#Americans With Disabilities Act

[five-thousand-loaves-of-bread]

happy 34th anniversary of americans with disabilities act (ADA)! remember ADA is bare minimum!

[bitchesgetriches]

✨NEW POST!✨

The Social Safety Net for Disabled People Is Broken

The Center for American Progress interviewed disabled people who had been through the American Ninja Warrior obstacle course that is the bureaucratic process of applying for disability benefits. If I may summarize their experience in one sentence, it would be: The dehumanization is the point.

These folks described how they were treated like criminals and frauds; evaluated by unqualified medical professionals; judged by people who had no idea what their disability entailed; and how they spent money they didn’t have on lawyers just to access basic ADA protections.

Keep reading.

[whenweallvote]

Voting should be accessible for all of us. 🙌 Passed in 1990 with strong bipartisan support, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities.

For 34 years, the #ADA has protected communities throughout the U.S. and works to ensure people with disabilities have a full and equal opportunity to vote in every election.

Make sure that you are registered to vote today at weall.vote/register. #DisabilityPrideMonth

[cashthecomposer]

Just so other Americans know, service dogs do *not* need to be wearing gear that says "service animal", nor do they need papers, nor training from any specific entity.

All they need is training to do at least *one* task that serves to aid an individual with their disability. That's it. This training can come from anyone, anywhere, you can even train them yourself, that right is specifically noted by the ADA.

They must be well behaved and 100% under control, and potty trained. If they are at all disruptive to others in either regard, they can be asked to leave, and you must comply, though you can come back without the animal. A fear of dogs or allergy to dogs is not a valid reason for someone to turn you away. Patrons must be accommodated, both those with the dogs, and those with the related issues. You may not be isolated or otherwise treated differently from other patrons.

People working can ask only two questions to confirm that the dog is a service animal:

(1) is the dog a service animal required because of a disability, and

(2) what work or task has the dog been trained to perform.

That's it. If you refuse to answer, you will be asked to leave, and you must comply. These two questions are the only questions that you *must* answer, any others are not allowed: they cannot ask about the person’s disability, require medical documentation, require a special identification card or training documentation for the dog, or ask that the dog demonstrate its ability to perform the work or task.

You will still be charged for any damages caused by the animal.

Hope that clears up the many misunderstandings I see. I have a service dog, and I'm happy to answer any other questions anybody might have about how this whole thing works.

Thanks for reading, here's a sleepy dog tax as a reward for making it this far.

[chronicallycouchbound]

The elevator in my ADA “accessible” building is broken. It has been for days. No word on when it’ll be fixed.

The fire alarms just went off, briefly, then stopped. There is no evacuation plan. Today is a bad pain day, it’s raining and I had to go grocery shopping (including going up and down some steps) with my in home care worker earlier. I could maybe get to and down the stairs by myself. Maybe. I don’t know if I could get my partner’s cat out with me (I would do my damn best though).

I have neighbors who also are wheelchair users, some who are in heavy powerchairs who live on the upper floors. Me and those neighbors haven’t spoken much outside of basic pleasantries by the mailboxes over the years— I think we’re all housebound. We are effectively strangers but we have shared cries for help. I know their screams and they know mine. Intimate terror.

The alarms have stopped and as of right now I am safe. My neighbors are safe.

I’m focusing on trying to catch my breath and lower my heart rate back to a safe range. I can’t stress enough how traumatic it is to be disabled in an inaccessible world.

[bun-parade]

Is ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) just a farce that's supposed to make us feel like the government actually gives a shit about people with disabilities? Cuz after talking to a lawyer, I found out you can disclose your disability to your employer, fill out all the necessary ADA forms for them, and they can and will still deny you accommodations. And then they can and will find any reason to fire you because you've told them they need to put more resources into you. According to the lawyer, ADA does not protect you from being fired for your disability if the employer says that your disability negatively impacts your ability to do the job.

For example, I was diagnosed with ADHD in October of 2022. Got a new job that November, disclosed my ADHD in January of 2023, and then was fired within 2 weeks of disclosing. They used the ADA questionnaire form to prove that I couldn't do the job. My training was never completed, and because of that (and ADHD that I had only just started medicating for), I made a big mistake and someone else caught it before I could. Almost cost the company a lot of money.

