Disability Civil Rights

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Disability Civil Rights

• Margaret Johnson
• Advocacy Director
• Disability Rights California
• Californias protection and advocacy system

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After this Session You will be able to .

• Describe what disability civil rights is
• Know the main parts of the Americans with
  Disabilities Act
• Analyze a disability civil rights issue
• Know where to look for more information about
  disability civil rights

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The 5 Most Important Disability Civil
Rights Topics

• What is Disability Civil Rights
• Who is disabled
• Who has to comply with disability civil rights
  laws
• Disability Civil Rights law violations
• Enforcing disability civil rights laws

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The 4 Most Important How to Dos

• Identify a disability rights civil rights issue
• Analyze the issue
• Decide what steps to take to resolve the issue
  take them
• Find resources to help

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What is Disability Civil Rights?

• What is the definition of civil rights?
• Examples of Disability Civil Rights Laws
• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• Federal Fair Housing Amendments Act
• California Unruh Civil Rights Act
• Air Carriers Access Act
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act

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What is the ADA?

• A federal civil rights law for people with
  disabilities
• Intended to end discrimination against people
  with disabilities
• Intended to facilitate full participation in
  society as a whole by people with disabilities

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Who Disabled Under the ADA?

• Someone who
• Has a physical or mental impairment that
  substantially limits one or more major life
  activities, or
• Has a record of such an impairment, or
• Is regarded as having such an impairment
• Not under California law

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What are Examples ofMajor Life Activities?

• Caring for oneself
• Walking
• Performing manual tasks
• Seeing
• Hearing
• Breathing
• Learning
• Working

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What Does Substantially Limits Mean?

• Factors considered
• Nature and severity of the impairment
• Duration or expected duration of the
  impairmenttemporary vs. permanent
• Permanent or long-term impact, or the expected
  permanent or long-term impact resulting from the
  impairment
• With the passage of the ADAAA, no longer need to
  consider mitigating measures although this was
  never the law in CA

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Hypothetical

• Jeff needs glasses to read and do most
  activities. He loses his glasses while at a
  locked facility and wants the facility to provide
  him with a reader so he can read paperwork
  related to his conservatorship.
• Is Jeff disabled under disability civil rights
  laws and thus entitled to the help he wants?

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Who Has to Comply with the ADA?

• Employment (Title I)
• State Local Government Services (Title II)
• Public Accommodations/Private Businesses (Title
  III)
• Telecommunications (Title IV)

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What Doesnt the ADA Cover?

• Airlines
• Housing
• Special Education

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Hypothetical

• Jorge goes to a self help center shortly after
  his release from a locked facility. He has a
  limp and uses a cane. The facility does not have
  an accessible restroom.
• Is a self help center covered by disability civil
  rights laws?

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Title II Discrimination by State andLocal
Government

• No qualified individual with a disability
  shall, by reason of such disability, be excluded
  from participation in or denied the benefits of
  the services, programs, or activities of a public
  entity or be subject to discrimination by such
  entity.

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Whos a Qualified Individual?

• Person with a disability who meets the essential
  eligibility requirements for a particular public
  service with or without
• Reasonable modifications to rules, policies, or
  practices
• Removal of architectural, communication, or
  transportation barriers
• Provision of auxiliary aids and services

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What are Examples of Title II Violations/Discrimin
ation?

• Refusing services because of disability
• Providing only separate, or segregated services
  to people with disabilities
• Imposing eligibility requirements that tend to
  screen out people with disabilities
• Refusing to make reasonable modifications
• Refusing to provide auxiliary aids
• Imposing surcharges
• Failing to make services accessible to and usable
  by people with disabilities

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What Architectural Access Requirements Apply?

• Program access vs. specific facilities
• Newly constructed facilities must be readily
  accessible and usable
• Existing facilitiesonly if no other feasible
  means for achieving program access
• Alterationsmust be made accessible to the
  maximum extent feasible
• Maintenance of accessible features
• Self-evaluation and transition plans

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Enforcement of Title II

• Resolve informally through meetings, letters,
  negotiations, formal mediation, or
• Submit a complaint to the appropriate federal
  agency within 180 days
• U.S. Department of Justice or designated agencies
• U.S. Department of Transportation (public
  transit),
• or
• File a lawsuit within 2 years
• Can recover attorneys fees

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Hypothetical

• Dori is hard of hearing. She is in a locked
  facility has an upcoming hearing on her
  conservatorship. She wants to talk to her
  lawyer, but need an amplifier on the telephone.
  She asks the facility to put one on the facility
  phone. They refuse.
• Is there a possible violation of the ADA?

