Jennie Bourgeois

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
July 25, 2011

Presidential Proclamation–Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act

Generations of Americans with disabilities have improved our country in countless ways. Refusing to accept the world as it was, they have torn down the barriers that prohibited them from fully realizing the American dream. Their tireless efforts led to the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), one of the most comprehensive pieces of civil rights legislation in our Nation’s history. On this day, we celebrate the 21st anniversary of the ADA and the progress we have made, and we reaffirm our commitment to ensure equal opportunity for all Americans.

Each day, people living with disabilities make immeasurable contributions to the diversity and vitality of our communities. Nearly one in five Americans lives with a disability. They are our family members and friends, neighbors and colleagues, and business and civic leaders. Since the passing of the ADA, persons with disabilities are leading fuller lives in neighborhoods that are more accessible and have greater access to new technologies. In our classrooms, young people with disabilities now enjoy the same educational opportunities as their peers and are gaining the tools necessary to reach their greatest potential.

Despite these advancements, there is more work to be done, and my Administration remains committed to ending all forms of discrimination and upholding the rights of Americans with disabilities. The Department of Justice continues to strengthen enforcement of the ADA by ensuring that persons with disabilities have access to community-based services that allow them to lead independent lives in the communities of their choosing. Under provisions of the Affordable Care Act, insurers will no longer be able to engage in the discriminatory practice of denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions, and Americans with disabilities will have greater control over their health care choices. And last year, I signed an Executive Order establishing the Federal Government as a model employer for individuals with disabilities, placing a special focus on recruitment and retention of public servants with disabilities across Federal agencies.

Through the ADA, America was the first country in the world to comprehensively declare equality for citizens with disabilities. To continue promoting these principles, we have joined in signing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. At its core, this Convention promotes equality. It seeks to ensure that persons with disabilities enjoy the same rights and opportunities as all people, and are able to lead their lives as do other individuals.

Eventual ratification of this Convention would represent another important step in our forty-plus years of protecting disability rights. It would offer us a platform to encourage other countries to join and implement the Convention. Broad implementation would mean greater protections and benefits abroad for millions of Americans with disabilities, including our veterans, who travel, conduct business, study, reside, or retire overseas. In encouraging other countries to join and implement the Convention, we also could help level the playing field to the benefit of American companies, who already meet high standards under United States domestic law. Improved disabilities standards abroad would also afford American businesses increased opportunities to export innovative products and technologies, stimulating job creation at home.

Equal access, equal opportunity, and the freedom to make of our lives what we will are principles upon which our Nation was founded, and they continue to guide our efforts to perfect our Union. Together, we can ensure our country is not deprived of the full talents and contributions of the approximately 54 million Americans living with disabilities, and we will move forward with the work of providing pathways to opportunity to all of our people.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Tuesday, July 26, 2011, the Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. I encourage Americans across our Nation to celebrate the 21st anniversary of this civil rights law and the many contributions of individuals with disabilities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fifth day of July, in the year of our Lord two thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-sixth.

BARACK OBAMA

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WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today announced a comprehensive settlement agreement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with HRB Tax Group Inc., H&R Block Tax Services LLC and HRB Advance LLC (H&R Block) to ensure effective communication with individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing in the provision of income tax preparation services and courses at more than 11,000 owned and franchised offices nationwide.

The settlement agreement, which resolves an ADA complaint filed by an individual who is deaf, requires, among other things, that H&R Block furnish appropriate auxiliary aids and services, including sign language interpreter services, when necessary to afford a person who is deaf or hard of hearing equal access to the goods, services and accommodations made available to others.

“By signing this agreement, H&R Block has affirmed its commitment to providing effective communication with people who are deaf and hard of hearing not only at their tax preparation offices in San Antonio, where the complaint originated, but at their locations across the country,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The agreement will ensure that individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing have equal access to tax preparation services at more than 11,000 offices nationwide.”

