Demand Our Access

Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal or financial advice. Applying the law and/or determining investment strategies depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal and/or financial advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal and/or financial advice. ABLE Accounts The Stephen Beck Jr. Achieving a Better Life Experience Act (ABLE Act) allows people with qualifying disabilities to establish tax-free financial accounts. I'm going to answer the questions I had about ABLE accounts when I began researching them. When I discovered what I am going to share with you, I couldn't wait to create my own ABLE account. I will take the questions in the order I believe makes the most sense. If you have any comments about ABLE accounts, feel free to contact me at Jonathan@DemandOurAccess.com or fill out the contact form on the Demand Our Access website. How do ABLE accounts affect Social Security Supplemental Income (SSI)? The most important thing about ABLE accounts for recipients of SSI to know is that the amount contained in your ABLE account up to $100,000 is exempt from SSI's $2,000 asset limit. This means that a person on SSI can actually save some money and use ABLE account funds to pay qualifying expenses without being too concerned about an asset limit. If the beneficiary is getting SSI, they can't have $100,000 in their ABLE account. If the value of an ABLE account reaches $100,000, the cash payments are stopped. As soon as the ABLE account is under $100,000, the beneficiary of the ABLE account can collect SSI payments without having to reapply for them. If I have an ABLE account, will I lose Medicaid? ABLE accounts (no matter how much they are worth) don't impact Medicaid eligibility. Even if SSI cash payments are suspended because an ABLE account hit $100,000, health care covered by Medicaid won't be lost. Will an ABLE account impact SNAP benefits? ABLE accounts are excluded from asset limits when someone applies for and/or gets SNAP benefits. How are ABLE accounts funded? Anyone can contribute to an ABLE account. Any money contributed to an ABLE account can't be deducted from the contributor's federal taxes. Some states do offer tax deductions for at least a portion if not the entire amount contributed to an ABLE account during the year. How much can be ConTributed to an ABLE Account Each Year? To keep this from getting too technical, I will tell you that generally the annual contribution to an ABLE account is limited to $18,000 for the 2024 calendar year. The amount that can be contributed annually is tied to the exclusion related to gift taxes. That means it will increase almost every year. The annual contribution limit covers every dollar contributed to the ABLE account during the year. So, if you contributed $10,000 of your own money and your mother contributed $8,000 your account would reach its annual $18,000 contribution limit for this year. There is an exception to the annual contribution limit for those people who do not have retirement plans through their work. Since that's not a typical situation, I'm not covering it here. But you should be aware of the fact that if you do not have a retirement plan through work, you could contribute more to your ABLE account than the typical contribution limit. How can funds withdrawn from ABLE accounts be spent? Any funds withdrawn from an ABLE account must be spent on a qualified disability expense (QDE). Qualified disability expenses can be broken down into 12 broad categories: Education Housing Transportation Employment training and support Assistive technology and related services Health

Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Introduction This is the second part of our two-part look at Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (Title I). In the first episode dedicated to Title I, I covered important definitions under Title I. Some of the concepts discussed in this episode may be easier to understand if you have some familiarization with the material from the previous episode. Still you should learn importnat things from this episode even if you did not review the previous episode. As I said last time, there is no way to cover this kind of material without using words like impaired that many of us in the disability community don't use. I'm using words like impaired here because those are the words used in the law. Whether we like it or not, when communicating about the law we are required to use terms that are outdated. Maybe someday the ADA will be revisited and the updated law will provide for meaningful enforcement and be written in modern language. For now, we have to discuss the law as it has been written. Our discussion is based on the rules defining compliance with Title I as set forth by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 29 C.F.R. § 29.1630. To make this presentation easier to follow, I'm not going to mention the exact citations to different sections of the Code of Federal Regulations. As always, I will link to the individual sections when this episode is posted to the Demand Our Access website. In listening to the previous episode, I decided that the term "covered entity", while used in the Code of Federal Regulations, may be too confusing for people just learning about Title I. So, I have decided to replace the term "covered entity" with the term "employer". While I'm doing this to make the presentation easier to follow, it must be remembered that not all employers are covered by Title I; for example, if an employer employs fewer than 15 employees that employer is not covered by Title I. Important Concepts Under Title I Discrimination Prohibited It is unlawful for an employer to discriminate on the basis of disability against a qualified individual in regard to the following: Recruitment, advertising, and job application procedures Hiring, upgrading, promotion, award of tenure, demotion, transfer, layoff, termination, right of return from layoff and rehiring Rates of pay or any other form of compensation and changes in compensation Job assignments, job classifications, organizational structures, position descriptions, lines of progression, and seniority lists Leaves of absence, sick leave, or any other leave Fringe benefits available by virtue of employment, whether or not administered by the covered entity Selection and financial support for training, including: apprenticeships, professional meetings, conferences and other related activities and selection for leaves of absence to pursue training Activities sponsored by a covered entity, including social and recreational programs Any other term, condition, or privilege of employment The term discrimination includes but is not limited to the acts described in 29 C.F.R. § 1630.4 through 29 C.F.R. § 1630.13. Even though I won't mention those citations, I will now, hopefully, help you begin to become familiar with the types of disability discrimination discussed by the EEOC in those sections of the Code of Federal Regulations. Limiting, Classifying, and Segregating

