CIVIL RIGHTS
This page has information on civil rights laws that protect people with disabilities and on how to get legal assistance when your rights have been violated.
News
Virginia to transform system of caring for developmentally disabled, By Anita Kumar, Washington Post, January 26, 2012
Private Sector Bias Charges Hit All-Time High, From the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), January 25, 2012
N.C. to Compensate Victims of Sterilization in 20th Century Eugenics Program, By Susan Donaldson James and Courtney Hutchinson, ABC World News, January 10, 2012
Celebrating 25 Years of the Air Carrier Access Act, From DisabilityBlog, December 07, 2011
Supreme Court to decide if suits can be filed over Medicaid cuts, By Sam Baker, The Hill, October 29, 2011
'Game-changing?' decree calls for Detroit Metro Airport, Delta to modify disabled accessibility, Douglas J. Levy, Michigan Lawyers Weekly, October, 14, 2011
In Deal, Hundreds of Mentally Ill People Will Leave Confinement of Nursing Home, By Anemona Hartocollis, New York Times, September 13, 2011
Celebrating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) at Home and Abroad, By Guest Blogger Judith Heumann, Special Advisor for International Disability Rights, Department of State, Disability Blog, July 25, 2011
DOJ and Enforcement of Integration Mandate in ADA/Olmstead, Information Bulletin #334 from Steve Gold's Treasured Nuggets of Information, July 11, 2011
US Attorney's Civil Rights Symposium, From Jim Cross, Public affairs officer for the U.S. Attorney in the District of Kansas, May 04, 2011
EEOC Announces Final Bipartisan Regulations for the ADA Amendments Act, From the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC), March 24, 2011
Delta Fined for Violating Rules Protecting Air Travelers with Disabilities, From the U.S. Department of Transporation, February 17, 2011
Judge rules Pennsylvania is violating Disabilities Act in dealing with some clients who are mentally disabled, By Matt Miller, Harrisburg Patriot-News, February 07, 2011
Care At Home: A New Civil Right, By Joseph Shapiro, National Public Radio (NPR), December 02, 2010
Olivia Welter, Other Severely Disabled Adults Win Round In Court Battle, By Joseph Shapiro, National Public Radio, November 22, 2010
AMC theaters agree to give wheelchair users better seating options, By Greg Hack, Kansas City Star, November 19, 2010
Hilton Agrees To Boost Disability Accommodations At Hotels, By Michelle Diament, Disability Scoop, November 09, 2010
Justice Department Reaches Agreement with Norwegian Cruise Line Over ADA Violations, From the US Department of Justice, October 25, 2010
Judge approves historic agreement to better serve individuals with mental illness in Illinois, From the ACLU of Illinois, Equip for Equality, Access Living, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP, September 30, 2010
EEOC Files Trio of New Cases under Amended Americans with Disabilities Act, From the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), September 09, 2010
DOT Fines AirTran Airways for Violating Rights of Travelers with Disabilities, From The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), August 30, 2010
More disabled workers file discrimination claims in 2009, By Marisol Bello, USA TODAY, August 20, 2010
The ADA at 20: Half-Empty, Half-Full or Both?, By Douglas Lathrop, New Mobility Magazine, July 2010
Advocacy Organizations and Informational Resources
The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law uses a coordinated approach of litigation, policy analysis, coalition-building, public information and technical support for local advocates to advance community membership, promote self-determination, end the punishment of people with mental illnesses for the system's failures and preserve the rights of people with mental disabilities.
The American Bar Association's Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law seeks to promote the ABA's commitment to justice and the rule of law for persons with mental, physical, and sensory disabilities and to promote their full and equal participation in the legal profession.
DisabilityInfo.gov is the federal government's one-stop Web site for information of interest to people with disabilities, their families, employers, service providers and many others. This section of DisabilityInfo.gov provides links to information on the ADA and other federal civil rights laws pertaining to people with disabilities, their families, employers and community members.
The Disability Law Lowdown Project is a set of podcasts that provide up-to-date information on the Americans with Disabilities Act and related disability laws. You can listen to the podcasts, or read the transcripts, on the website or you can download them to your MP3 player or print copies of the transcripts.