All the lawyers I spoke to said I didn't have a case because I made that 1 big mistake. It didn't matter that they outright denied my accommodation request from my psychiatrist. It didn't matter that they never finished my training and set me up for failure. Because I made 1 mistake not even 3 months into my new position, and because I had essentially given them a form that said I couldn't do the job without accommodations, they were within their right to fire me.

It's now almost August 2023 and I still have not found a new job. So what the fuck is the point of ADA?

Update: Finally landed a decent sounding job! I'm not going to disclose my disability this time. At least, not officially with HR.

[bursting-at-the-seems]

Housing Disability Discrimination Support

Hi everyone,

I'm reaching out to share my experience with my LL and to seek advice or support as I believe I am experiencing disability discrimination.

Questions:

Am I on the right track? Are they in violation?

What to I do next?

Can I represent myself? Do I need an attorney?

Is it time to file state and federal reports?

Know of an AZ attorney who can help?

Summary:

I've been facing significant issues with my landlord (LL) regarding delayed disability accommodations and incorrect billing. Despite requesting accommodations over three months ago, they has not resolved the issue. Additionally they have made billing errors, including unauthorized charges and fees that are connected to my accommodation request, and they have failed to communicate effectively. Additionally, their legal counsel has used ableist language and derailed conversations about accommodations, seemingly to discourage me from pursuing my rights; I also think they are misrepresenting the law. This situation has caused undue hardship, and I believe their actions may constitute harassment and discrimination under the Fair Housing Act (FHA), Americans with Disability Act, and Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (ARLTA). At this point I am prepared to take legal action if necessary and am seeking advice or support from others who may have faced similar issues.

Context:

- I and two roommates have lived here for 4 years. In December, my symptoms got worse, and I was diagnosed with chronic conditions. We have been in an ADA unit for 3 of the 4 years.

- I pay for a garage, one roommate pays for a carport, and the other utilizes the free parking option. There is no ADA parking on the shortest route to our ADA dwelling. Free ADA parking spaces are not accessible to me due to having to cross a parking lot and other spaces or walk through a handful of hallways.

- Many tenants complain of a lack of parking and often need to park far from dwellings, park illegally, in another’s paid spot, or leave the complex to park elsewhere.

- All dwellings aside from ADA units have top-loading washers. E-check payments can only have 2 fails before being revoked. During my flare of symptoms and unexpected medical costs, we had two fails. Our first two in 4 years.

- This is a privately owned complex with more than 4 units, built in 2009. AZ has one-party consent recording laws. LL office has a history of not answering the phone.

Timeline:

April:

-Concern (confidential per agreement)

-During this concern I began learning about my rights with regards to my disabilities

-Concern resolved

-Accommodations requested

-documentation submitted (doctors note, state issued Handicap Card)

-Maintenance staff states it would be easy to provide top loading washer, could do it right away

May:

-Attorney pushback need new medical note (dr signature not seen), states ADA doesn’t apply, doesn’t understand nexus

-New Medical Note submitted

-Detailed explanation o f nexus over and above required

-Lawyer states LL Not obligated to pay for modifications

-Approves some modifications at my expense

-Approves reinstatement of my ability to make echeck payments, one additional chance only

-Does not approve transition to top loading washer or elevating washer per doctors note or accessible parking

-LL legal rep implies I should be grateful for the upgrade despite stating why it is not accessible for me

-LL legal rep states ADA has no relevance

-LL states they have other top loading machines available but don’t want to have to deal with/ store our front loading.

-LL legal rejects accessible washer and dryer accommodation and accessible parking does not offer alternative solution

-LL states they will have maintenance build block under washer to raise it despite LL legal rep decline (this has been provided)

-LL legal rep states keep paying for garage or use covered parking space, despite covered spot irrelevance as it is another tenants

June:

-payed June invoice via e-check since ability reinstated (documented)

-Lease on dwelling needs to be renewed at the end of month, in reviewing contract notice garage rent has increased by ~67%

-Called City of Gilbert to review ada parking codes, informed that if in an ADA unit FHA states that there must be an ada parking space on shortest route to dwelling. Recorded call.