This episode is our first of at east two episodes dedicated to Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Title I is critical to those of us with disabilities, because it covers employment. This episode focuses on important definitions under Title I. Some of this will be review for those of you who reviewed the posts on Titles II and III. Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Introduction During the month of January I will be covering employment of people with disabilities. Specifically, I will be covering the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission' (EEOC) regulations describing what compliance with Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act means. The rules on Title I compliance developed by the EEOC are set forth in 29 C.F.R. § 1630. To make this easier to follow, I'm not going to review all of the citations in this episode. As always, links to the information covered here will be provided on the Demand Our Access website in the show notes accompanying this episode. Given the amount of information in Title I compliance, I have divided the material up so it fits in two episodes. I'm also hoping that by leaving some time in both episodes there will be enough time for questions and comments. If you are not participating in the live version, you can email me at Jonathan@DemandOurAccess.com with any questions or comments you may have. You can also fill out the contact form at Demand Our Access. Even though I don't like the word "impairment" the reality is it is used in the law and every publication about the law. So, it is not possible to produce a presentation about Title I that doesn't contain lots of uses of the word "impairment" and other words many of us with disabilities don't use. I will not be covering every aspect of Title I. Specifically, I'm not going to cover things that largely or completely relate only to employers, drug abuse, and additional concepts that I don't believe are relevant to most people with disabilities. Before getting into the material under Title I, I want to let you know that some of the material covered in this episode will be a review for those of you who have followed my presentations on Titles II and III. I'm repeating myself in areas like defining a disability so that people who have not reviewed the material on Titles II and III will get what they need from my coverage of Title I. That being said, I will be getting into concepts that are unique to Title I during this episode. If you have heard my presentations on titles II and III, there will be new information for you in this episode. Title I Important Things to Know For an employer to be covered byTitle I, it must have at least 15 employees. The United States government is not subject to the provisions of Title I; however, Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 provides similar protections for federal positions. Will be covering sections of the Rehabilitation Act later this year. To be clear, state and local governments are covered by Title I. If you work or you are interested in working for a state or local government, what I am covering here applies to you. Private membership clubs (excluding labor organizations) are not covered by Title I. Religious institutions are covered by Title I. but they may give preference to people of their religion. Members of the clergy and people perform essentially religious functions are excluded from the protections of Title I. Individuals with Disabilities Title I,

In this episode I cover using Uber and Lyft with a disability. Although the focus of the episode is service animals, what is covered applies to other issues of disability discrimination too.

In this episode I demonstrate the Demand Our Access website to show people how to use it. I also recap our first year of Demand Our Access and look ahead to next year. This episode was recorded live during the live broadcast done on ACB Media. This version has been lightly edited from what happened live to make it a bit easier to follow. None of the substance has been changed.

The Episode In this episode, Desiree and I discuss a terrible experience we had with two moving companies while Desiree was moving to Oregon from Texas. We also discuss the rights parents with disabilities have to be accommodated by their children's schools and provide tips in getting accommodations from schools.

Introduction In this episode, Desiree and I discuss filing complaints under Title III of the ADA (Title III). Specifically, we walk through filing a complaint with the Department of Justice against Chase bank because of the inaccessibility of its online mortgage services. This is the text of what Desiree and I filed with the Department of Justice against Chase bank. Note, this text is a bit different than what you will hear if you listen to the podcast. Even though this text is a bit different, the points made during the podcast are the same. Text of Our Complaint Against Chase My wife and I are both blind. We decided to use Chase for our mortgage. We chose Chase because their personal banking website and mobile app are reasonably accessible. We discovered Chase’s commitment to accessibility does not extend to its online mortgage services. Their mortgage portal to read and sign documents is almost entirely inaccessible. Neither my wife nor I was able to read any of the documents we needed to sign until we had already signed them. Eventually, we needed to find a different mortgage company. We couldn’t enter into a years-long mortgage based on documents we could not read until we signed indicating we had read and agreed with the terms. Prior to choosing another company, we tried several times, over email and phone, to get Chase to grant a reasonable accommodation for their inaccessible online mortgage services. Without my consent, Chase sent volumes of braille documents to my house. I did not want braille as an accommodation, because I didn’t want to read all of that in braille. Additionally, had I read all of the documents in braille I still would have been unable to sign them independently. Another issue with braille as an accommodation was the reality that Chase would not be able to regularly provide braille in a timely enough manner to enable us to place offers on homes. We needed an accommodation that would address the inaccessibility of the documents, our inability to easily sign the documents, and the timely nature of the mortgage process. Chase did not have a process in place that would enable me to speak with someone who understands the ADA and reasonable accommodations. The first accommodation they offered was to have me pay an attorney to read the documents to us. Due to our having to leave Chase, we suffered the following harms: our credit scores went down because the replacement mortgage company ran hard checks on our credit; we lost the money we would have gotten for using the real estate agent we found through Chase; and we lost days and dealt with lots of aggravation both in trying to address the lack of access provided by Chase and the need to begin the mortgage process from scratch. We may also wound up with a higher rate because of the time we lost when we should have been able to lock in a rate. I am filing this complaint because Chase, like many businesses, does not understand that all of their online services must be accessible. DOJ could do a lot to making web content covered under Title III accessible by holding a company like Chase accountable for the harm it causes by failing to make all of its online services . But Chase, because they promote their accessibility, is especially bad for not actually being accessible. We have dozens of emails to prove this complaint.

Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Title III Continued General Requirements Under Title III Denial of Participation Under the ADA,, a person with a disability cannot be denied service simply because they have a disability. Equality in Participation The ADA mandates an equal opportunity to participate in or benefit from the goods and services offered by a place of public accommodation, but does not guarantee that an individual with a disability must achieve an identical result or level of achievement as persons without disabilities. A person who uses a wheelchair cannot be denied access to an exercise class because they cannot do all of the exercises. Separate Benefit and Integrated Setting The major principles behind the ADA's efforts to provide people with disabilities access to mainstream opportunities are as follows: Individuals with disabilities must be integrated to the maximum extent appropriate. Separate programs are permitted where necessary to ensure equal opportunity. A separate program must be appropriate to the particular individual. Individuals with disabilities cannot be excluded from the regular program, or required to accept special services or benefits. Separate Programs A public accommodation may offer separate or special programs necessary to provide individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity to benefit from the programs. Such programs must, however, be specifically designed to meet the needs of the individuals with disabilities for whom they are provided. Example Typically, an art museum does not allow patrons to touch exhibits. Working with a local affiliate of ACB, the art museum arranges a special tour for blind people where the touching of certain exhibits is allowed. Right to Participate in the Regular Program Even if a separate program is offered to people with disabilities, a public accommodation cannot deny people with disabilities the right to participate in the regular program, unless some other limitation on providing access exists. Example Even if a local ACB affiliate has arranged a special tour for blind people where the touching of some exhibits will be allowed, an art museum cannot force a blind person to take the separate tour. If the blind person wishes, they must be allowed to take any tour offered by the museum. Modifications in the Regular Program When a public accommodation offers a special program but a person with a disability chooses to participate in the regular program, the public accommodation is likely to have to provide modifications to the regular program to enable the person with a disability to participate. The fact that a separate program is offered may be a factor in determining the extent of the obligations under the regular program, but only if the separate program is appropriate to the needs of the particular individual with a disability. Discrimination Based on Association A public accommodation may not discriminate against individuals or entities because of their known relationship or association with persons who have disabilities. Retaliation or Coercion Individuals who exercise their rights under the ADA, or assist others in exercising their rights, are protected from retaliation. The prohibition against retaliation or coercion applies broadly to any individual or entity that seeks to prevent an individual from exercising his or her rights or to retaliate against him or her for having exercised thos...

Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Introduction The Department of Justice (DOJ) has a page where you can read the entire text of the ADA, including the updates made to the law in 2008. Information about Title III can be found in a DOJ publication called Americans with Disabilities Act Title III Regulations. DOJ also published an ADA Title III Technical Assistance Manual that’s a bit outdated but still a good resource. I have linked to all of the resources referenced here in the post for this episode on the Demand Our Access website. I couldn’t possibly cover the entirety of Title III in one episode. So, I have chosen to omit subjects like commercial facilities, construction standards, and health insurance because those topics are too technical to cover as part of an overview of Title III. If you need information about those topics, the resources mentioned in this episode have good information. I'm not discussing service animals under Title III because I discussed it in the episode called Service Animals Under Titles II and III. Even though I don't like the word "impairment" the reality is it is used in the law and every publication about the law. So, it is not possible to produce a presentation about Title III that doesn't contain lots of uses of the word "impairment" and other words many of us with disabilities don't use. Unlike in previous episodes, I'm not going to include specific citations to the Code of Federal Regulations. I'm leaving out those citations to try and make the material easier to follow and understand. The trade off will be that I'm not going to provide direct citations you can use to check my work and learn more than I can cover. But all of the citations to relevant sections in the Code of Federal Regulations can be accessed through the resources I have linked to in this episode. If anyone is willing, I would appreciate feedback as to whether you like this kind of information presented with or without citations. Title III Coverage General Provisions Title III covers: Places of public accommodation Commercial facilities Examination and courses related to applications, licensing, certification, or credentialing for secondary or postsecondary education, professional, or trade, purposes Title III also covers private entities primarily engaged in transporting people, but those regulations are produced by the Department of Transportation and will not be discussed in this episode. Public Accommodations The whole range of Title III requirements apply to entities the Department of Justice calls public accommodations. In order to be considered a public accommodation an entity must be private and it must own, lease, lease to, or operate a place of public accommodation. Defining a Place of Public Accommodation A place of public accommodation is a facility whose operations: Affect commerce And fall within one of the following 12 categories: Places of lodging (e.g., inns, hotels, motels) (except for owner-occupied establishments renting fewer than six rooms Establishments serving food or drink (e.g., restaurants and bars Places of exhibition or entertainment (e.g., motion picture houses, theaters, concert halls, stadiums Places of public gathering (e.g., auditoriums, convention centers, lecture halls Sales or rental establishments (e.g., bakeries, grocery stores, hardware stores, shopping centers Service establishments (e.g., laundromats, dry-cleaners, banks,