The Disability Rights Center of Kansas (DRC), is the Official Protection and Advocacy System for Kansas; empowered by federal law to advocate for the civil and legal rights of Kansans with disabilities. DRC advocates for the rights of Kansans with disabilities under state or federal laws and educates policymakers on needed improvements to the law and public policy.
The Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF), founded in 1979, is a leading national civil rights law and policy center directed by individuals with disabilities and parents who have children with disabilities. DREDF's mission is to advance the civil and human rights of people with disabilities through legal advocacy, training, education, and public policy and legislative development.
The Kansas Attorney General's Office, promoting human dignity through justice with compassion and professional excellence.
The Kansas Human Rights Commission investigates complaints alleging discrimination and conducts public education programs designed to prevent discrimination.
The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) Law and Advocacy Center (LAC) works to educate, advocate, and litigate on behalf of and to empower deaf and hard of hearing people.
The National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) serves as a national resource center dedicated to the prevention of elder mistreatment. NCEA disseminates elder abuse information to professionals and the public, and provides technical assistance and training to states and to community-based organizations.
The National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) is the nonprofit membership organization for the federally mandated Protection and Advocacy (P&A) Systems and Client Assistance Programs (CAP) for individuals with disabilities. Collectively, the P&A/CAP network is the largest provider of legally based advocacy services to people with disabilities in the United States.
Publications
ADA Questions and Answers. A 31-page booklet giving an overview of the ADA's requirements for ensuring equal opportunity for persons with disabilities in employment, State and local government services, public accommodations, commercial facilities, and transportation, and requiring the establishment of TDD/telephone relay services. (Spanish, Cambodian, Chinese, Hmong, Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Tagalog and Vietnamese editions available from the ADA Information Line.)
ADA: Know Your Rights Returning Service Members - This publication is designed to inform US military personnel who became disabled while on active duty of their rights under the ADA and provide information on where to go to get assistance.
Additional Monitoring of Polling Places Could Further Improve Accessibility (GAO-09-9410), Sepember 2009 - This General Accountability Office (GAO) report is based on a national survey of polling places during the 2008 election assessing both physical and technological access. The report found that compared to 2000, the proportion of polling places without potential impediments increased and almost all polling places had an accessible voting system. However, 46 percent of polling places had an accessible voting system that could pose a challenge to certain voters with disabilities, such as voting stations that were not arranged to accommodate voters using wheelchairs. (Read highlights of the report)
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is a human rights treaty that sets out the obligations of countries that ratify it to promote, protect, fulfill, and ensure the rights of persons with disabilities. The United Nations adopted the CRPD in 2006. As of May 9, 2011, 99 countries have ratified the treaty and 148 countries have signed it. As of this writing, the U.S. has not ratified the CRPD.
The Disability Law Handbook from the DBTAC Southwest ADA Center provides information on rights and obligations under several federal disability laws, including an overview of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
A Guide to Disability Rights Laws. A 21-page booklet that provides a brief overview of ten Federal laws that protect the rights of people with disabilities and provides information about the federal agencies to contact for more information. (Spanish, Cambodian, Chinese, Hmong, Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Tagalog and Vietnamese editions available from the ADA Information Line.)
Disability Rights Laws (HTML)
Disability Rights Laws (PDF)
Disability Rights Laws (En Español)
Ill-Prepared: Health Care’s Barriers for People with Disabilities, November 2011 – This Equal Rights Center (ERC) report reveals that less than 25 percent of medical service providers they investigated were compliant with accessibility standards required under federal law.
Statement of the Department of Justice on Enforcement of the Integration Mandate of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Olmstead v. L.C., U. S. Department of Justice, June 22, 2011 - DOJ has created this technical assistance guide to assist individuals in understanding their rights and public entities in understanding their obligations under the ADA and Olmstead. (HTML version)
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is an international human rights instrument of the United Nations intended to protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities. Parties to the Convention are required to promote, protect, and ensure the full enjoyment of human rights by persons with disabilities and ensure that they enjoy full equality under the law.