Accessibility in the News — 4/9/2021.

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Feature Stories

Websites Not Bound by ADA Accessibility Rules, 11th Circuit Finds

April 7, 2021 | Source: Courthouse News Service & Decision- PDF & Business Insurance

11TH Circuit Reverses Winn-Dixie– What It Means To You

April 8, 2021 | Source: Converge Accessibility- Ken Nakata

Eleventh Circuit Says Winn Dixie’s Inaccessible Website Does Not Violate The ADA

April 8, 2021 | Source: Seyfarth Shaw- Minh N. Vu

The Eleventh Circuit Finally Breaks Its Silence on Website Accessibility – but Was Its Decision Worth the Wait?

April 8, 2021 | Source: Epstein Becker & Green

Winn-Dixie Wins Legal Suit, Maybe Shoots Self in Foot

April 8, 2021 | Source: Lowndes

In a decision that a dissenting judge warned could have widespread consequences for visually impaired people, a split panel of the 11th Circuit ruled Wednesday that websites for businesses that are generally open to the public are not places of public accommodation under the Americans With Disabilities Act. In a 2-1 decision, a panel of the Atlanta-based appeals court ruled that although “inaccessibility online can be a significant inconvenience,” supermarket chain Winn-Dixie cannot be found liable under Title III of the ADA for having a website that is inaccessible to disabled people who use screen-reading software…

National News (U.S.)

Charlie Crist Brings Back the Senior Accessible Housing Act

April 2, 2021 | Source: Florida Daily

This week, U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, D-Fla., brought back the “Senior Accessible Housing Act” which “ would cover 100 percent of the costs of aging-in-place modifications to enable safe, comfortable, independent living.” Crist’s bill has the support of U.S. Reps. Antonio Delgado, D-NY, and Brenda Lawrence, D-Mich. According to the congressman’s office, the “would bring safe, at-home living within reach of seniors by providing a refundable tax credit to make necessary home modifications up to $30,000 over a lifetime” which “would allow seniors, especially those who are lower- and fixed-income, to have the financial freedom to age-in-place.”…

MTA eyes more developer incentives for accessibility upgrades

April 2, 2021 | Source: Brooklyn Paper & Gothamist & News 12 Bronx & WCBS 880

Get accessible subways on track

April 5, 2021 | Source: New York Daily News

MTA looks to zoning policy proposal to expand system accessibility

April 5, 2021 | Source: Mass Transit

State transit and city planning gurus want to expand incentives for private developers to fund accessibility improvements for Metropolitan Transportation Authority subway and railroad stations around the Five Boroughs. The inter-agency partnership dubbed “Elevate Transit: Zoning for Accessibility” will boost the MTA’s effort to make all of its 472 stations more accessible, according to the agency’s head of construction. “Zoning for Accessibility builds on the MTA’s historic $5.2 billion commitments to accessibility projects by partnering with private developers to help make stations accessible…

Instacart Sued for Alleged ADA Violations

April 2, 2021 | Source: Law Street Media

On Thursday, an individual filed a class-action complaint in the Eastern District of New York against Maplebear Inc., doing business as Instacart.com, for purported Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) violations over the accessibility of its website. According to the complaint, the plaintiff “is a visually-impaired and legally blind person who suffers from what constitutes a ‘qualified disability’ ” under the ADA and who “requires screen-reading software to read website content using her computer.”…

Uber ordered to pay $1.1m to blind woman who was refused rides 14 times

April 2, 2021 | Source: Sky News & WENY & CNN

Uber has been ordered to pay $1.1m (£790,000) to a blind woman who was refused rides on 14 separate occasions. An independent arbitrator found that the company illegally discriminated against Lisa Irving due to the treatment she and her guide dog received from its drivers. Ms Irving brought the complaint against Uber in 2018 as a result of being “either denied a ride altogether or harassed by Uber drivers not wanting to transport her with her guide dog,” according to the arbitrator’s ruling…

California Volunteer Breaks The Barrier Between The Deaf And Hearing By Teaching Sign Language To His Community

April 2, 2021 | Source: Points of Light

Michael Agyin was dealt with what he described as a “double whammy” in life. He’s Black, and he’s also Deaf – a one-two punch that made the Compton native feel invisible while growing up. Michael’s parents, immigrants from Ghana, treated him equally to how they treated his hearing siblings. But still, Michael always knew that he was different. “I had no one to guide me or lead me,” Michael said in a TEDx talk he gave last year. “I lacked sound and I lacked identity. I was searching for who I am, and I wanted to be a part of my community.”…