Episode Information This episode is a demonstration of me commenting on the Department of Justice's proposed rule on web accessibility under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you're interested in commenting, please visit this page on Regulations.gov. Note, comments must be submitted by midnight EDT on October third. If you comment, I would love to hear from you. If you're interested, we may even be able to discuss your comments on the live version of the podcast broadcast on ACB Community. The Comment Submitted During the Episode Here is the text of the comment I submitted during the demonstration of the process for commenting on the proposed rule for web accessibility under Title II. The final rule must ensure that state and local governments understand that adding so-called accessibility overlays does not mean sites and/or pages comply with the rule or result in accessible websites. As a blind person who navigates the web with a screen reader, I hate websites that use so-called accessibility overlays. They don’t work well. They make everything load slower. They don’t behave consistently. They have different levels of capability. Most importantly they give site owners and creators the false idea that their site is accessible. Overlays do not ensure PDFs, PowerPoints, visual representations, and more ways of providing information on the web are accessible when that information is uploaded to websites as downloadable content or content designed to open in another window or tab. Overlays also do nothing about third-party portals and other external content that state and local governments require you to use to access their activities, programs, and services. My water company has a so-called accessibility overlay on their site. I can’t pay my bill online without guessing at where information is to be entered because the third-party portal they use is not accessible. I find their payment portal so aggravating that I call to pay my bill and sacrifice the convenience of online payment options available to their customers who do not use screen readers. When I encounter a site with a so-called accessibility overlay, I know the site’s owners and creators aren’t really interested in providing me as a disabled person the integrated web experience mandated by Title II. Unless the final rule clarifies that so-called accessibility overlays do not provide compliance, I’m afraid many state and local governments will use overlays instead of doing what the law expects and updating their sites so that those of us with disabilities have the same integrated user experience as do people without disabilities. In the process, many more aspects of doing business with local governments may become more inaccessible or fail to result in the accessibility changes hoped for through the promulgation of this rule.

Note on This Recording Thanks to technical difficulties, this episode was recorded from the live version of the podcast played on ACB Community. So, it could not be edited to the usual standards of the episodes presented here. Still, the information is accurate and useful. ! Section 508 Here are a few things in Section 508 that should be kept in mind.. Section 508 applies to information and communication technology (ICT) procured, maintained, developed, or used by federal agencies covered by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act of 1934 as implemented by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). When Section 508 is updated, the law mandates the updated or revised standards be incorporated in procurement processes within six months of adoption. Section 508 applies to covered hardware, software, electronic content, and support documentation. Under Section 508, all covered web and non-web content and software—including websites, intranets, Word documents, PDFs, and project management software is largely required to conform to WCAG 2.0 levels A and AA. Section 508 covers all external content and the following nine categories of internal content: emergency notifications decisions related to administrative claims or proceedings an internal or external program or policy announcement a notice of benefits, program eligibility, employment opportunity, or personnel action a formal acknowledgement of receipt survey questionnaires a template or form educational or training materials or intranet content designed as a web page. Agencies had one year from adoption of the revised standards to comply. A safe harbor provision means that ICT that complied with the previous version of Section 508 guidelines complies with the existing version of Section 508 unless the ICT is altered. Alterations are considered on an element-by-element basis to determine whether an alteration triggers a need to comply with the revised Section 508 guidelines. Where ICT conforming to one or more of the Section 508 standards is not commercially available, the agency shall procure the ICT that best meets the revised 508 standards consistent with the agency’s business needs. The responsible agency official shall document in writing: (a) the non-availability of conforming ICT, including a description of market research performed and which provisions cannot be met, and (b) the basis for determining that the ICT to be procured best meets the requirements in the Revised 508 Standards consistent with the agency’s business needs. Where ICT that fully conforms to the Revised 508 Standards is not commercially available, the agency shall provide individuals with disabilities access to and use of information and data by an alternative means that meets identified needs. Non-Web documents do not have to comply with the following four WCAG success criteria. : Bypass Blocks; Multiple Ways; Consistent Navigation; and Consistent Identification. Exceptions Under Section 508 Section E202 of Section 508 lists the five general exceptions to section 508: Legacy ICT National security systems Federal contracts ICT functions located in maintenance or monitoring spaces The Section 508 website has information about the five general exceptions plus the best meets exception and the undue burden or fundamental alteration defenses to compliance.

