Disability Law Commons^™

Mental Health In Prison: The Unintended But Catastrophic Effects Of Deinstitutionalization, Felicia Mulholland

Touro Law Review

Prisons and jails are not adequately equipped to manage the ever-growing population of mentally ill inmates. Despite deinstitutionalization efforts, prisons have steadily become the new psychiatric hospitals and unfortunately, because of the lack of treatment and the ability to properly supervise this population of inmates, these individuals are dying by their own hands at an alarming rate. This Note argues that the lack of proper care for mentally ill inmates is a violation of their constitutional right, despite their incarcerated status. The Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) should incorporate more concrete and universal rules and regulations for the …

Pandemic Silver Lining: Discovering The Reasonableness Of Remote Learning As An Accommodation Under The Ada, Kaitlyn Barciszewski

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

As society returned to “normal” following the worldwide pandemic caused by the outbreak of COVID-19, higher education students around the world could be heard celebrating and warmly welcoming their return to in-person classes. With this return came the face-to-face social interactions most longed for through the worldwide lockdown with friends, classmates, and professors. Some may even feel that in-person learning is more effective than what had become the norm––Zoom university. At this moment, however, these institutions can and should evaluate the potential benefits and continued utility of this alternate way of doing higher education that was forced upon them for …

Doing The Right Thing, The Right Way, The First Time: Decision-Making In Public And Private Arenas Regarding The Use Of Service Animals, Maureen E. Lally-Green, Annemarie Harr Eagle Esq., Bridget M. Green

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Transparency And Reliance In Antidiscrimination Law, Steven L. Willborn

Catholic University Law Review

All antidiscrimination laws have two structural features – transparency and reliance – that are important, even central, to their design, but have gone largely unnoticed. On transparency, some laws, like the recent salary-ban laws, attempt to prevent the employer from learning about the disfavored factor on the theory that an employer cannot rely on an unknown factor. Other laws require publication of the disfavored factor, such as salary, on the theory that it is harder to discriminate in the sunlight. Still other laws are somewhere between these two extremes. The Americans with Disabilities Act, for example, limits but does not …

Understanding Terminations For “Disability-Caused Misconduct” As Failures To Provide Reasonable Accommodation, Michael S. Verdichizzi

Notre Dame Law Review

The Note proceeds as follows. Part I provides a primer on the sorts of disability discrimination the ADA prohibits, with a special focus on the three types of claims one may bring under the act: disparate treatment, disparate impact, and failure to accommodate. Part II explores the current state of the misconduct issue in the disability discrimination context and demonstrates the circuit split by way of case analyses. Part III presents the principal argument of this Note, that uncontroversial canons of statutory interpretation demonstrate the erroneousness of the majority view, that the majority view hinders the ADA’s objective of equal …

This Aggression Will Not Stand, Schools: The Need For Federal Legislation Protecting Bullied Students With Disabilities, Russell A. Vogel

Touro Law Review

A boy with Autism comes home from school, visibly upset. His parents ask him why, and he responds that nobody in his class likes him. To his parents’ horror, they learn that their son’s teacher encouraged a class discussion about why they dislike their son. When the boy’s parents complain to the school about this issue, school administrators brush it aside. The next day, students sitting near the boy move their desks away from him and taunt him for the way he acts every time he tries to socialize with them. The boy then refuses to go to school each …

Maternity Rights: A Comparative View Of Mexico And The United States, Roberto Rosas

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Women play a large role in the workplace and require additional protection during pregnancy, childbirth, and while raising children. This article compares how Mexico and the United States have approached the issue of maternity rights and benefits. First, Mexico provides eighty-four days of paid leave to mothers, while the United States provides unpaid leave for up to twelve weeks. Second, Mexico allows two thirty-minute breaks a day for breastfeeding, while the United States allows a reasonable amount of time per day to breastfeed. Third, Mexico provides childcare to most federal employees, while the United States provides daycares to a small …

The Deliberate Indifference Standard: A Broken Promise To Protect And Serve The Mentally Ill, Katherine R. Carroll

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Covid-19 Employee Health Checks, Remote Work, And Disability Law, Elizabeth Pendo

All Faculty Scholarship

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities, about 61 million individuals in the U.S. The law’s protections in the workplace are especially important during COVID-19, which has worsened pre-existing disparities experienced by people with disabilities. The ADA also applies to new strategies to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection in the workplace. This Chapter will focus on two strategies that impact individuals with and without disabilities – employee health screening, testing and vaccination policies, and new or expanded remote work programs.