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Title III Discrimination by Public
Accommodations

• No individual shall be discriminated against on
  the basis of disability in the full and equal
  enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities,
  privileges, advantages, or accommodations of any
  place of public accommodation by any person or
  private entity who owns, leases (or leases to),
  or operates a place of public accommodation.

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What are Examples of Places of Public
Accommodation?

• Restaurants
• Hotels
• Theaters
• Stadiums
• Department Stores
• Shopping Centers
• Grocery Stores
• Convenience Stores
• Gas Stations

• Pharmacies
• Doctors Offices
• Private Hospitals
• Private Museums
• Amusement Parks
• Private Schools and Universities
• Day Care Centers
• Health Clubs

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Examples of Title III Violations/Discrimination

• Denying services or benefits based on disability
• Providing only separate, or segregated, programs
  or services
• Using eligibility criteria that tend to screen
  out people with disabilities
• Making unnecessary inquiries about disability
• Imposing extra charges
• Retaliating for exercising ADA rights
• Refusing to reasonably modify its policies,
  practices or procedures
• Refusing to provide auxiliary aids and services

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Access RequirementsExisting Facilities

• Barriers must be removed where readily
  achievable
• Examples of barriers
• Telephones, drinking fountains, paper towel
  dispensers, etc. mounted too high
• Deep pile carpeting
• Unpaved ground surfaces
• Obstructions in store aisles
• Poor theater/stadium seating

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Existing Facilities What if Barrier Removal
Isnt Readily Achievable?

• Must make goods and services available through
  alternative methods, if readily achievable.
• For example,
• Retrieve items for customer from inaccessible
  aisles
• Delivering items to curbside or home delivery
  from inaccessible business

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Access RequirementsNew Construction
Alterations

• All newly constructed places of public
  accommodation and commercial facilities must be
  readily accessible to and usable by people with
  disabilities to the extent that is is not
  structurally impracticable
• Must be built in strict compliance with ADAAG
• Alterations done after 1/26/92 must also meet
  ADAAG to maximum extent feasible

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Enforcement of Title III

• Can file a complaint with the Department of
  Justice or bring a lawsuit (within two years of
  discrimination)
• Can get court order to stop discrimination, but
  cant get damages
• Can recover attorneys fees
• Statutory damages may be available under
  California law

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Hypothetical

• Rosa lives in a board and care home. She has a
  small dog that she says is a service animal. The
  board and care says the dog has to go.
• What do you think?

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Analyzing ADA Violations

• Does the person have a disability under the ADA?
• Is the disability known or disclosed?
• Is the person qualified (for Title I and II)?
• Is the entity covered?
• Title I Private employer 15 employees
• Title II State or local government
• Title III Business/public accommodation

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Analyzing ADA Violations

• What was the disability-based discrimination?
• What defenses might be raised? E.g.,
• Undue financial burden
• Undue administrative burden (Title II)
• Fundamental alteration
• Direct threat to health or safety
• What approach will be used? E.g.,
• Mediation
• Administrative complaint (required for Title I)
• Lawsuit

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Analyzing ADA Violations

• What remedies will be sought? E.g.,
• Change in or exception to policy
• Removal of barriers
• Staff training
• Other injunctive relief
• Money
• Etc.

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Hypothetical

• Sun is Deaf and needs an interpreter at meetings
  so she can understand what is happening and ask
  questions. She is in a locked facility. The
  facility refused to provide an interpreter for
  any meetings and said she would have to pay if
  she wanted one.
• You know this is wrong. What do you do?

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Resources

• www.disabilityrightsca.org
• http//www.ada.gov/
• http//www.disabilityaccessinfo.ca.gov/lawsregs.ht
  m
• http//ag.ca.gov/consumers/pdf/disabled.pdf

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Questions?