How the able-bodied can do better with disabled neighbors like me

April 3, 2021 | Source: Washington Post

As is true for many disabled Americans, my health-care costs resemble pipe bombs that keep blowing up my bank account, leaving it a pile of smoldering ash. As such, I can’t afford a house. Like many disabled Americans, I live in a multiunit dwelling where the majority of my neighbors are able-bodied. While we share the same address, sometimes it feels like we live on different planets. Maya Angelou once said, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” All of us, including the disabled, of course, can do better in myriad ways…

The internet isn’t inclusive enough — here’s how it can be more user-friendly

April 4, 2021 | Source: Laptop Mag

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is three decades old, and 5 years later, Section 230, the internet law protecting publishers like Twitter and Facebook, followed suit. Both are in need of an overhaul. Why are we still following internet laws that are 25 years old, anyways? As someone whose eyes skip, and has a laceration on his left cornea, as well as a lack of fine motor skills, reading, typing, and using a mouse or trackpad, can be difficult when navigating the web. Now is the opportune time to improve the myriad issues with the ADA. So, let’s focus on creating an ADA for the digital age…

Shangri-La gets creative with drive-thru accessible egg hunt

April 4, 2021 | Source: Statesman Journal

Rita Coleman was all smiles from the back seat of her mom’s minivan, having just visited with the Easter bunny and hugged a llama. “We’re having fun!” she shouted. And that was before the St. Paul girl had participated in any of the games at the Shangri-La Accessible Egg Hunt Drive-Thru. Rita has Down’s Syndrome and has been a regular at the annual event hosted by the nonprofit organization. Shangri-La created the accessible egg hunt eight years ago to show traditional community events can be made more inclusive and accessible for people with disabilities with just a few minor modifications…

Six Tips For Making Vaccination Registration Websites More Accessible For All

April 5, 2021 | Source: Forbes

Hearing how difficult it has been for many older adults, their caregivers, people with disabilities and non-English speakers to register for Covid-19 vaccinations hasn’t surprised me, but the extent of the poor user experience is a concern with potentially huge public health consequences. When the head of digital at my firm, Lisa Curtis, expressed frustration over the difficulty of registering her 75-plus-year-old parents online to receive their Covid-19 vaccines, my concern shifted to fear and then anger…

Funimation Reaches Settlement in Class-Action Lawsuit Over Allegedly Violating Americans with Disabilities Act

April 6, 2021 | Source: Anime News Network

Documents for the class-action lawsuit that Jenisa Angeles, a legally blind person, filed against Funimation Global Group, LLC in January reveal that the lawsuit was settled out of court. The documents provided no other details of the settlement. The corresponding notice of settlement was filed on March 12. Funimation declined to comment with ANN on the lawsuit settlement. Angeles filed the class-action lawsuit against Funimation in the District Court of the Southern District of New York on January 13 on behalf of herself “and all others similarly situated,” alleging that Funimation’s website violated the Americans with Disabilities Act…

Covid Closed Theaters. But It Also Made Them Accessible.

April 6, 2021 | Source: The New York Times

I have never lived in either London or New York, and thus have next to no experience with the hotbeds of English-speaking theater. Though I frequently travel to those cities, and social media posts of friends with their Broadway Playbills tantalize me, I live with an illness that makes it difficult to remain upright. That makes theater a tough experience: The first time I saw “Hamilton,” after I left the Richard Rodgers Theater I was too sick to remember most of what had happened…

ACB Urges Congress to Amend HR 1 and S. 1, Securing Access to Accessible Voting

April 6, 2021 | Source: PRNewswire

The American Council of the Blind calls on Congress to protect the right to vote for Americans who are blind and visually impaired by removing threatening language in the For the People Act (H.R. 1; S. 1). “The right to a private and independent vote stands as the cornerstone of our democracy,” said ACB President Dan Spoone. “The innovation in secure electronic voting during the pandemic showed us that there are accessible solutions that allow every voice to be heard.”…

‘Our hands are part of our vision’: Nevada mother describes living visually impaired during pandemic- 8NewsNow

