February 24, 2000
Patrisha A. Wright, Director of Government Affairs at the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, will be awarded the George Bush medal at a gala luncheon ceremony today in Houston. The award is presented to individuals who have “distinguished themselves in the movement for equal rights and opportunity for people with disabilities worldwide,” writes the Bush Medal Committee. Past recipients include President Bush, Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Ed Roberts (founder of the first Center for Independent Living), and Bengt Lindquist (special envoy on disability to the United Nations.) It was first given in 1993.
Tag: The Americans with Disabilities Act
The Sutton Trilogy
February 22, 1999
In the spring of 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court heard a trio of critical cases involving the federal law definition of disability, which the ADA specifies is an “impairment” that “substantially limits” one or more “major life activities.” DREDF participated in these cases by writing an amicus curiae brief on behalf of Senators Harkin and Kennedy, former Senator Dole and Congressmen Hoyer and Owens, presenting arguments in favor of a broad interpretation of the ADA.
Ingram v. Serendipity Land Yachts
August 6, 1998
In a class action lawsuit, passengers with mobility disabilities who use wheelchairs and scooters on Amtrak Thruway Bus services in California alleged that the defendants failed to comply with various state and federal laws concerning the safe transportation of bus passengers who use wheelchairs (including scooters) and the proper training of bus drivers to provide respectful and courteous service to passengers with disabilities.
Greener v. Shell Oil
June 19, 1998
In June 1998, DREDF and co-counsel filed a class action complaint against Shell Oil along with a proposed settlement to address Shell’s failure to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act at Shell service stations in cities across the United States. Shell and the three Northern California wheelchair users negotiated the agreement over a two year period without litigation and agreed to filing the complaint for procedural reasons.
Bragdon v. Abbott
February 6, 1998
DREDF filed an amicus curiae brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of Senators Harkin, Jeffords and Kennedy, and Representatives Hoyer, Owens and Waxman in Abbott v. Bragdon. The central issue in this case was whether people who have HIV but appear asymptomatic are considered disabled and therefore protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
O’Hara v. Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
October 20, 1999
In 1997, on behalf of a group of individuals with mobility, hearing and vision impairments, DREDF and co-counsel filed a class-action lawsuit against the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California. The complaint alleged that the Coliseum failed to provide equitable access for people with disabilities. The parties settled in 1999.