Accessible Websites And Mobile Applications Under The Ada: The Lack Of Legal Guidelines And What This Means For Businesses And Their Customers, Josephine Meyer

Seattle University Law Review SUpra

No abstract provided.

Enforcement Of The Americans With Disabilities Act: Remedying “Abusive” Litigation While Strengthening Disability Rights, Evelyn Clark

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

This Note explores the Americans with Disabilities Act and the private litigation used to enforce compliance. While the ADA was designed to be enforced by private citizens, many have called for reform to limit what they see as “abusive” litigants. This Note focuses on (1) the perceived problem of vexatious litigants abusing the ADA and its state counterparts to benefit monetarily, (2) the attempted solutions on both a state and federal level, and (3) recommended solutions that focus on protecting the rights of individuals with disabilities while limiting abusive litigation meant to extort businesses.

Disability Rights Past, Present And Future: A Roadmap For Disability Rights, Marcy Karin, Lara Bollinger

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

The Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”)2 “was and is all about civil rights.”3 Enacted in 1990, its goal was to prohibit discrimination based on disability across society, from employment to places of public accommodation and government services. As the byproduct of bipartisan support and significant advocacy and leadership by members and allies of the disability community, there were high hopes that the ADA would live up to its goal. Unfortunately, that reality never came to pass for many individuals with disabilities. Instead, a line of Supreme Court decisions in 1999 and 2002 imposed increasingly narrow interpretations of the law’s core …

Virtual Access: A New Framework For Disability And Human Flourishing In An Online World, John D. Inazu, Johanna Smith

Scholarship@WashULaw

While many commentators have noted the wealth and class disparities that emerge from the digital divide, disability adds another important lens through which to consider questions of access and equity. Online accessibility for disabled people has fallen prey to the same assumptions and impediments that led to the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) addressing disability access in the offline world. Addressing these shortcomings requires a significant conceptual shift in our understanding of “access,” even among disabled people. Offline, the sidewalk or doorway hindered access to those who needed assistance walking or moving. Today’s virtual sidewalks and doorways complicate access in …

A Primer On Disability Discrimination In Higher Education, Laura Rothstein

Laura Rothstein

This article provides an overview of key issues and a focus on some of the most significant and important recent developments that should be given a high priority by university attorneys and higher education administrators and policymakers. It emphasizes the role that administrators responsible for facilitating or coordinating disability services on campus can play in ensuring that faculty members, staff members, and other administrators have the knowledge and tools to ensure access and also to avoid liability to the institution. Major changes in the Trump administration and Congress may signal changes that could affect disability discrimination issues on campus. These …

A Primer On Disability Discrimination In Higher Education, Laura Rothstein

Brandeis School of Law Faculty Scholarship

This article provides an overview of key issues and a focus on some of the most significant and important recent developments that should be given a high priority by university attorneys and higher education administrators and policymakers. It emphasizes the role that administrators responsible for facilitating or coordinating disability services on campus can play in ensuring that faculty members, staff members, and other administrators have the knowledge and tools to ensure access and also to avoid liability to the institution. Major changes in the Trump administration and Congress may signal changes that could affect disability discrimination issues on campus. These …

Would The Ada Pass Today?: Disability Rights In An Age Of Partisan Polarization, Laura Rothstein

Laura Rothstein

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) was the most significant civil rights legislation enacted since the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It provided comprehensive protection against discrimination for individuals with disabilities in employment, public accommodations, and public services. It built on § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act that provided these protections only to programs receiving federal financial assistance. It afforded broad access to those individuals who had benefitted from the 1975 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This complex and far-reaching legislation was made possible by a confluence of timing and the right people at the right place at …

Symposium Current Issues In Disability Rights Law, Samuel J. Levine

Samuel J. Levine

No abstract provided.

