U.S. DOL Launches Tool to Address Accessibility of Online Job Applications

The U.S. Department of Labor’s new web tool helps employers and recruiters ensure accessibility of online applications and recruiting systems for people with disabilities.

DiversityInc

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy today announced the launch of “TalentWorks” – a free online tool that helps employers and human resources professionals ensure accessibility in their web-based job applications and other recruiting technologies for job seekers with disabilities.

Read the story here.

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• Best, Worst States Named For Disability Employment (Disability Scoop)

U.S. Department of Justice further delays ADA Title III rulemaking on website accessibility

Barnes & Thornburg LLP, Lexology

On Nov. 19, the federal government released its Fall Semiannual Regulatory Agenda. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has moved its anticipated rulemaking regarding website accessibility under title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which pertains to places of public accommodation, to the “long-term action” list. Meanwhile, DOJ also announced that it expects to issue its title II Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on website accessibility in January 2016. In the accompanying Statements of Agency Priorities, DOJ states that it “believes that the title II web site accessibility rule will facilitate the creation of an important infrastructure for web accessibility that will be very important in [DOJ’s] preparation of the title III web site accessibility NPRM.” DOJ further indicated that it expects to publish the title III website accessibility NPRM during fiscal year 2018. (In its Spring Semiannual Regulatory Agenda, DOJ had delayed its title III NPRM from June 2015 until April 2016.)

Read the story here.

Related content:

• Litigation Expands as DOJ Delays Website Accessibility Rules (Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP)
• DOJ delays website accessibility regulations under Title III of the ADA until 2018 (Briggs and Morgan)

Justice Department Weighs Putting Web Sites Under Disability Rules

The Chronicle of Higher Education
July 28, 2010, 05:13 PM ET
By Marc Parry

The modern Internet did not exist when the Americans With Disabilities Act was enacted in 1990. Now the Justice Department is weighing changes to bring the landmark civil-rights law in line with the rise of the Web—a debate that could have implications for colleges.
The department this week announced that it is considering revising ADA regulations "to establish specific requirements for state and local governments and public accommodations to make their Web sites accessible to individuals with disabilities."
The announcement and call for public comment, preliminary as they are, drew celebration from WebAIM, an Internet-accessibility training and consulting nonprofit at Utah State University. Jonathan Whiting, the center's director of training and evaluation, described the move as "huge." Many colleges' digital materials are designed in a way that makes them difficult to use for people with disabilities, he says.

Full Story: http://chronicle.com/blogPost/Justice-Department-Weighs/25854/?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

Making Recruiting Sites Accessible for All

Society for Human Resource Managers
5/26/2010
By Rebecca R. Hastings, SPHR

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is sending employers an important message: “Talent has no boundaries; workforce diversity includes workers with disabilities.” As employers begin to hire once again, therefore, they had better make sure that applicants with disabilities can find and compete for jobs just like everyone else.
DOL’s message is actually the 2010 theme for October's National Disability Employment Awareness Month, an annual opportunity to remind employers that there’s a large pool of talent waiting to contribute. According to April 2010 figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, less than a quarter of the potential labor force of Americans with disabilities are employed (22 percent), compared with more than two-thirds of the labor force without disabilities (70 percent).
In order to tap into this population, however, employers need to make sure that their entire recruitment process is accessible. That can be tricky, because an estimated 15 to 20 percent of the U.S. population has a disability that might affect their ability to use technology, according to LaMondré Pough, vice president of sales for TecAccess, a technology company in Rockville, Va.

Full Report: http://www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/Diversity/Articles/Pages/RecruitingSitesAccessible.aspx

Video: Living with disabilites at Vanderbilt

InsideVandy.com
By Sydney Wilmer Published Feb. 18, 2010. 697 views

Sophomore Angel Abbott follows the same route to class each morning. First she waits for an elevator to take her to the lobby of Lewis. She heads out the double doors, up 24th Avenue, then cuts through the Bramscomb Quad parking lot.
But Abbott doesn’t follow this exact route by choice; it’s simply the only accessible way to class. Abbott is disabled and confined to her wheelchair.
“The campus looks a lot more accessible than it is,” Abbott said. “A lot of people don’t realize the problems unless they go around with me on the campus where there are curves and see detours I have to take.”
Abbott said she worked with both Plant Operations and the Office of Equal Opportunities, Affirmative Action and Disability Services this spring to make a number of adjustments. Even still, limited entrances to buildings, curb-cuts and small spaces are obstacles she must traverse each day.

Full story and video: http://www.insidevandy.com/drupal/node/13035

University of Michigan Settles Justice Department Suit on Wheelchair Accessibility

Mar. 10, 2008
Joint press release of the Michigan Paralyzed Veterans of America and the University of Michigan

DETROIT, Mich.—After a series of ongoing discussions, with the University of Michigan, the Michigan Paralyzed Veterans of America and the United States Department of Justice agreed today on a plan to enhance wheelchair accessibility at Michigan Stadium. U.S. District Court Judge Sean Cox today signed a Consent Decree that orders the parties to uphold their agreement.
"We are pleased that the University was able to work with plaintiffs and their counsel to develop what we believe to be a positive result for all without the necessity of further proceedings," said University of Michigan Interim Vice President and General Counsel Gloria Hage.
"The Veterans will now have the agreement they have wanted since the beginning of this case. Disabled fans will be able to watch games at Michigan Stadium with the same level of enjoyment as other fans, in the spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act," said Richard Bernstein, attorney for the Michigan Paralyzed Veterans of America.
The new resolution will improve and enhance the University’s long standing commitment to accessibility for patrons with mobility impairments at Michigan Stadium. Starting with the 2008 football season, 96 new accessible seats, plus seats for companions, will be available along the east side of the Stadium at Row 54.
With the addition of these new seating areas, together with others to be added by the start of the 2010 season, at least 329 accessible seats, plus companion seats, will be available in a number of different areas of the Stadium Bowl, offering disabled patrons greater choice of locations, ticket prices, and viewing angles.
In addition, University architects, working closely with the Plaintiffs and their architects, have made plans to enhance accessibility of parking, access routes, restrooms, concessions, and other amenities over the next three years. The new plans will be incorporated into work already under way to enhance the accessibility of Michigan Stadium and improve the game day experience for all fans.
"Michigan Stadium should be a place of pride for all residents of Michigan and alumni. We hope, with this agreement, that it will also be able to serve as a model for the rest of the nation on how disabled fans can be accommodated," added Bernstein.
"We have always sought to provide the best possible game-day experience for all of our loyal football fans," said William C. Martin, University Athletic Director. "This agreement is an important step toward achieving that goal."

Related Links:
Consent decree (.PDF)

Contact: Kelly CunninghamPhone: (734) 936-5190
OrContact: Matt Friedman, Michigan Paralyzed Veterans of AmericaPhone: (248) 626-0006
http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=6402