The agreement requires that H&R Block:

* Provide auxiliary aids and services, including qualified sign language interpreters, to persons who are deaf or hard of hearing when necessary to ensure effective communication of its tax preparation services, programs and courses;

* Adopt and enforce a policy on effective communication with individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing for all H&R Block offices nationwide, post the policy on its websites and in its employee manuals, and distribute the policy to current and new employees and contractors;

* Establish and maintain a list of sign language interpreter providers;

* Post and maintain in a conspicuous location in all reception areas of H&R Block offices a notice stating that individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing have a right under the ADA to request a sign language or oral interpreter or other form of auxiliary aid or service if needed;

* Provide staff training on the ADA and H&R Block’s obligations to provide effective communication to individuals with disabilities;

* Monitor franchisees’ compliance with this requirement consistent with monitoring of compliance with the franchise agreements and other requirements of federal, state or local laws; and

* Pay $5,000 damages to the individual who filed an ADA complaint and a $20,000 civil penalty.

The ADA prohibits discrimination against customers with disabilities by businesses that serve the public. Among other things, the ADA requires tax preparation services, accountants, lawyers, doctors and other businesses to provide equal access to customers who are deaf or hard of hearing. When services such as tax preparation involve important, lengthy or complex oral communications with customers, businesses are generally required to provide qualified sign language interpreters and other auxiliary aids, free of charge, to individuals who are deaf, are hard of hearing or have speech disabilities. Other auxiliary aids may include the use of relay services for telephone communication, exchanging notes for brief and uncomplicated communications, providing assistive listening systems and receivers in classes for attendees who are hard of hearing, and providing captioned videos. The appropriate auxiliary aid to be provided depends on a variety of factors including the nature, length and importance of the communication; the communication skills and knowledge of the individual who is deaf or hard of hearing; and the individual’s stated need for a particular type of auxiliary aid.

Auxiliary aids must also be provided for individuals who are blind or have low vision, such as materials in Braille, large print or accessible electronic formats such as email or HTML, qualified readers and assistance in filling out forms.

Those interested in finding out more about this agreement or businesses’ effective communication obligations under the ADA may call the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TDD), or access its ADA website at www.ada.gov > . ADA complaints may be filed by email to ada.complaint@usdoj.gov .

The White House * 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW * Washington DC 20500 * 202-456-1111

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Hidden Cameras Reveal Bystanders’ Reactions When Discrimination Is Staged

Two young women walk into a coffee shop to apply for a job in the kitchen when something strange happens: the manager seems oddly reluctant to let them fill out an application. Then, in full view of customers, out it comes: the real reason the manager isn’t interested in hiring them? They are deaf.

It’s a shocking violation of the law, or it would be if this weren’t an episode of “What Would You Do?” The manager and the deaf job applicants are actors. Of course the customers don’t know that. How will they respond to a display of the kind of discrimination this country outlawed two decades ago?

This special WWYD was developed with the help of students and administrators at the Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf, in Rochester, N.Y. It is the world’s first and largest technical college for deaf and hard-of-hearing students.

In an interview at the college, student Brenna DeBartolo said, “I have a lot of respect for people who aren’t deaf, for people who are hearing. At the same time, it would be nice for them to think about, ‘What is it like to be a deaf person?’ I mean, how would they like to go into a place and want to apply for a job and then be discriminated against just because of who you are?”

Although they’re still in college, many NTID students already have an idea of the difficulties they may face in the workplace. Maya Ariel told WWYD that when she applied for part-time jobs in the past, “one or two places never called me back.”

“From what I found out, they didn’t call me back because I was deaf,” she said, speaking thorough a sign language interpreter.

Hannah Worek’s parents are deaf. “My dad right now, he doesn’t have a job,” Worek said. “He got laid off. He’s been looking for jobs and it’s hard because you have to get an interpreter every time you do an interview.”

The new president of NTID, Gerry Buckley, explains how employers are supposed to treat a deaf or hard-of-hearing job applicant (or any disabled applicant, for that matter).

“What should happen is that that deaf or hard-of-hearing person has an equal opportunity to apply for the job, just like any person. The supervisor or the employer … interviews them with the same kind of questions and scrutiny that they interview anyone,” he said.

The employer should “really look very specifically at their skills, related to being able to perform the work functions,” Buckley said. “Questions related to accommodations or costs associated with accommodations should be set aside (to) focus on whether the person has the skills to do the job.”

NTID is proud of its nearly 90 percent job placement record for graduates. It’s hard enough finding and keeping a job in today’s economy, but for those with a disability it is especially difficult. In January, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced that allegations of workplace discrimination hit an all-time high in 2010. The biggest increase came in claims from workers who say they were discriminated against because of a disability.