Proposed Rule Introduction to the Rule On July 25, 2023, the Department of Justice (DOJ) released a proposed rule that if adopted would clarify what state and local governments must do to have their web content be considered compliant with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (Title II). You can read the entire proposed rule and comment on it at Regulations.gov. Comments must be received by midnight EDT on October third. If you're only interested in the highlights, you can read a fact sheet about the proposed rule published by DOJ. compliance Standard and covered Content Would make version 2.1 Level AA of the Web Content Accessibility guidelines (WCAG) the compliance standard under Title II Would apply to web content that a state or local government makes available to the public or to offer activities, programs, and services to the public Applies to mobile apps made available to the public or used to offer activities, programs, and services to the public Exceptions The proposed rule contains six exceptions. In most instances, content meeting one of the exceptions would not need to be automatically made accessible. Archived Web Content Web content meeting all three of the following factors would not need to comply with WCAG: The content is maintained only for research, reference, or record keeping. The content is kept in a special area for archived content. The content has not been changed since being archived. Preexisting Conventional Electronic Documents Web or mobile content meeting both of the following requirements would not need to automatically comply with WCAG. The documents are in certain file formats specified in the proposed rule, like word processing, presentation, PDF, or spreadsheet files. are available on the state or local government’s website or mobile app before the date the state or local government will have to comply with the rule (after the rule is finalized). This exception would not apply if the preexisting document is currently being used by the state or local government to provide information or to enable participation in an activity, program, or service of the state or local government; for example, an online PDF form created in 2021 enabling people to request tax statements would need to comply with WCAG even though it would have been created prior to the rule taking affect. Content Posted by a Third Party Web content posted on a state or local government's website by a member of the public or that is otherwise out of the control of the state or local government would not need to comply with WCAG. States and local governments would not need to ensure all messages posted to their website by the public comply with WCAG. But if someone with a disability requests access to content that did not comply with WCAG, the state or local government would generally have to provide access to that information. Linked Third Party Content If a state or local government links to third party content on an external website, the state or local government would not need to ensure the content on the external site complies with WCAG. If a town links to local businesses, it would not need to ensure the web content of the local businesses complies with WCAG. But if the town links to an external website to provide information or to allow people to access activities, programs, or services offered by the town, the town must ensure that the third party web content complies with WCAG. If a town contracts with a vendor to allow for the processing of credit card payments, the town would need to ensure the third party credit card processor complies with WCAG. Public School's Password Protected Content Password-protected content associated with specific classes or courses generally would not need to comply with WCAG. The exception would not apply under either of the following two circumstances: A student needing accessible content is enrolled in a class

Introduction Before giving a brief history of WCAG and describing its technical components at a very high, hopefully easy to follow level, I'm going to discuss what I believe is the most important thing people need to know about the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines--the reality that their development is inequitable and largely excludes people with disabilities. I'm beginning with the lack of equity involved in the WCAG development process, because I'm hoping folks will consider what our lack of involvement in the technical aspects really mean for our odds of using WCAG to create a web that's truly accessible to us. WCAG's Lack of Equity I covered this at the end of a previous live version of the podcast, but it needs to be restated here. The process of developing the WCAG is not at all equitable or inclusive of members of the disability community. The WCAG is developed by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). Specifically, the development of WCAG is done by the Accessibility Guidelines Working Group. The current chairs of the Accessibility Guidelines Working Group are Charles Adams (Oracle), Rachael Bradley Montgomery (Library of Congress), and Alastair Campbell (Nomensa a British company). As far as I can tell, and I have looked reasonably hard, none of the three is a user of assistive technologies. All of them describe themself as working on accessibility, in the field of accessibility, and/or advocating for accessibility for periods of years. I can't find one mention of any of them discussing their life as a person with a disability, describing how they use assistive technologies, or commenting about how they are personally impacted by inaccessibility. I mentioned the employers of the chairs of the Accessibility Guidelines Working Group because the Working Group is an organization that for all intents and purposes only allows other organizations to join as full members. This means that an individual (regardless of their disability status, knowledge of assistive technologies, web codes, and related tools) cannot join without an invitation unless their employer pays to be an organizational member or they are able to pay thousands of dollars to join as an individual. The Membership FAQ has lots of information about joining the Accessibility Guidelines Working Group. The fees for joining the Accessibility Guidelines Working Group highlight the elitist, restrictive, inequitable nature of the WCAG development process. The current cheapest fee for joining, in the United States available to very small nonprofits and government agencies, is $7,900 Annually. The largest annual fee for a United States business is currently more than $77,000 annually. As the FAQ about the membership process and the fee structure for joining the Accessibility Guidelines Working Group indicate, the development of WCAG and the leadership of that development is a process that the vast majority of the disabled community cannot participate in at all. to make matters worse, the only people with a real shot at membership and the right to true participation are people who gain entrance in the organization with the permission of their employer. This structure creates an obvious conflict of interest forcing people to, at minimum, represent the wishes of their employer if they want to continue participating. So, the structure effectively guarantees very few people with disabilities will have an actual say in decision making and that the guidelines reflect the wishes of the business community--not the disability community. To pretend it welcomes participation and to offer a largely false nod to equity and inclusion, the Accessibility Guidelines Working Group does offer different ways for members of the public to comment. But as you have heard me say repeatedly on this podcast, the most important concept of disability equity is nothing about us without us. By using a process that effectively prevents people with disabilities,

