current program benefits should not be affected;
* $10 million reduction to the Medicaid program to reflect anticipated savings; should not affect current benefits;
* $57 million reduction in the Rainy Day fund and $40 million reduction in the statutory reserve fund; this leaves the state with emergency reserve funds of $106 million;
* Requires school districts offering four-year old kindergarten to make it available district-wide and allows existing programs to phase-in over the next five years;
* Deleted the expansion of a property tax exemption for low-income housing;
* No tax increase to hospitals;
* No reduction in the required state statutory balance;
* No delay in school aids until July;
More detail of the Budget Repair Bill can be found at: http://www.wccf.org/pdf/budget_repairbill_direct_051308.pdf

LOCAL

CITY HALL. The wheelchair lift at the Wells Street entrance to City Hall is being demolished and a new elevator will be installed. As a result, access to City Hall via the lift will not be possible starting June 5, 2008. The new elevator is expected to be in operation in December, 2008. In the meantime disabled access to City Hall can be achieved via the Zeidler Municipal Building.
SOURCE: Information sent by Alderman Robert W. Puente, rpuent@milwaukee.gov TRANSIT TRIP PLANNING. The Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) has agreed to contribute information to Google Transit's trip planning service to offer Milwaukee County bus passengers an easier way to plan their bus trips. Unless you're a regular bus rider, knowing which route to take can be confusing. This new tool makes it easier. To access the tool, to MCTS Web site at RideMCTS.com or to google.com/transit. To use the trip planner, riders enter the starting point and destination, either as an address or business name. Users can also customize their itinerary by selecting the date and time of the trip. An itinerary based on MCTS bus schedules will be displayed in Google Maps mapping service, and includes information on route numbers and locations, schedules, transfer information and return trips. MCTS is one of several transit systems nationwide participating in Google's Earth Day Challenge to activate by Earth Day.
SOURCE: OnMilwaukee.com

LEGAL

RULING ON U.S. CURRENCY AND THE BLIND. In a decision that could drastically change the appearance of American money, a federal appeals court panel ruled that the United States discriminates against the blind because the country’s paper currency is the same size regardless of a bill’s value. The 2-to-1 ruling, which could have implications not only for blind people but also for vending machine-manufacturers and even companies that make wallets and purses, found that the Treasury Department had failed to demonstrate that it would be too burdensome to make bills of different sizes or add features that can be read by touch to distinguish monetary value. What happens next is not certain, but it may become clear sooner rather than later. The government could ask the full 13-member circuit court to reconsider the panel’s ruling, or it could seek quick review by the Supreme Court, something it has 90 days to do. A lawyer for the American Council of the Blind, which brought the lawsuit in 2002, said he hoped that the government “instead of litigating the issue, would solve the problem.” The Treasury Department has the means and technology to change the design of American currency to help the blind, said the lawyer, Jeffrey A. Lovitky of Washington.
SOURCE: NEW YORK TIMES article, edited

WAL-MART TO PAY $250,000 FOR DISABILITY BIAS.

Retail giant Wal-Mart will pay $250,000 and furnish significant injunctive relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC. The EEOC had charged that Wal-Mart failed to accommodate and then fired a long-time pharmacy technician who suffered a disability resulting from a gunshot wound. In its suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, the EEOC said that Glenda D. Allen had been employed with the Arkansas-based company as a pharmacy technician since July 1993, most recently at its store in Abingdon, Md. As a result of a gunshot wound sustained during the course of a robbery at a different employer in 1994, Allen suffered permanent damage to her spinal cord and other medical issues, including an abnormal gait requiring the use of a cane as an assistive device. The agency charged that despite Allen's successful job performance throughout her employment, Wal-Mart declared her incapable of performing her position with or without a reasonable accommodation, denied her a reasonable accommodation, and then unlawfully fired her because of her disability. The lawsuit settled shortly after the court denied Wal-Mart's motion for summary judgment on March 10, and partially granted the EEOC's cross-motion for summary judgment finding that Wal-Mart had no undue hardship defense. The EEOC filed suit after first attempting to reach a voluntary settlement. Along with the monetary payment, the consent decree settling the suit requires Wal-Mart to:

*Observe the ADA and post a notice to employees on the ADA;
*Have all salaried supervisors and managers of its Abingdon stores and in pharmacies in the district that includes Abingdon complete training on the ADA with annual refresher training for the next three years; and Submit a list of all employees at the Abingdon store and the pharmacies in the Abingdon district who have been denied reasonable accommodation and/or complained that they have been unlawfully denied reasonable accommodation or terminated because of their disabilities. The EEOC will monitor the company's compliance with the decree for the next three years. This is the EEOC's second settlement this year with Wal-Mart concerning the ADA. In April 2008, the EEOC settled a lawsuit concerning Wal-Mart's failure to hire an individual with cerebral palsy in Richmond, Mo., for $300,000 and injunctive relief. During Fiscal Year 2007, disability discrimination charges filed with the EEOC under the ADA increased 14% to 17,734 -- the highest level in a decade. Approximately one out of every five private sector charge filings with the EEOC contains an allegation of disability discrimination. The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the Commission is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.
SOURCE: http://www.eeoc.gov/press/6-9-08.html

RESOURCES ON THE NET

http://www.dredf.org/
The Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, founded in 1979, is a leading national civil rights law and policy center directed by individuals with disabilities and parents who have children with disabilities.

The mission of the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund is to advance the civil and human rights of people with disabilities through legal advocacy, training, education, and public policy and legislative development.
The vision of the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund is a just world where all people, with and without disabilities, live full and independent lives free of discrimination.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Advocacy Action News is published by IndependenceFirst on or about the 1st of each month. Submissions of articles are due by the 15th of each month prior to publication. For consideration, send your articles or announcements to the Editor, Karen Avery, via e-mail to kavery@independencefirst.org.

Advocacy Action News is available by request in alternative formats such as Braille, large print, on disk or audiotape. It is also made available via our website. You may also receive Advocacy Action News via email instead of print copy. Contact Karen at 414-291-7520 (V/TTY) or kavery@independencefirst.org. If you do not have access to the internet, and would like assistance in obtaining any of the internet-based items described in this news bulletin, please contact Karen at 414-291-7520 (V/TTY).

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