Remember when you first went to the grocery store at the start of the pandemic and all the aisles were turned into one-way only? Now imagine doing that as a person who is visually impaired. “Think about when the tissue paper pandemic was happening,” Rosa Henderson, who was born visually impaired, said. “People barrel in. You’re heading to the aisle, and you’ve got to grab it before somebody else grabs it. We got to get through the door first.” Henderson lives in the southwest valley with her husband and daughter. She laughs about it now, but getting by at the start of the pandemic was not funny…

Blind RI Student Raising Money For Accessible Engineering Device

April 7, 2021 | Source: Patch

A blind high school senior from East Providence has started a GoFundMe page to raise money to purchase accessible mechanical engineering equipment for college. Haylee Mota, who was born with an eye condition called Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis, was recently accepted into college to pursue her dream of becoming a mechanical engineer. However, to pursue this education, she is in need of accessible graphics and is looking for financial assistance to purchase a touch interface device called the Graphiti tactile graphics display by Orbit Research…

DOJ Moves to Intervene in Disability Discrimination Suit Against City of Chicago Regarding Pedestrians with Visual Disabilities

April 8, 2021 | Source: Department of Justice

The Justice Department today moved to intervene in a disability discrimination lawsuit that private plaintiffs with visual disabilities brought against the City of Chicago under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (Section 504). The department’s proposed complaint alleges that the city fails to provide people who are blind, have low vision, or are deaf-blind with equal access to pedestrian signal information at intersections. Pedestrian signal information, such as a flashing “Walk/Don’t Walk” signal, indicates when it is safe to cross the street…

Hollywood’s Diversity Efforts Can’t Ignore Disability, Advocates Say In Open Letter

April 8, 2021 | Source: HuffPost

Over 80 members of the entertainment industry, including actors Amy Poehler, Naomie Harris, Heather Matarazzo and Janina Gavankar, are urging Hollywood studios and production companies to better prioritize disability in their diversity and inclusion efforts, in a new open letter. The letter, released Wednesday, was spearheaded by Keely Cat-Wells, founder and CEO of C Talent, an agency representing disabled artists and athletes. Cat-Wells noted that diversity is often thought of as giving more people “a seat at the table” in a statement accompanying the open letter…

Jack Fact — According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, by 2040, an estimated 78 million (26%) US adults aged 18 years or older are projected to have doctor-diagnosed arthritis.

Hit The Road Jack — What would make Pensacola Beach more accessible for people with disabilities?

International News

Glitchy HRM crosswalk buttons making intersections dangerous for the visually impaired

April 1, 2021 | Source: The Signal- Canada

Advocates say broken crosswalk buttons in Halifax Regional Municipality are making streets dangerous for visually impaired pedestrians. Last week, the municipality’s Transportation Standing Committee heard from Milena Khazanavicius and Bernard Bessette. The pair presented on inaccessible crosswalks that need to be fixed. Bernard Bessette is a partially sighted cane user, and Khazanavicius has been visually impaired for 26 years. She depends on her guide dog – a German shepherd named Louis – to get around the city…

New accessibility services at London railway stations to help deaf and blind passengers

April 2, 2021 | Source: RailAdvent- UK

Two new accessibility services are being introduced to help deaf and blind passengers using some of Network Rail’s managed stations in the London area. Passengers who use British Sign Language will be able to use SignLive which is a service where passengers can connect to an interpreter via video call. Connection times are usually less than 1 minute and the service means the interpreter can communicate announcements or have a three-way conversation with station staff…

Applications open for Age-Friendly Seniors Housing Grant Program

April 2, 2021 | Source: OrilliaMatters- Canada

The County of Simcoe is providing the regional housing market for seniors a boost with the 2021 Age-Friendly Seniors Housing Grant Program. County Council recently approved $500,000 in annual funding towards this program to support eligible applicants in creating age-friendly housing. “The County is committed to enhancing support services and resources that address our aging population and affordable housing needs,” said Warden George Cornell. “This grant program aligns with our Age-Friendly strategy to assist our residents in living independently as long as possible.”…

Kari: Sidewalk decision a sign of democracy in action

April 2, 2021 | Source: London Free Press- Canada

It was about trees, sure. It was also about what accessibility means. It was doorstep democracy in action, and it was beautiful. The marathon meeting of London city council on March 23 over unwanted sidewalks on some low-traffic, tree-lined, older streets was also about whether council would live up to the city’s vision for the future. And on looking more closely and listening to the voices of the people, the politicians did the right thing in the end. A week prior, council’s civic works committee had voted against any sidewalk exemptions for 10 streets in old neighbourhoods slated for road reconstruction…