Classifying Wcag 2.0 Guidelines As The Legal Standard For Websites Under Title Iii Of The Americans With Disabilities Act, Toni Cannady

Catholic University Law Review

Over the last two decades, technological advancements have driven significant changes in society that have led to more productivity, more convenience, and more accessibility. In particular, websites serve as a platform for consumers to engage in commerce. Under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, public accommodations are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of disability. Nonetheless, to date, the law “has failed to keep pace with these technological advances” creating profound effects for individuals with disabilities and businesses alike. However, in the absence of clearly defined standards, lawsuits by plaintiffs have fueled a new body of judicially made …

Would The Ada Pass Today?: Disability Rights In An Age Of Partisan Polarization, Laura Rothstein

Brandeis School of Law Faculty Scholarship

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) was the most significant civil rights legislation enacted since the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It provided comprehensive protection against discrimination for individuals with disabilities in employment, public accommodations, and public services. It built on § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act that provided these protections only to programs receiving federal financial assistance. It afforded broad access to those individuals who had benefitted from the 1975 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This complex and far-reaching legislation was made possible by a confluence of timing and the right people at the right place at …

Foreword To The Symposium: Current Issues In Disability Rights Law, Samuel J. Levine

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Why America Is Better Off Because Of The Americans With Disabilities Act And The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, Peter Blanck

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

First Race, Then Sex, Now Disability: The Fight Towards Increased And Equal Employment Of Individuals With Disabilities, Wallis Levy Granat

Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development

(Excerpt)

Think about a typical morning. 7:00 a.m.: You hear the dreaded alarm and moan as “Superstition” plays. You somehow manage to hit snooze and buy yourself another ten minutes of peaceful bliss. 7:10 a.m.: You roll over, turn the alarm off, and instinctually grab your iPhone. You check Facebook, your email, your Instagram, and your Chase bank account to make sure nothing has changed since you went to sleep. 7:15 a.m.: You reluctantly get out of bed and turn the lights on. 7:20 a.m.: You grab your favorite Tommy Hilfiger shirt and finish getting dressed. 7:25 a.m.: You turn …

The Future Of Disability Rights Protections For Transgender People, Kevin M. Barry, Jennifer L. Levi

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Mixed Signals: What Can We Expect From The Supreme Court In This Post-Ada Amendments Act Era?, Nicole Buonocore Porter

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Application Of Title Ii Of The Americans With Disabilities Act To Employment Discrimination: Why The Circuits Have Gotten It Wrong, William Brooks

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Permitted Incentives For Workplace Wellness Plans Under The Ada And Gina: The Regulatory Gap, Elizabeth Pendo, Brandon Hall

All Faculty Scholarship

Although workplace wellness plans have been around for decades, they have flourished under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”) into a $6 billion-dollar industry. Under PPACA, a “wellness plan” is a program of health promotion or disease prevention offered by an employer that is designed to promote health or prevent disease and which meets the other applicable requirements of that subsection. Employers look to these programs to promote healthy lifestyles, improve the overall health of employees and beneficiaries, and reduce rising healthcare costs. PPACA’s amendments to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) permit employers to offer …

Disability Rights In The Age Of Uber: Applying The Americans With Disabilities Act Of 1990 To Transportation Network Companies, Rachel Reed

Georgia State University Law Review

Within the past year, individual plaintiffs and disability rights organizations have initiated a number of lawsuits against Uber, and similar companies like Lyft, alleging violations of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Title III). In each of these cases, the plaintiffs’ success turns on affirmatively answering one significant threshold question: Whether Uber, or a similar entity, falls within the scope of Title III. Traditional taxi companies fall squarely within the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990’s (ADA) coverage under 42 U.S.C. § 12184 (§ 12184), which governs private companies that provide transportation services. Given the similarities …

Community Integration Of People With Disabilities: Can Olmstead Protect Against Retrenchment?, Mary Crossley

Articles

Since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, states have made significant progress in enabling Americans with disabilities to live in their communities, rather than institutions. That progress reflects the combined effect of the Supreme Court’s holding in Olmstead v. L.C. ex rel. Zimring, that states’ failure to provide services to disabled persons in the community may violate the ADA, and amendments to Medicaid that permit states to devote funding to home and community-based services (HCBS). This article considers whether Olmstead and its progeny could act as a check on a potential retrenchment of states’ …

For The Protection Of Society's Most Vulnerable, The Ada Should Apply To Arrests, Thomas J. Auner

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

No abstract provided.

Use Of Facial Recognition Technology For Medical Purposes: Balancing Privacy With Innovation, Seema Mohapatra

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.