-Emailed regarding lease renewal and ongoing parking discussion pushing back on increase and restating my request for accessible parking accommodation

-LL legal rep states there is no such thing as an ADA unit, despite the property management referring to it as it and it being a colloquially accepted term.

-LL rep states they do not see why I need accessible parking when I pay for a garage, and we have a covered spot and nothing LL needs to do. That the city is incorrect.

-Push back on this, reexplain that I would give up my garage if g tr here was a free accessible parking option and once again that the covered spot belongs to another tenant.

- nearing lease deadline, reached out asking if we can sign bur leave the garage terms out until resolved or have an extension without fee

-Followed up again with no response onexpiring lease options, highlighting unresolved disability accommodations initially requested in April (over 3 months without resolution).

- LL acknowledged the need for review and suggested a month-to-month (MTM) option at no extra cost until disputes over increased garage rent and the request for accessible parking are resolved.(Documented)

- Received recurring payment reminder, states billing amounts may change based on account balance, account balance is controlled by LL

- while not required as auto pay established, checked ledger around 10pm on 6/30 and saw an amount of $99.76. (Documented)

July:

- In July 1 discovered LL increased the bill and auto-billed $2,943.81, including fees previously agreed not to charge (MTM fee and disputed garage cost).

- Called LLtwice, no response.

- Visited the leasing office with roommate 1; charges were adjusted but a refund was refused. LL assistant manager (am) asserted that only a credit for the following month could be issued, leaving us without $500 in our budget. LLAM said, “It’s not fair but that’s how it is.” Suggested we stop check if we needed another solution. The conversation was recorded.

- Emailed LL with an update.

- Called the bank and was informed of a $30 fee for stopping the check.

- Called LL and spoke with LLAM she stated LL would not cover the canceled check fee. Reminded LLAM this issue arose due to LL oversight and they should bear the fees. -Discussed an alternative solution of letting the check bounce, which LLAM confirmed would not incur a fee and would allow continued e-check payments per the accommodation terms, without a late fee. This call was witnessed by another resident.

- Emailed LL to summarize the call and communicated that we would not return from our holiday until July 7 and would make the payment once there was confirmation that the check had not gone through.

- LL acknowledged the situation, mentioned a grace period for late fees but incorrectly stated that we chose to make an overpayment.

-July 4 Leasing office closed.

-July 8 Received notice that the check was rejected by SanTan upon our return from holiday, attempted payment but was unable to do so online, called the office but was unable to connect with staff.

-July 9 Attempted payment again and found additional fees despite agreements from LL,LLAM

- Received a threatening eviction notice on the door with no prior communication from the leasing office.

-Emailed LL all the above, proving that we did not choose to make this payment; it resulted from LL error in not updating the system per the agreement to not charge for MTM or the disputed garage fee. The auto payment was triggered by LL incorrect managing of account balance despite stating we would not be charged fees and late payment was due to LLAM not following through with commitments on being able to make e-check payment and no fees.

-July Three calls to the office from various residents of 1086 went unanswered.

- Sent an email to LL seeking resolution.

- Follow-up emails from LL and LLAM stating they will get back to us

- Conversation with LL over the phone, who inaccurately asserted that the overpayment was our mistake and held us responsible for all fees. Clarified that the June 30 and July 1 amounts were both incorrect, and the automated payments were managed by LL. Call recorded.

- Left a voicemail for LL corporate office

- Paid July rent, excluding disputed fees and deducting $10 for the cashier check charge that was only needed to be obtained due to LL Error. LL spoke to other roommates incorrectly stating they didn’t understand why I chose to over pay. Roommate 2 states, auto payment controlled by them, and we had checked which we should not have needed to do -no one is checking their Spotify auto payments - recorded

- Submitted formal complaint for delayed accommodation and billing error highlighting the above information

- LL said was not needed as they had been communicating and that the billing and requests are a separate issue - says accepted partial payment as curtesy

- LL legal rep responds to earlier email, not formal complaint, and again rejects accessible parking accommodation, says not needed despite documentation, to keep paying or use other tenants spot, no other option provided, states rate increase is not discriminatory, says this is the last of the matter.