Canadian families struggling to access autism therapy as they wait for a national strategy

April 2, 2021 | Source: CTV- Canada

While Friday marks World Autism Awareness Day, some Canadians say the federal government’s long-promised national strategy isn’t coming fast enough with affordable and accessible support varying drastically between provinces. Tiffany Baker, who’s seven-year-old son Kameron has autism, says she has faced heartbreaking roadblocks in gaining access to autism therapy in Trenton, Ont. Like many other children his age, Baker told CTV National News that Kameron loves to dance and have fun, but he has difficulties with social issues and communication…

Want to work for the betterment of specially-abled people? Rishihood University is offering Disability Management course

April 3, 2021 | Source: Financial Express- India

According to TRRAIN HSBC Disability Employment Report 2019, about half (46%) of the persons with disabilities in India are uneducated. Lack of the right schools, accessibility, unavailability of special instructors, and above all, the unwillingness of parents to invest in their child with a disability are the key hurdles. Rishihood University has come up with a one-year Postgraduate Degree and Fellowship programme at its soon-to-be-launched Center for Disability Management. Ajay Gupta, Co-Founder, Rishihood University in conversation Financial Express Online talked about issues that people with disability face and his ideas for providing high-quality education to them…

Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections 2021 | How to make elections accessible and inclusive

April 4, 2021 | Source: The Hindu- India

In 2014, a disabled candidate who wanted to file his nomination in Cuddalore to contest in the election found that he couldn’t access the Returning Officer’s room at the Collectorate since it was on the first floor. After deliberations with the Election Commission of India, the Returning Officer set a precedent: He came out of his chamber and went downstairs to collect the nomination from the candidate. For disability rights activists in Tamil Nadu, it has been years of continuous engagement with the Election Commission and the State government to ensure that both the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections are accessible and inclusive…

Overcoming bullies as a child, architect Aatika Manzar has now designed India’s first accessible-to-all book café

April 4, 2021 | Source: Your Story- India

Every space tells a story. Just like our homes, commercial spaces should convey its purpose and philosophy through its design. Delhi-based architect and interior designer Aatika Manzar is helping her clients do just that. She is on a mission to convert vacant spaces into beautiful moulds through her crafty vision. However, living her dream through more than the 150 projects in her array was not always a cakewalk for Aatika. Aatika had issues with one of her eyes and was advised to take up a course that was “Easy on the eye.”…

QU’s ISNSC sheds light on ASD to mark World Autism Day

April 4, 2021 | Source: The Peninsula- Qatar

Doha: World Autism Awareness Day is celebrated annually on April 2 to raise awareness on people with autistic spectrum disorders (ADS) worldwide. Several faculty members from Qatar University’s (QU) Inclusion and Special Needs Support Center (ISNSC) shed light on their services in honour of this day. Haya Al-Kuwari, the Exam Coordinator in the ISNSC, said, “Qatar has paid great attention to the care of people with disabilities and has been keen to enact legislation that preserves the rights of this group…

Why your brain loves closed captioning

April 4, 2021 | Source: Salon- UK

It’s Friday night, and my family and I are engaging in that rarest of pastimes — communal viewing. We fire up the newest episode of “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” and we make sure we’ve turned on the subtitles. No one in our household is hard of hearing. So why do we do that? We’re clearly not unique in our habits. In 2020, the United Kingdom’s Office of Communications released the results of a study that found that 18% of the population regularly uses closed captioning — but only 20% of those viewers were hard of hearing…

Council: Healthcare system must be inclusive to cater to disabled, especially for Covid-19 vaccines

April 5, 2021 | Source: New Straits Times- Malaysia

The National Council for the Blind Malaysia (NCBM) has urged the government to build an inclusive healthcare system for the disabled with access to the Covid-19 vaccines. In a statement, the NCBM expressed its concerns over the accessibility of 592,878 people with disabilities (PWD) in the country, to the government’s National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (NIP). “The NCBM would like to thank the government for prioritising PWD in the second phase of vaccination which will commence on April 19. “The government must ensure PWD can easily access the vaccine and be truly protected from this life-threatening pandemic,” it said…