Introduction It is impossible to discuss disability justice without referencing American politics and American history. People have very different views of many aspects of American politics. Most people don’t really know American history. So, it will be impossible to discuss disability justice in a meaningful way and not make some folks feel uncomfortable. I say that to preface the truth that much of what I’m sharing here is my personal opinion. I have strong reasons for having the opinions I have, but I appreciate and recognize that some will disagree with me. Even if you disagree with me, I hope you will listen to me, not simply hear what I’m saying. To help you, even if we disagree, understand why I have the views I have, I’m going to share a bit about myself throughout this episode. Important Facts About Me I want to share a few things about me so I can refer to them later: As I hope most of you know, I was born blind. I’m a white male. I’m 49 years old. I grew up in a middle class home. I graduated from college and law school. I’m a lawyer by trade. I’m a homeowner. I earn a solid middle class salary. As a person with a disability, I face discrimination and oppression on a daily basis. As a white male, I am privileged on a daily basis. As a well-educated member of the middle class, I’m privileged on a daily basis. As a heterosexual male, I’m privileged on a daily basis. Disability Justice The 10 principles of disability justice were created in 2005 by a group called Sins Invalid. Here is a little of how Sins Invalid is described on their website: Sins Invalid is a disability justice-based performance project that incubates and celebrates artists with disabilities, centralizing artists of color and LGBTQ / gender-variant artists as communities who have been historically marginalized. Led by disabled people of color, Sins Invalid’s performance work explores the themes of sexuality, embodiment and the disabled body, developing provocative work where paradigms of “normal” and “sexy” are challenged, offering instead a vision of beauty and sexuality inclusive of all bodies and communities. There are now several versions of the 10 principles of disability justice. Since they all present the same ideas and to keep this a bit shorter, I have lightly edited the 10 principles. The light editing I have done also means I have eliminated a lot of explanatory information so I could cover it a bit differently or to save time. The 10 principles of disability justice are as follows: Intersectionality: We are all many things, and they all impact us. Leadership of those most impacted: When we talk about ableism, racism, sexism, and more we are led by those who most know these systems. Anti capitalist politic: In an economy that sees land and humans as components of profit, we are anti capitalist by the nature of having nonconforming bodies and/or minds. Commitment to cross-movement organizing: Shifting how social justice movements understand disability and contextualize ableism, disability justice lends itself to politics of alliance. Recognizing wholeness: People have inherent worth outside of commodity relations and capitalist notions of productivity. Each person is full of history and life experience. Sustainability: We pace ourselves, individually and collectively, to be sustained long term. Our embodied experiences guide us toward ongoing justice and liberation. Commitment to cross-disability solidarity: We honor the insights and participation of all of our community members, knowing that isolation undermines collective liberation. Interdependence: We meet each other’s needs as we build toward liberation, knowing that state solutions inevitably extend into further control over lives. Collective access: As brown, black and queer-bodied disabled people we bring flexibility and creative nuance that go beyond able-bodied/minded normativity, to be in community with each other.