-LL states we are to sign lease by Aug 1, no reinstatement of epayment, offered to cover $80 of fees and we are responsible for over $250

-LL sends this in three separate emails

- Forwards Formal complaint to senior LL corporate staff, LL legal rep, and LL. States that billing errors and the 3 month delay in accommodation are inherently linked as the LL said no fee to extend while we sort through accommodation, then failed to ensure their billing was correct and put burden on me.

Key Points:

Untimely Resolution of Accommodation Request: Over three months have passed since the initial request for disability accommodations, an excessive and legally questionable delay under the Fair Housing Act.

Potential Delay Tactics: It appears that LL may have deliberately delayed the accommodation process, which coincided with our lease renewal period. This delay tactic is concerning as it suggests an attempt to force us out of the premises, especially given the sudden notice of five days provided after their billing mistake.

Legal Counsel's Conduct: LL legal counsel has repeatedly used ableist language and derailed conversations about accommodations by fixating on irrelevant information and nitpicking colloquial language. This appears to be an intentional strategy to wear out disabled tenants and discourage them from pursuing their rightful accommodations.

Legal Implications: Potential disability discrimination due to unresolved accommodation requests and mishandling of billing.

Definition of Harassment in Housing Context: Harassment in a housing context includes actions that create a hostile living environment, repeated and unreasonable demands, or failure to make necessary accommodations, particularly when these actions are taken against someone because of their membership in a protected class (such as individuals with disabilities).

Legal Case Summary:

LL actions constitute a blatant disregard for Arizona state law and federal housing regulations. Under the Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (ARLTA), landlords are required to maintain fit and habitable premises and make all repairs necessary to keep the premises in a livable condition (A.R.S. § 33-1324). LL repeated billing errors and failure to address accommodations contravene these obligations. Furthermore, under the Fair Housing Act (FHA), it is illegal to discriminate against individuals with disabilities, including failing to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services when such accommodations may be necessary to afford a person with a disability an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling. The excessive delay of over three months in addressing my accommodation request is unreasonable and likely a violation of the FHA. Additionally, the rent increase after the accommodation request, the assertion that paying for accessible parking is the only option, followed by an increase in garage rent (the accessible parking option), and the mishandling of July rent with associated fees and penalties, are all linked and indicative of a pattern of discriminatory and retaliatory behavior by LL. These actions, taken together, create a hostile living environment and impose undue financial and emotional stress potentially constituting harassment. Federal guidelines and best practices indicate that accommodation requests should be acknowledged within 3-5 business days, an interactive process should begin immediately and be completed within 1-2 weeks, and simple modifications should be addressed within a few weeks. The delay of over three months in resolving the request for accessible parking is excessive and fails to meet these standards. Timeline above illustrates LL failure to uphold agreed-upon lease terms and accommodate disability needs regarding accessible parking. Their actions have led to undue financial burden and threats of eviction, potentially violating both the FHA and state law. SanTan's conduct could be construed as harassment and discrimination, subjecting them to significant legal liability.

Action Needed from LL:

Immediate correction of billing errors, waiver of unauthorized fees, reinstatement of e-check payment ability, resolution of the accommodation request, and execution of the lease agreement. LL must address communication shortcomings and ensure compliance with the FHA and the Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act to prevent further legal consequences, including potential lawsuits for discrimination, harassment, and breach of contract.Failure to comply to result in legal action seeking damages, including punitive damages, for the distress and financial losses incurred due to LL unlawful practices. We are prepared to pursue all available remedies under state and federal law to protect rights and ensure fair treatment.

Any advice, support, suggestions on the above much appreciated!

[lesbianworlock]

Emailed tumblr support (again) about the fact that their ad’s autoplaying temporarily disables my hearing aids, and that their only solution being “pay for ad free” was in direct violation of the ada. I shouldn’t have to pay for my medical devices not to be turned off temporarily. Especially because I don’t mind seeing ads, I only mind when they interfere with my medical devices. Anyway, mentioning the ada seems to have done something because they actually got back to me really quickly this time, as opposed to not at all the past few times.

