HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommission On Disability - Minutes - 06/09/2005Commission On Disability
Minutes 2005 June Regular Meeting
Council Information Center, City Hall Building, 300 LaPorte Ave.
June 9, 2005
Approved In July 2005 Regular Meeting
Attendance: City Staff Liaisons: Guests:
Peggy Graff Steve White Lisa Schell — First Call
Jeff Harris Rachel Palmer Pat Going — Rocky Mountain
Steve Rierson ADA
Susan Williams
Mark Beck
Melinda Suits
Jerry Patterson
Laura Burnett
Call to order,12:20 P.M., Susan Williams, Chairperson
Motion: to approve the 2005 May Regular Meeting Minutes
By: Jed Second: Steve IL
Corrections:
NOD Melinda — the intent was not to have everyone write up their own section, just submit bullet points.
Approved by voice vote
Susan: We do the Mayor's Awards every year which is designed to raise awareness in the community, how
can we be more effective in reaching the community?
Pat G.: I brought a lot of materials, we have a lot of good guidance material. So, instead of a bunch of
people working to hard to create all of this from scratch and often muddying the waters, we should all use
the resources that are already available.
Pat's office is fimded by U.S. Department of Eduction
For ADA questions, there is a 1-800 number available, 1-800-9494232
We are available to Co -present materials with you, if desired for various events.
What is not covered ADA?
Residential Housing - Covered under Fair Housing Act
Churches
Hospital owned by church (entities under religious control)
There are a lot of laws that protect people with disabilities.
(pamphlet handed out covering laws - A Guide to Disability Rights Laws USDOJ, Civ. Rights)
Other things that are not covered:
Indian tribes not covered
Private clubs
Post office (covered under the rehab act of 1973) DoD, GSA...
ADA pushed basically pushed the rehab act to state and local governments and private business
Cancer Society and United Way are covered under ADA. They are private businesses even though they are
not for profit.
The Americans with Disabilities Act is Civil Rights Legislation — so the intent is equality, not special rights.
Reasonable accommodation for employees, so they can be given the chance to be productive employees.
ADA has two main subjects:
1) Employment
2) Access, buildings
Private business - 15 or more employees for reasonable accommodation for employment, barrier removal
(Title 3) still applicable.
Why 15 or mere? Small businesses feared that the ADA would establish another government bureaucracy
that they would be required to comply with, as OSHA.
Title 2 entities - State and local governments. Any entities that receive tax dollars, e.g., counties and public
schools (not private schools).
Steve W: Churches do not need to comply, but city building codes push them in that direction.
Pat: Yes. Also, the ADA gave rise to accessibility guidelines the ADADG. The ADADG is not a building
code. However, building code officials have used the ADADG to create a code that meets ADA
requirements. In 2005, most building codes are in line with ADADG.
Seeping requirements: percentage of parking spaces for example, require that there be 1 handicapped
accessible space for every grouping 25 spaces. So, if there were 26 spaces, ADA would require 2
handicapped spaces.
Rocky Mountain ADA gets numerous calls from churches for getting the ADADG, even though they are not
required
A new set of guidelines from the, ADVABA, are in public review for updating the ADADG. We are
probably still about 1 year away from getting that released from the U.S. Department of Justice.
The new guidelines are available from www.acecss-board.gov. However, note that they are not yet the
official guidelines, so if you're answering a question about what ADA requires or recommends, use the
current, released version of the ADADG.
Two most popular materials for employment rights and responsibilities ( "ADA: Your Responsibilities as an
Employer" and "ADA: Your Employment Rights as an Individual with a Disability")
There are financial ramifications for not complying with ADA.
The EEOC is a first good contact point if you think there's been a violation. If in doubt, start with USDOJ
www.adaportal.org - portal made by Pat's organization. Really dependent on knowing the right keyword
Standard keywords available in menu.
Search terms like DOJ, Job accommodation network, etc.
HUD has a different standard for service animals than ADA which is cause for some confiusion. HUD has a
broader definition that includes therapeutic pets.
Animals Required to be under control, no special privileges are granted to the animals. Seizure alert dogs
very nebulous and has been abused- (Poster handed out - "service animals welcome")
Remind business population getting older. 60+ has 2x disposable income
(Postcard handed out. "Good access is good business")
Drive -by lawsuits scams — Example: A person with a disability has employed an attorney and they see that
they have three steps to door and file complaint with the business. The complaint will state that the
business can settle if the send a certain dollar amount and the complaint will not be perused. This is not
goad for the ADA and if is abused even more could cause a backlash against the ADA. By 2005, barriers
that were easily removed, were removed. Drive -by causes people getting mad at ADA and could cause an
unfavorable ADA re -write
Susan: When is it a drive -by lawsuit? I have made a complaint against 2 hotels because there are no
accommodations.
Pat: That is legitimate. Enforcement starts with individual because it's civil rights legislation. Also, you
didn'ttry to get them to "settle" out of court for cash.
Jeff: You can't just give employers a whole book of rules that they have to follow, Colorado is an "at -will
hire" state. Is there some kind of strategy where we can educate employers without asking job seekers to
attempt to educate potential employers of their responsibilities?
