Report on Disability Law articles from February 2005

Report on Disability Law archives from February 2005

Medicaid moves.(Slants & Trends)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... MEDICAID MOVES. President Bush's Medicaid budget proposal moves the program a step closer to block grants to states (RDL, January, p. 1). The administration proposes to lower its share of Medicaid spending by $60 billion over 10 years and to...

Buying time.(Slants & Trends)
February 1, 2005... BUYING TIME. One classic way to postpone controversial decisions is to appoint a commission to study them. That is just what several senators did this month in proposing a year-long bipartisan commission to study Medicaid. That would buy time...

Social insecurity.(Slants & Trends)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... SOCIAL INSECURITY. People with disabilities have a major stake in Social Security reform, yet the administration does not appear to be focusing on how privatization would affect those receiving Social Security Disability Insurance. Social...

OPM streamlines hiring rules for workers with disabilities.(U.S. Office of Personnel Management)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has drafted new regulations for federal agencies on hiring people with disabilities. OPM said the proposed regulations will give agencies greater authority to quickly certify and appoint disabled...

Northwest Airlines settles EEOC suit, agrees to assess each job applicant.(U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Northwest Airlines Inc. recently settled an Americans with Disabilities Act Title I lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota in 2001. The suit charged the...

California consent decree seeks to end mistreatment of incarcerated disabled.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... The California Youth Authority (CYA), the state's juvenile justice system, has signed a consent degree to revamp its entire system to eliminate "inhumane and illegal" conditions of confinement affecting more than 5,000 young inmates, according...

Bush request for disabilities programs reflects tight fiscal 2006 budget year.
February 1, 2005... The overall ratcheting down of federal spending is evident in President Bush's FY 2006 budget request for disabilities programs. The proposal seeks to cut Department of Health and Human Services programs by 1.2 percent overall. The fact that...

Funding for new freedom initiatives.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... The administration's budget to promote home and community-based care (HCBC) for persons with disabilities includes the following amounts: Money Follows the Person. HHS proposed $1.75 billion over five years for a demonstration to pay for...

Supreme Court refuses to hear Whirlpool disability bias suit.(Case Law)(Clark v. Whirlpool Corp., Jan. 18, 2005 U.S. Supreme Court No. 04-729)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Clark v. Whirlpool Corp., Jan. 18, 2005 U.S. Supreme Court No. 04-729 The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal from the 6th Circuit involving a worker's harassment, retaliation and discrimination claims that allegedly occurred...

Supreme Court shows no interest in case involving discovery violations.(Case Law)(Maynard v. Nygren, Jan. 10, 2005 U.S. Supreme Court No. 04-389)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Maynard v. Nygren, Jan. 10, 2005 U.S. Supreme Court No. 04-389 The Supreme Court has denied an appeal from the 7th Circuit that found a plaintiff in an Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuit had purposely violated the lower court's...

8th circuit overturns district court in 'Regarded As' disabilities suit.(Case Law)(Knutson v. Ag Processing, Jan. 12, 2005 8th Circuit Court of Appeals Nos. 03-3176/3272)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Knutson v. Ag Processing, Jan. 12, 2005 8th Circuit Court of Appeals Nos. 03-3176/3272 An appeals court has reversed an Americans with Disabilities Act decision and directed the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa to...

Supreme Court refuses to hear end-of-life appeal for Schiavo.(Case Law)(Jeb Bush v. Schiavo, Jan. 24, 2005 U.S. Supreme Court No. 04-757)(Terri Schiavo)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Jeb Bush v. Schiavo, Jan. 24, 2005 U.S. Supreme Court No. 04-757 The U.S. Supreme Court appears to have ended a legal fight in Florida that brought public attention to advance directives and living wills. The court refused to intervene...

ADA permits hostile environment suits, but Kansas Sheriff fails to prove point.(Case Law)(Lanman v. Johnson County, Kan. Dec. 30, 2004 10th Circuit Court of Appeals No. 03-3316)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Lanman v. Johnson County, Kan. Dec. 30, 2004 10th Circuit Court of Appeals No. 03-3316 The Americans with Disabilities Act allows action to be taken against a hostile work environment, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has determined,...

Court denies EEOC equitable relief in ADA case involving DuPont Co.(Case Law)(EEOC v. DuPont, Jan. 4, 2005 U.S. District Court Louisiana Civil Action No. 03-1605)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... EEOC v. DuPont, Jan. 4, 2005 U.S. District Court Louisiana Civil Action No. 03-1605 The U.S. District Court in Louisiana has denied the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's request for equitable relief in a dispute involving E.I....

ADA does not apply to volunteers, Delaware District Court rules.(Case Law)(Tawes v. Frankford Volunteer Fire, Jan. 13, 2005 District Court for Delaware Civil Action No. 03-842-KAJ)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Tawes v. Frankford Volunteer Fire, Jan. 13, 2005 District Court for Delaware Civil Action No. 03-842-KAJ Volunteer firefighters are not covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act, a Delaware district court determined, dismissing a...

Lower Court to reconsider SSI claim for person too disabled to work.(Case Law)(Chavez v. Barnhart, Feb. 3, 2005 10th Circuit Court of Appeals No. 03-2298)(United States. Social Security Administration)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Chavez v. Barnhart, Feb. 3, 2005 10th Circuit Court of Appeals No. 03-2298 A district court must reconsider a Social Security Administration denial of a claim for Supplemental Security Income by a person who said he was too disabled to...