Sask theatre performer explores deaf culture through ASL web series

April 5 2021 | Source: Regina Leader-Post- Canada

Dawn Jani Birley likes to say that her love and appreciation for theatre started in her grandmother’s closet. As a child, she enjoyed dressing up in her grandmother’s clothing and putting on plays with her sister. As they performed for family and friends on her grandparent’s farm outside of Humboldt, Sask., her dream of becoming an actor began to unfold. I do believe I’m a born artist,” she said. Birley’s dream became a reality. Now she performs in theatre productions both internationally and domestically. In 2019, she founded her own company, 1S1 Theatre…

Officials still blind to voting needs of disabled?

April 6, 2021 | Source: The New Indian Express- India

Activists for differently-abled persons have been struggling for five years to make form-7A on the election commission website accessible to visually-challenged citizens to cast their vote independently.The document, which contains details of the candidate’s name, photo, party, symbol and other details is currently available as an image document on www.elections.tn.gov.in. The image cannot be accessed by visually-challenged voters on the screen. If available as a text document, screen readers can read out the form to visually-challenged individuals to communicate the displayed text, thereby giving them access to cast their vote…

Accessible Europe 2021: Making ICTs accessible to all

April 7, 2021 | Source: Mirage- Europe

European countries, in laying the groundwork for inclusive economies and societies in the years ahead, have set out to make information and communication technologies (ICTs) equally accessible to persons with disabilities. Europe remains on track to achieve Target 2.9 of ITU’s Connect 2030 Agenda, which calls on countries to create “enabling environments ensuring accessible telecommunications/ICTs for persons with disabilities” by 2023. But ensuring digital access for over 80 million Europeans with disabilities will depend on fostering innovative small and medium-sized enterprises focused on accessible ICTs…

Home deliveries for customers with disabilities improved with new accessibility options

April 7, 2021 | Source: THIIS- UK & InternetRetailing

Home deliveries for customers with disabilities are set to be improved after HelloDone teamed up with DHL Parcel UK to offer customers with disabilities delivery accessibility options through WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. While online shopping has been a lifeline for many during the pandemic, research shows home deliveries can still create challenges for vulnerable groups, including people with impaired mobility and other disabilities…

This visually challenged bank employee is making online food ordering accessible, one app at a time.

April 7, 2021 | Source: The Optimist Citizen- India

Whether it be travelling from one place to another, purchasing books, or having the prospect of dining in, all have been made easy by revolutionary startups/apps in the past few years. Due to the fear of COVID-19, more and more people are going online as it undeniably sounds like the safest option. Everything is just one click away, or at least that’s what we’re told all the time. It’s hard to imagine how one can survive in a pandemic hit world without relevant apps. As we find it a lot unrealistic to imagine, a sufficiently big population still suffers this problem…

ORR review leads to improved operator website accessibility

April 7, 2021 | Source: Rail Technology Magazine- UK

Access to key information can be vitally important for keeping passengers up to date and safe when travelling, with train and station operators’ websites often the first point of call. Following work by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), a number of key steps have been taken to further improve accessibility to these websites. Two separate reviews were undertaken by the rail regulator in 2020 to analyse compliance with website requirements for all 25 operators and led to a number of improvements being made…

Senedd Election: Is the electoral process accessible enough for those with disabilities?

April 7, 2021 | Source: ITV News- Wales

Voting in an election is a right and responsibility we all share, but some disabled people claim the electoral process in Wales leaves them feeling “removed from democracy.” Criticisms include poor accessibility, a lack of privacy at polling stations, and a reliance on paper ballots that some say is “archaic.” Dan Thomas, from Cardiff is visually impaired and he said the current arrangements are simply not good enough. He will be voting by post in this election because of concerns about coronavirus, but he told ITV News his previous electoral experiences have been less than satisfactory…

Keeping noise under control

April 8, 2021 | Source: PWE Magazine- UK

Noise in the workplace poses significant risks to people’s hearing. Without the right tools and equipment to understand noise levels in your workplace, you could be leaving employees open to suffering from hearing loss. PWE’s Andy Pye reports. Regardless of the industry or sector, every employer is bound by health and safety legislation and regulations. The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 set out the measures that employers must follow to protect their workforce from the dangers excessive noise levels present and are legally enforceable…

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