Anyway they gave me free premium for a month and said they forwarded it to the ad team to resolve. Could more people start reporting this issue through the tumblr.com/help contact support feature if you also have it? You’ll have to scroll to the bottom of the page, but if ads autoplay at all on your tumblr mobile, please please please put in a support ticket about ads autoplaying on your app. The more people that do, the more likely they are to get rid of ads autoplaying sound. I also report every ad that auto plays or turns my hearing aids off for being malicious, and I suggest starting to do that as well!

This issue completely renders me unable to hear for anywhere from 5-10 seconds by turning off my hearing aids or playing the ads through them, even if my sound is off, and that’s absolutely unacceptable. If I’m listening to music through my hearing aids it turns my music off, and then renders me unable to hear until the ad decides I can scroll. I know other people with hearing aids have to be having similar issues, and that even people without hearing aids have a problem with tumblr ads autoplaying, as my non-hearing impaired friends have told me as much. PLEASE take five minutes to put in a support ticket!! You can do it anonymously not linked to your blog and it’s super easy!!!

[bitchesgetriches]

The Social Safety Net for Disabled People Is Broken

In honor of Disability Pride Month, we’ve published a whole month of content related to the intersection of disability and personal finance. Read the first article here! More than anything else in the personal finance sphere (perhaps save taxes, which I have notoriously, uh… fucked up), the social safety net for disabled people is complicated. The idea of researching it thoroughly enough to…

[infamousbrad]

This was hard for me to watch all the way through because it's personal for me. But for the grace of god, that would have been me. As a lifelong crazy person, I've feared institutionalization since I first heard of it 50 years ago.

I am presently on disability for chronic major depression and complex PTSD, after growing up in a chronically abusive household and then, outside the home, surviving a homicide attempt. When I could find ADA-compliant employers I was able to work a successful 30+ year career. I still eventually broke down and, now that I'm drawing disability insurance, I do need support with some regular activities, the ones that overwhelm my coping skills. In my case, my representative payee works for free, as a volunteer with Overland Baptist Church, because in a typical month all I need is 3-4 zoom calls. So it costs the state basically zero dollars for me to live in the real world, and occasionally be as useful as any other retiree, and, important to me (and, one would think, to anybody who believes in the American creed), I am free.

As a lifelong mentally ill person, I have known since I was 12 or 13 that this state, that most states, want me permanently in some kind of prison. If you can't take care of yourself, then you need to be locked up at gunpoint and forced to do as much as you can, right? "Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?"

Except that locking me up would cost the state tens of thousands of dollars per year and get maybe a thousand or so dollars' a year back from labor at gunpoint. Labor I'd undertake at standard wages if I could find an ADA-compliant employer willing to hire a 64 year old, which, yeah, right.

Supportive housing preserves freedom, maximizes employability, and costs not even a tenth of what prison costs (or involuntary commitment, which is just prison with a fancier name and very nearly just as expensive). But supportive housing looks, to stingy people with deadened souls, like an un-earned benefit (as if anybody wanted to live dependent on supportive housing!), and prison/commitment looks like punishing the unworthy, and boy oh boy howdy do (miserable, soul-less) human beings love punishing the unworthy.

(For more details see also Clara Bates, "Missouri is breaking federal law by housing mentally ill in nursing homes, DOJ finds: Majority of Missourians sent to restrictive nursing homes because of mental illness would be better served in a less restrictive setting, a year-and-a-half federal investigation determined," Missouri Independent. June 20th, 2024.)

[yourheartinyourmouth]

I saw your addition to the post about the subtitle inaccuracies on streaming services being illegal and reportable, does that also apply to dubbed media having discrepancies because the subtitles for the original language are reused for the dubbed version? Its a problem with pretty much any anime ive watched on almost every streaming service.

I have auditory processing issues related to my autism, so i often need subtitles but when the subtitles are translated differently compared to the dubbed translation it literally makes the show unwatchable for me

so i am going to preface this by saying that i am by no means an expert, but yes, i believe they do!

according to the ADA, subtitles for dialogue in English have to exactly match the audio, and anything that does not follow that is out of compliance. in any case, i would strongly suggest you report the streaming service for noncompliance.

there are no legal ramifications or repercussions for you if the FCC chooses not to take action, and if they do, you will be helping yourself and millions of other folks (i also have APD and rely on captions).

thanks for reaching out!

