American Council of the Blind and 3,000,000 Blind and Visually Impaired SSA Recipients Win Major Legal Victory

October 20, 2009
San Francisco, CA – 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.

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.

Judge Rules Social Security Administration Must Accommodate Blind Beneficiaries

April 24, 2008
San Francisco, California — On Wednesday, April 23, 2008, Judge William Alsup of the US District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that the US Social Security Administration (SSA) must accommodate the real and legitimate needs of people with visual impairments who receive benefits from SSA. The agency is required under the Rehabilitation Act and the due process clause, the ruling states, to provide communications in formats that are accessible to these beneficiaries.

Blind Beneficiaries Sue Social Security Administration

November 16, 2005
SSA Fails to Provide Accessible Communications The American Council of the Blind and a group of individuals who are blind or have vision impairments today filed a class action lawsuit against the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA), alleging that the agency fails to provide the most basic accommodations to its blind applicants and beneficiaries.

American Council of the Blind

November 6, 2005
On behalf of the American Council of the Blind and a group of individuals who are blind or have vision impairments, DREDF filed a class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court, California Northern District against the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA), alleging that the agency failed to provide the most basic accommodations to its blind applicants and beneficiaries. More than 30 years after federal civil rights law made the obligation clear and technological advances made alternative formats commonplace, the SSA continued to ignore the needs and rights of blind and visually impaired individuals.