Court refuses to develop its own ADA standards in Taxi-Access case.(Case Law)(Toomer v. City Cab, Jan. 10, 2005 U.S. District Court for Utah Case No. 2:04CV397)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Toomer v. City Cab, Jan. 10, 2005 U.S. District Court for Utah Case No. 2:04CV397 A federal judge in Utah has dismissed a complaint by the Disabled Rights Action Committee that several taxi services in Salt Lake City violated the Americans...

Department stores reach settlement on accessible aisles, dressing rooms.(Case Law)(Disability Rights Council v. May, Jan. 24, 2005 U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia No. 01-1076)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Disability Rights Council v. May, Jan. 24, 2005 U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia No. 01-1076 Two May Department Stores in the Washington, D.C., area have agreed to make their stores more accessible to people with...

Court must hear housing bias case involving pet, accommodation.(Case Law)
February 1, 2005... Oras v. Housing Authority, Nov. 29, 2004 Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Div. No. A-6444-02T3 The State Superior Court of New Jersey's appellate division has determined that a lower division erred in dismissing a suit by a...

Partial lawsuit settlement reached in shopping mall evacuation case.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... One of the parties to a Title III public accommodation lawsuit involving emergency evacuation from a Marshalls store and a shopping mall has settled out of court (RDL, January, p. 9). City Place mall agreed to use a consultant to develop an...

Psychiatric disability will compound aging for many adults, Bernstein says.(White House Conference on Aging)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Many older adults face the multiple challenges of psychiatric disability, age-related health issues and their marginalized social status as "former mental patients," Robert Bernstein, executive director of the Bazelon Center for Mental Health...

Transit.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... TRANSIT. The Federal Transit Administration has distributed $94.5 million to states for the Section 5310 transportation program for persons with disabilities and the elderly. The program provides formula funding to states for capital projects...

Disability reviews.(Briefly Noted)
February 1, 2005... DISABILITY REVIEWS. The Social Security Administration (SSA) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) still experience lengthy processing times for disability claims and lack clear understanding of the extent of possible inconsistencies in...

Classroom technology.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGY. The Department of Education's National Education Technology Plan, which encourages teachers to use technology in the classroom, details successful initiatives and partnerships. The National Education Technology Plan is...

Visitability.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... VISITABILITY. The Center on Inclusive Design and Environmental Access at the State University of New York at Buffalo is offering an online course on visitability, a concept for inclusive home design. Developed with the National Resource Center...

Housing guidance.(Briefly Noted)(new guidelines to help public housing authorities understand how to assist people with disabilities )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... HOUSING GUIDANCE. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has new guidelines to help public housing authorities (PHAs) understand how to assist people with disabilities under the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program. PHAs must...

All-terrains.(Briefly Noted)(United States Forest Service allows permits for disabled persons)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... ALL-TERRAINS. Rep. Mark Green (R-Wis.) is taking some credit for the U.S. Forest Service's decision to reverse its revocation of permits for disabled individuals to operate all-terrain vehicles on parts of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National...

Medicaid reform.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... MEDICAID REFORM. Several disability rights organizations are asking governors to support an end to the current Medicaid bias favoring institutionalization over home and community care. In a Jan. 7 letter to the National Governors' Association,...

Special needs kids.(Briefly Noted)
February 1, 2005... SPECIAL NEEDS KIDS face several barriers to medical care, including financial barriers, lack of insurance and inaccessible providers. A new Health Resources and Services Administration survey indicates that these barriers caused delays or...

Connecticut.(State & Local News)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... CONNECTICUT. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has approved Connecticut as the 10th state with an Independence Plus initiative, which makes it easier for consumers to retain more control of home and community-based services (RDP,...

Washington.(State & Local News)(Aging and Disability Services Administration announces new family caregiver information service)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... WASHINGTON. The Aging and Disability Services Administration has a new family caregiver packet with information on caring for someone at home. It is online at: www.adsa.dshs.wa.gov/topics/ caregiving/caregiving.htm.

Job and career opportunities.(Funding Opportunities)(grants for organizations that provide job opportunities to people with disabilities)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... * The Department of Education is offering Projects with Industry grants to organizations that provide job and career opportunities for individuals with disabilities. Deadline is March 21. Contact: Kerrie Brown, (202) 245-7281, Kerrie.Brown...

Autism susceptibility genes.(Funding Opportunities)
February 1, 2005... * The National Institutes of Health, Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center, Cure Autism Now, National Alliance for Autism Research, and other organizations offer funding to identify autism susceptibility genes. Deadline is March 19....

Recreational activities.(Funding Opportunities)
February 1, 2005... * The Department of Education offers funding to provide individuals with disabilities with recreational activities and related experiences to aid in their employment, mobility, socialization, independence and community integration. Deadline is...

Mental disorders.(Funding Opportunities)
February 1, 2005... * The National Institute of Mental Health is seeking applications to apply biobehavioral science methods and approaches to develop and refine definitions of and measures for function, disability and morbidity, as well as to develop ongoing...

Medicaid commission.(Legislative Update)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... MEDICAID COMMISSION. Sens. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) and Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) have proposed legislation (S. 338) to set up a Bipartisan Commission on Medicaid. The legislation was endorsed by the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) and...

Children with disabilities.(Legislative Update)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES. Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Edward Kennedy (DMass.) have re-introduced bipartisan legislation to help children with disabilities. The Family Opportunity Act (S. 183) would allow states to offer a Medicaid...