[raindropsandstardust-blog]

I am LIVID right now, fuck American public schools

[kirkwallhellmouth]

May her memory be a blessing.

Note: Heumann was Jewish, which means that “rest in peace” is not the respectful way to mourn/recognize her passing.

[an-undercover-bi]

I am having to deal with so much Disability Services bullshit at my university right now so. . .

Here’s a sick academia-related tip for every chronically ill person out there:

Document. Everything. For real.

• Take detailed notes during accessibility-related meetings.

• Print out any accessibility related emails (your emails you send, their emails they send) with the dates clearly specified.

• Record the accessibility meetings themselves*.

It’s also worth noting that simply choosing not to delete the emails you send may not be sufficient depending on the email provider’s policy regarding old emails and how stable your internet connection/access to internet is.

So, paper copies are best.

To keep the emails: print them out, stick them in a folder or a binder and use sticky tabs to label the general subject discussed.

Trust me. This will come in handy.

You have rights. Exercise them.

* Check on your country’s/state’s laws prior to recording others without gathering consent first. These vary by country and locality. In my state—Virginia—it’s a single-party state, so only one “party” [in my case, me] needs to know the meeting is recorded). Make sure you know the laws in your area regarding this before you record.

[wondermutt20]

"The ADA was a wonderful achievement. But it was only the tip of the iceberg. You can pass a law but until you can change society's attitudes, that law won't mean much."

Denise Sherer Jacobson - Writer

[big-sis-jules]

When Your Boss Refuses to Provide Workplace Disability Accommodations.

Recently we asked for a disabilility accomodation at work. Our boss instead gave us an ultimatum: figure it out for ourself by disclosing our disability to our coworkers and begging them to assist, or forfeit our position and take a pay cut to be accomodated.

Well. What The Fuck Do We Do Now?

First we googled our rights. These official US government websites were the most helpful:

Equal Employment Opportunity Comission

Job Accomodation Network

Office of Disability Employment Policy

Our state's Disability Law Center website

In summary, we learned that employers are legally required to accommodate disabilities. They are not required to meet one's request to the letter if it would cause undue hardship, but if they don't, they must carry out an interactive process with the employee to agree on an arrangement. There are conditions they cannot impose upon the employee (a pay cut being one of them!) and reasons that are inadequate for not accepting a request (that there may be complaints from nondisabled coworkers regarding the accommodation is an inadequate reason, for example).

We could have laid the law upon our boss ourself, but considering the direness of the situation we wanted to ensure we had protections against retaliation, such as firing, and be sure our boss gets the memo. So we called our state's Disability Law Office. We explained the situation to the intake specialist and sent supporting documentation (our accommodation request letter from our therapist, our diagnosis paperwork, and an audio recording* of the meeting I had with my bosses wherein she said the things above) to an email she provided. It was supposed to take a week for the case to get picked up; instead it took a week to get approved and 2 more weeks to get picked up. We spent a lot of time calling and getting voicemails in that time, and feeling hopeless with our boss's deadline looming over our head. So we visited the office in person. As soon as we did that, we were able to bypass the front desk lady and met with the Managing Attorney. She got the case assigned to an attorney and the attorney called us within the hour.

Our aim isn't to sue, and we do not want to file a complaint with the EEOC at this point in time. We just to get our attorney to email our boss or something to force her hand. We are currently waiting for him to send us his draft before he sends it to her. We'll update how it goes!

But our lessons learned here are:

if you want something done fast, stop calling or using online portals. visit the office in person.

utilize public services! they are nonprofit, so I'm getting help from an attorney for free!

always ALWAYS get names & contact info of specific personnel, especially if they are higher up the ladder. otherwise you will be stuck with a front desk worker and all the red tape involved with their job blocking your path.

know. your. rights!!!! never let anyone take them away from you, ever!

As always,

Jules & Cecil

* recording audio of someone without their consent is not legal in every state. I'm fortunate it is in mine, because my boss writes nothing down on purpose. be sure you know the laws before following my example!