It’s a problem many thought had become history more than 20 years ago when President George H. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act into law in 1990. The ADA says if a worker with a disability is qualified to perform the essential functions or duties of a job, even if they require reasonable accommodation, they are protected from job discrimination.

Discrimination against the disabled is usually hidden. It may happen behind closed office doors, or even in the mind of the employer who doesn’t want to follow the law. But two decades after the passage of the ADA, we wondered how regular people would respond if they could see the law flouted right in front of them. So with the owner’s permission, we outfitted SmartWorld Coffee in Morristown, N.J. with hidden cameras and waited for the morning rush.

As the WWYD scenario got underway, NTID students Hannah Worek and Maya Ariel played our job applicants. Another WWYD actor played the discriminating manager of a coffee shop in need of a kitchen worker. When the women walked into the shop and asked for an application, the manager blatantly announced he wasn’t hiring any deaf people.

“I’m not going to hire a deaf person. I’m just letting you know. So we’ll save you some time. … I mean you’re deaf, it’s going to be really hard for you to work here,” he said.

Many customers looking on told us afterwards they were shocked. Some said they planned to raise the issue later with the store owner. As the scene repeated again and again throughout the day, some customers stared, rolled their eyes, or grimaced, but few openly objected to the outright discrimination they witnessed.

One striking exception was customer Gerald Tourgee. When he saw what was happening, he turned to the manager and said, “Excuse me, are you aware of the Equal Employment Opportunity laws? You just made a blanket statement about not hiring a deaf person. You’ve made it very clear you’re not hiring a deaf person. … If she takes the job and she’s not able to fulfill the duties, that’s a different situation. But not to hire her because she’s deaf, that’s absolutely discriminatory!”

After a long day of too many customers looking the other way, the outburst was welcomed by our actors. But other responses were less kind-hearted and some might shock you. Watch Friday night to see the surprising reactions of some people who are supposed to be employment experts: human resource workers and job recruiters.

For More Information

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Click here to find more details about the Americans with Disabilities Act from the EEOC.

Video: (In case you miss on television)

http://www.hulu.com/watch/213121/what-would-you-do-deaf-to-job-discrimination

Article:

http://abcnews.go.com/WhatWouldYouDo/witnessed-discrimination-deaf-job-applicants/story?id=12822039

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The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) and the law firm of Chason, Rosner, Leary & Marshall L.L.C., filed a complaint in federal court against the National Capital Area Council, Boy Scouts of America (NCAC), alleging that the NCAC has failed to ensure effective communication for one of its troop members, Wolfgang Staley, who is deaf. The complaint was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Maryland.

Despite requests by the boy’s mother, Cindy Officer, the NCAC has refused to provide ASL interpreters at troop meetings and at their monthly outgoings. The NCAC troop meetings and monthly outgoings include immense amount of information, including safety information, which cannot be effectively communicated to Wolfgang other than through an ASL interpreter. As such, he is deprived of full participation in various Boy Scouts activities and unable to reap benefits that other boys of the NCAC enjoy, whether it is an opportunity to create intimate friendships with fellow troop members or develop leadership skills during a weekend outgoing.

“The NCAC refusal to provide ASL interpreters violates Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Their actions discriminate against Wolfgang Staley solely based on his deafness, and against Cindy Officer based on her association with Wolfgang Staley,” said Debra Patkin, NAD Law and Advocacy staff attorney. “The NAD requests that the U.S. District Court declare that the NCAC refusal to provide interpreters at its events is a violation of the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act. The filing further requests that the court award money damages to the plaintiffs.”

“The intent of the ADA was to promote and ensure inclusion of individuals with disabilities in daily activities. The NAD is committed to removing communication barriers that discriminate against deaf and hard of hearing people,” said NAD President Bobbie Beth Scoggins. “They should be granted the same opportunities for teamwork, leadership, socialization, and skill building that the NCAC provides to hundreds of boys in the District of Columbia and nearby counties.”

Source:

http://nad.org/news/2011/1/nad-files-suit-behalf-deaf-boy-scout

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Funny College Interpreter

Informational Video on Using Interpreter in College Classes

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Technology for Deaf Individuals

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Hearing Loss Association of America has produced a terrific series of seven (7) videos about hearing loss and has made this information available on their website.

http://www.hearingloss.org/learn/hearingloss_vids.asp

Get accurate information about hearing loss, its causes and what to do about it. The Hearing Loss Association of America contracted with Knowlera Media to produce a series of seven, four-minute, captioned videos on hearing loss. Information you need to be adequately briefed on the topic is all in one place in an easy-to-access format. If you think you have a hearing loss or know someone who does, please point them to the videos where hearing health care professionals and people with hearing loss talk about what you can do about it.