Introduction During our last episode of Demand Our Access, we had a brief discussion of disability equity and disability justice. Since so much of how I see the ADA and the other laws we have and will cover through the Demand Our Access project is influenced by how I view disability equity and disability justice, I decided we should discuss those important concepts in this space. Since Disability equity and disability justice are both heavy topics, I have decided to split them into separate episodes. I’m hoping that by splitting them, there will be time for some thoughtful discussion. So, this episode will focus on disability equity. Nothing About us Without Us Nothing about us without us is a critical piece of disability equity. It means nothing that really impacts the disability community should happen without input from people with disabilities. I would add to the concept of nothing about us without us and say that nothing really impacting the disability community should be decided by people without disabilities. Equality and Equity Equality means each person and group of individuals is given the same amount of resources and has the same opportunities. Equity recognizes that each person or group of individuals has unique circumstances and allocates exact resources and opportunities necessary to provide for equal outcomes. Examples of Equality A school district spends $20,000 per student. A government holds a public meeting and provides everyone in attendance the same print agenda and meeting materials. A bank offers all of its customers the opportunity to use an app to pay bills. Under each of the three above examples, everyone is supposedly being treated exactly the same. Everyone has been provided the same resources. Everyone has been afforded the same opportunities. In these three examples, the school district, government, and bank are not making any allowances for the unique circumstances of different communities. Examples of Equity A school district spends $25,000 per student in schools where more children are living in poverty and $15,000 per student in school districts where families are wealthy. A government holds a public meeting in an accessible venue and provides the agenda and meeting materials in print, large print, and accessible electronic formats. A bank allows all customers to pay bills through an app it has developed to be accessible to users of assistive technologies. In these three examples, the school district, government, and bank took steps to recognize that not all people have the same circumstances. Here, these entities understood that simply providing everyone what on the surface seems like the same resource and opportunity actually disadvantages many people. The school district recognized that wealthy families could do more for their children than families living in poverty and provided certain schools more money to help reduce the funding disparities that have always existed in schools located in neighborhoods that aren’t wealthy. The government spent additional money ensuring the venue was accessible to people with mobility disabilities and to provide materials in alternative formats. The bank spent additional money having its app coded for accessibility and having the app tested by native users of assistive technologies to ensure they have the same usability experience as those who don’t use assistive technologies. Summing up Equality and Equity As you have seen, equality ignores the reality that society has always treated people differently. Equity, on the other hand, recognizes the reality of ongoing oppression and requires additional resources and opportunities be provided to historically oppressed communities to provide more equitable outcomes. The key thing to remember about the equality verses equity debate is that equity focuses on the outcomes produced, not just the resources provided. For our purposes,

Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Titles II and III As a reminder, Title II of the ADA largely applies to state and local governments. So, all cities, counties, towns, multijurisdictional governmental bodies, and their agencies, bureaus, and departments are covered by Title II. Title III applies to what the law calls places of public accommodation. For our purposes, we are talking about businesses and most nonprofits. So, restaurants, hotels, concert halls, sports arenas, stores, and rideshare companies are covered by Title III. Introduction Under Titles II and III of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), covered entities are required to provide effective communication to people with disabilities. Effective communication means communication between the covered entity and a person with a disability is as effective as is communication between the covered entity and a person who does not have a disability. The law expects that a person with a disability can: communicate with; receive information from; and convey information to covered entities. The Department of Justice (DOJ) rule on effective communication focuses on people with visual, hearing, and speech disabilities. But issues of effective communication can also arise when communication involves people with learning disabilities that impact reading and/or writing. Subsequent sections of this episode will provide the legal nuts and bolts of effective communication as applicable to entities covered by Titles II and III and outlined by DOJ. The general aspects of compliance with the effective communication requirement under Title II are set forth in 28 C.F.R. § 35.160-164. The requirements for places of public accommodation to provide auxiliary aides and services under Title III are covered in 28 C.F.R § 36.303. The DOJ guide on effective communication under Titles II and III has a lot of resources on the responsibilities of covered entities to effectively communicate with people with disabilities. The requirements to effectively communicate are very similar under both Titles II and III. So, the rest of this episode will largely be about how title II entities are supposed to effectively communicate with those of us with disabilities. Where the rules are different under Title III, I will mention those differences as we move through the material. Requesting Alternative Methods of Communication Under 28 C.F.R. § 35.106, Title II entities must notify people with disabilities of how they can request alternative methods of communication. This means every local government website must clearly present contact information for someone charged with granting accommodations to people with disabilities (including those related to effective communication). Usually, local governments satisfy the notice of rights requirement by adopting a meaningful access statement covering many forms of discrimination. Some entities will adopt a more specific notice of rights applying only to public rights under Title II. Also, every event notice should clearly designate which person on the event planning team will coordinate accommodations for the event and list that person’s contact information. Title III entities are not required to provide notice as to how people with disabilities can request accommodations. This is a serious weakness in the ADA. I'm sure most of you know how hard it can be to get help when you go to a store or need service from a business. Companions Covered by the ADA

Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Introduction In this episode, we will discuss service animals under Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act. We covered service animals under the Air Carrier Access Act in the episode titled About the Air Carrier Access Act. We will cover service animals under the Fair Housing Act when we discuss the Fair Housing Act. Service Animals Under Titles II and III The information covered in this section of the episode is based on two documents from the Department of Justice (DOJ). The document titled Service Animals has lots of information as to how Titles II and III cover service animals. The document titled FAQs About Service Animals and the ADA answers more than 30 questions you may have about service animals under Titles II and III. Definition of a Service Animal A service animal is defined as a dog that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability. The task(s) performed by the dog must be directly related to the person’s disability. Performing work and Doing Tasks The dog must be trained to take a specific action when needed to assist the person with a disability. Examples of work or tasks service animals do include but are not limited to the following: Guiding a blind person Alerting a person with diabetes when their blood sugar is too low Notifying someone with depression that it’s time for them to take their medication Indicating to a person with epilepsy prior to the onset of a seizure and help them remain safe Emotional Support Animals Dogs providing strictly emotional support, comfort, therapy, or companionship are not considered service animals under Titles II and III. Some state and local governments have passed laws allowing emotional support animals into public places. If you have an emotional support animal, check with your local government to see if it has such a law and to find out what it allows and requires. Psychiatric Service Animals Although animals providing strictly emotional support are not covered under Titles II and III, service animals trained to do work or complete tasks related to a disability are covered under Titles II and III; for example, if an animal has been trained to understand when its handler is having anxiety, and to take certain action(s) to lessen the seriousness of the attack, the animal qualifies as a service animal under Titles II and III. Training Service Animals A person is not required to have their service animal trained by a professional organization. Service animals in training, whether being trained by a private person or a professional organization, are not legally considered service animals. Questions Covered Entities can Ask When a covered entity has questions as to whether a particular dog qualifies as a service animal, it is only allowed to ask two questions: Is the service animal required because of a disability? What work or task has the dog been trained to perform? They cannot ask for any documentation related to the dog, require that the dog demonstrate the task it has been trained to perform, or ask about the nature of your disability. General Points The ADA does not require service animals to wear a specific harness, vest, or ID tag. The handler is responsible for caring for and supervising the service animal. This includes, feeding, toileting, grooming, and veterinary care.

n this episode, we are filing our first complaint. Join by Desiree Sturdevant, we file a complaint with the Department of Transportation under the Air Carrier Access Act against Alaska Airlines. This episode was recorded in two sessions. So, the audio levels are not quite the same.

About Me This will be the last time I begin an episode with information about me. I'm sharing this information at the beginning of the first three episodes so you can learn a little about me and my qualifications to present on matters of disability law. Basic Bio I was born blind. I am a member of the American Council of the Blind. I live in Portland, Oregon. Oregon is the fifth state I have called home. My interests include: I love animals. I'm a huge sports fan. I'm an avid reader and writer. Certifications I have a law license from Massachusetts. I'm a certified ADA coordinator. I'm a certified professional in accessibility. Professional Background I'm the disability analyst for Portland Parks & Recreation. Previously, I was the ADA Title II analyst for the city of Portland. Several years ago, I was a contract attorney for Disability Rights Advocates in Berkeley, California. Prior to that I was a staff attorney for what was then called the American Bar Association's Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law in Washington, DC. Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Roadmap In this episode we will be focusing on the following: Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights Selected provisions of the Air Carrier Access Act Introduction This episode is designed to provide a good amount of knowledge of our rights as airline passengers with disabilities. It is not intended to address every requirement the airlines have to provide us, nor is it going to address every aspect of discrimination we may face as people with disabilities when we travel by air. My hope is that by providing this information I can help others in our community understand the rights we have, how to make those rights work for us when we can, and what changes to the law we should be demanding. If you want more information about the topics presented here, or you think you may need information not presented here, the show notes accompanying this episode and posted to the website has links to all of the resources covered here. So, I wouldn't listen to this podcast expecting to take notes; rather, I would listen to gain an understanding of what is generally required. When you are planning a trip, or you are thinking about filing a complaint, use the website to access information applying to your specific situation. Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights The Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights (Bill of Rights) was developed by the Department of Transportation (DOT) as a cleaner way of explaining the rights promised people with disabilities in the Air Carrier Access Act (ACA). The Bill of rights makes the following 10 promises: The right to be treated with dignity and respect The right to receive information about airline services, and aircraft services, capabilities, and limitations The right to receive information in an accessible format The right to accessible airport facilities The right to assistance at airports The right to assistance on the aircraft The right to travel with an assistive device or service animal The right to seating accommodations The right to accessible aircraft features The right to resolution of a disability related issue While the rest of this episode will cover provisions of the ACA, the Bill of Rights is a great place for you to begin learning about your rights under the ACA.

In episode two we begin discussing key concepts under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act including: notice of rights, complaints; and ADA coordinators. This link goes to the PDF for episode two. The PDF has all of the most important information discussed in the episode.