NAD Lawsuit Against Harvard and MIT Moves Forward

November 8, 2016
Judge Mark G. Mastroianni of the District Court of Massachusetts denied Massachusetts Institute for Technology's (MIT) and Harvard University's motions to dismiss the National Association of the Deaf's (NAD) and other named plaintiffs' complaint that the institution discriminates against deaf and hard of hearing people by failing to caption the vast and varied array of online content they make available to the general public, including massive open online courses (MOOCs). Today's decision affirms that plaintiffs' case will be going forward.

DREDF and Disability Rights California Reach Agreement to Make the Program More Accessible.

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.

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NFB and Disability Advocates Charge Federal Health Agency With Civil Rights Violations

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.

Juan Figueroa, Derek Manners, Martti Mallinan, and The National Federation of the Blind v. US Department of Health and Human Services

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. [...]

Health Information Technology

February 25, 2011
While we were disappointed that accessibility standards were not included in HHS’s July 2010 final rule establishing stage 1 “meaningful use,” we are encouraged by the Department’s inclusion of disability specific questions in its latest request for comments. We strongly urge the Department to adopt explicit accessible information technology standards within stages 2 and 3 MU to both improve health outcomes for all patients with sensory, cognitive or mobility limitations, and to ensure that a technological system that has been mandated to reduce health disparities does not in itself act to replicate and deepen the disparities experienced by people with disabilities.

Blind and Visually Impaired SSA Recipients Win Major Legal Victory

October 20, 2009
San Francisco, California — Judge William Alsup of the US District Court, Northern District of California in San Francisco, today issued a judgment in favor of the American Council of the Blind (ACB) and two classes of 3,000,000 individuals with blindness and visual impairments. The suit challenged the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) failure to provide its critical benefits communications to recipients in alternative formats that would enable people with visual impairments to have equal access to SSA programs as required by federal disability civil rights laws.

Judge Certifies Class of Three Million Visually Impaired Beneficiaries in Social Security Administration Lawsuit

September 12, 2008
San Francisco, California — On Thursday, September 11, 2008, Judge William Alsup of the US District Court for the Northern District of California granted class certification in a disability rights action in which plaintiffs argue that the Social Security Administration (SSA) fails to provide its communications in alternative formats that would enable people with visual impairments to have equal access to SSA programs as required by federal disability civil rights laws and the US Constitution.