1. Hearing Loss Basic Facts
2. Hearing Loss Symptoms
3. Hearing Loss Diagnosis
4. Hearing Loss Treatments
5. Living with Hearing Loss
6. Hearing Loss Causes and Prevention
7. Hearing Aids, Cochlear Implants and Assistive Listening Devices

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Watch this video from NASA of an astronaut signing in space!

CLICK HERE

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Self-Advocacy for High School Students with Disabilities

NEW PODCAST SHOW

from the DISABILITY LAW LOWDOWN

February 11, 2010 – The Disability Law Lowdown podcast just posted a podcast about self-advocacy for high school students with disabilities. Jacquie Brennan discusses a new information sheet published by the Pacer Center (www.pacer.org) that provides valuable information for high schoolers about how to plan for their future by taking an active role in IEP meetings and transition planning, whether the transition is to employment, post-secondary education, or independent living. It is so important that students learn to advocate for themselves so that goals that are set, and plans that are made, include the desires of the student and not just those around the student.

The Disability Law Lowdown podcast is available at www.DisabilityLawLowdown.com, as well as on iTunes. People can listen to the podcast directing from a computer or can download it to an MP3 player, like an iPod.

The Disability Law Lowdown provides the latest information about disability rights and obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and other disability-related topics. Subscription is free.

The Disability Law Lowdown is a project of the national network of ten ADA Centers across the country, offering technical assistance and training in the Americans with Disabilities Act and other disability-related laws. Contact the Center that serves you by calling 1.800.949.4232 v/tty. The Disability Law Lowdown is available in English, Spanish, and American Sign Language.

To subscribe or listen to archived podcasts visit DisabilityLawLowdown.com

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• Transition 101: High School to Adulthood (slideshare.net)

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Feb. 8-12, 2010
Bill Newell, Principal Washington School for the Deaf

“Deaf people can do everything except hear.”

Many readers of Deaf Culture Question of the Week are probably
familiar with that famous expression by I. King Jordan, past
president of Gallaudet University.

Two weeks ago in DCQW the convention related to
writing about people who do not hear using either a capital
“D” Deaf or a lower case “d” deaf was explained.

To review, Deaf with a capital “D” means “identifying with
and belonging to a linguistic and cultural minority group.

Lower case “d” deaf refers to the condition of hearing loss. So
when one writes “deaf person/people” it means a person who has a
hearing loss. And when one writes “Deaf person/people” it means a
person belonging to and identifying with Deaf culture.

So now to the question of the week.

Let’s change the quotation just a little. Suppose we add an
“And,… as the first word of the sentence. When you read that
sentence which meaning do you attach to it?

a. And, Deaf people can do everything except hear. (An
affirmation that people belonging and identifying with Deaf
culture can succeed.)
b. And, deaf people can do everything except hear. (An
affirmation that people belonging to a disability group can
succeed.)

******************************

Answer: This exercise shows that the meanings of things are
socially constructed. Each individual interprets what they read,
hear or see based on their life experiences, background
knowledge, values and perceptions. Possibly a Deaf Culture
Question of the Week reader who is Deaf (identifies with Deaf
culture and uses American Sign Language) will interpret I. King
Jordan’s quotation as an affirmation of Deaf culture. Possibly a
reader who considers him/herself hearing impaired (deaf and
belonging to a disability group) will interpret the quotation as
an affirmation that people challenged by the disability of
deafness can overcome these challenges. Hearing parents, friends,
allies, and those people who claim the privilege of working with
d/Deaf people will each have their own interpretation. We cannot
really know what I. King Jordan meant to communicate.
What do you think he meant?

Which meaning do you think I. King Jordan had in mind when he
said “Deaf people can do everything except hear!” We can’t tell
because the rules of capitalization in English require the first
word of a sentence to start with a capital letter.

There is another possibility. The convention in the answer d/Deaf
would cover both meanings. But we still don’t know what I. King
Jordan actually intended.

Note: Previous DCQW are located at our WSD website.

Click Here

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