June 11, 2016
DREDF is pleased to announce, along with our coalition partners in Californians Against Assisted Suicide, that this week, the national organization Patients Rights Action Fund will launch a new web page where concerned individuals, family members, and friends can bring to light abuses, problems, and complications associated with assisted suicide laws.
April 29, 2016
Ask your county IHSS worker. You can request your preferred format when you file an application, have an initial assessment, or a reassessment. You can also call your county IHSS worker. Some other IHSS information and documents may be available in alternative formats. You may ask your county IHSS worker for something you need. If it can be provided in your desired format, it will be. If not, your county IHSS worker will work with you to find an alternative that will work for you.
April 4, 2016
All consumers need clear and accessible information. For consumers with disabilities, however, these needs become quite specific. That is, coverage information about such topics as the treatment of habilitation services and devices durable medical equipment, orthotics and prosthetics, prescription drugs, and mental health coverage is particularly important since these are items that enable people with chronic conditions and disabilities to remain functional in their lives and communities.
February 10, 2016
(Springfield, MA, February 10, 2016): The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and individual plaintiffs Juan Figueroa, Derek Manners, and Martti Mallinen announced the filing of a major federal lawsuit today in U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, Western Division. The lawsuit charges the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) through its sub-agency, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and its CMS sub-contractors, with systemically violating the civil rights of blind Medicare recipients.
February 10, 2016
The lawsuit filed today by the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and individual plaintiffs charges the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) through its sub-agency, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and its CMS sub-contractors, with systemically violating the civil rights of blind Medicare recipients. The complaint details how, 40 years after the federal Rehabilitation Act and a the growth of a new world of technology, blind people are still forced to -- among other long-outmoded practices -- rely on others to read inaccessible materials, and to disclose private personal and financial information to sighted third parties. [...]
February 9, 2016
The Massachusetts District Court rejected MIT's motions for a stay and to dismiss NAD's lawsuit. The ruling also ensured plaintiffs will not have to wait the Department of Justice to issue regulations regarding website accessibility. The court recognized that MIT's and, implicitly, other universities' online education courses, are subject to broad Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act protections, and can be required to provide equal access to people with disabilities. [...]
February 5, 2016
DREDF is seeking examples of problems that Medi–Cal beneficiaries in California have experienced with obtaining non–medical transportation to needed services or treatments covered by Medi–Cal, including Denti–Cal.
January 30, 2016
DREDF opposes the proposed rule as a clear erosion of GINA's protections against disclosure of disability-related information by employees and their family members. The Commission's proposed rule disregards the plain language and stated purpose of GINA, recorded in Congressional history and statements, and the regulations already that the EEOC has already promulgated under GINA. Ultimately, a weakened GINA rule, in concert with the expanding promulgation of untested employer wellness programs, will easily and inevitably lead to adverse employment decisions based on fears about the cost of insuring an employer and his or her dependents.
January 26, 2016
Deaf and hard of hearing airline passengers will soon have closed captioned, on-demand in-flight entertainment videos. The National Association of the Deaf (NAD), a non-profit civil rights organization of, by, and for deaf and hard of hearing individuals, and Gogo LLC, the global leader in providing broadband connectivity solutions and wireless entertainment to the aviation industry, have reached a historic agreement for Gogo to make closed captioning available for 100 percent of programming content sourced by Gogo and streamed through its on-demand in-flight entertainment service, Gogo Vision.
January 15, 2016
DREDF, the ACLU, and Disability Rights California delivered a demand letter to officials at the California Department of Education that calls for an independent monitor to investigate abusive practices at segregated special education sites all across the state. The demand came days after the release of a disturbing video showing a 9-year-old student with disabilities being restrained and hit by staffers at Tobinworld, a publicly-funded special education school in Antioch, California. [...]