Pat: ADA is not affirmative job action. That is the most important thing to remember. The point is that we
don't want someone disqualified because of something like a disability or skin color. We have handouts
that talk about strategies for this sort of thing.
Jana Copeland from the Rocky Mountain ADA office has really distilled down employment strategies
Lisa S: Say that someone gets hired with a disability, and then uses a different excuse to fire that person
event though it is really because of their disability.
Pat: Is that illegal? Yes. But it's hard to prove. Federal law still applies. 800 669 4000 To file a
complaint in this regard, call the EEOC at 1-800-669-4000. You have to be able to say that you were fired
for having a disability. Also notable is that as much as we get preoccupied with disabled job seekers, ifs
often people that had a pre-existing jobs before they became disabled that are discriminated against.
Lisa S: FirdCaI1211 Often get calls from people that become disabled that are then let go.
Pat: One of the best things our office can do is be a sounding board. Sometimes we can help talk through
the situation.
Postcard "Good access is good business" - tips on the back may or may not be helpful as a starting point for
educating a proprietor that their business is not accessible. Post card in large size as poster. Remember to
accentuate the positive! It is much more effective.
Get businesses to put this checklist (handout - "checklist for existing facilities", USDOJ) on their clipboard.
The checklist is for existing buildings.
Let them know you're a resource, not the ADA cops.
("ADA Quiz Book" mentioned) The quiz book is a great resource for conducting training in away that isn't
just a boring recitation of the ADA facts.
Jeff: It's presented in a non-threating way, that's what I was getting at earlier.
Pat: This booklet is good for in-service training, for example.
Hotels - (two handouts) DOJ Checklist for new lodging and
(two handouts pamphlets) BBB - retail, medical
Susan: Why aren't medical offices more accessible? It seems that of all places they should be the most
accessible and oftentimes they are not. One of the biggest problems is the doors being too heavy
Pat: Doors must be manageable. That is just common sense. If they are not, a person could get injured just
attempting to get in.
Laura: Manageable doors is good for business too, it makes the business inviting
Melinda: What about liability issues? It seems that heavy doors may make it Baser for someone to hurt
themselves.
Steve: Is there one packet that we could give out as a standard resource for public education?
Pat: No. There's too many different things and new items. But there are lots of different resources that
could be put into a packet geared toward a specific issue.
(pamphlet - "Taking Action", United Spinal Association) This pamphlet is a good resource for how to
advocate, and how to not bum bridges
There are over -sized business cards ("Disability Etiquette Tips", Rocky Mountain Disability and Business
Technical Assistance Center) and a pamphlet ("Disability Etiquette", United Spinal Association) on
disability etiquette that are good as a generic starting point for public education.
("Great grips" products handed out) — This is a rubber piece that goes on round door knobs that can help
people with limited hand/arm mobility to open doors.
Laura: Do you have finding available?
Pat: We could help with small things like helping with refreshments for informational meetings, but we can't
do big amounts.
(Showed "Sign Language Basics" posters and "Sign Language Basics" adapted for medical environments.
We want to help you working in the community and we've found that posters like these are very useful.
Laura: Should the COD consider purchasing business cards each member?
Pat: Even if they're not personalized, you should have something like that with the basic info on it.
If someone uses a handicapped parking placard issued for someone else, what can do you do about that?
You could write a citation. The City of Fort Collins promotes citizen citations too address these problems.
Pat: What is the only thing that is reserved for a handicapped person?
Parking, but not bathroom stalls, etc. Really, just parking
Make sure you tell people when you see them doing it right not just when they are doing it wrong.
Susan: Months ago we talked about giving out certs. Several places have all received cerls. from the COD
commending them for going above and beyond
Letter Susan sent to us that will go to City concerning Dial -A -Ride services
Peggy takes issue with the letter because it sounds more like special rights rather than equal rights.
Laura: The regular Transfort buses ride at night?
Mark: The night fixed routes might be cancelled.
Laura: I see where Peggy is coming from.
Peggy: I don't know if it makes sense.
Steve W: Should the letter be reworded to ask to keep fixed route services as well to make it fair?
Mark: The letter, as it stands, requests continuing service even if fixed routes are cancelled.
Where does the letter go? City council and Tan Fraizer.
Jerry: It may be requesting special rights, but the job of this commission is to advocate for people with
disabilities. As advocates, we are requesting that a service that is necessary for some people with
disabilities to use to continue in independent living.
Motion: to accept the letter as written and send it to Tom Fraizer and The Council.
By: Mark, second: Laura
Passes on voice vote
Maureen Boyt
She has not been to meeting for three times in a row. Susan and Jerry haven't been able to get information
back from her. The by-laws terminate her membership.
NOD
A handout was passed out that discussed The City of Pasadena's application to last year's NOD comparing it
to Fat Collins.
Motion: to adjourn.
By: Jerry, second Susan
Mark: PHA is seeking $12,000to make a video and wants to ask the city for help.
Approved on voice vote
Adjourned,1:54 pm