Anybody who is online is advised (and often admonished) to practice good cybersecurity hygiene as a way to protect their information from would-be thieves. But what about those who can’t? What about the people who for physical or cognitive or financial reasons are unable to follow the basic rules of cybersecurity? In short, these people are often out of luck. And the result is that they face an impossible choice: They can either be excluded from essential private and public services or become easy prey to cybercriminals…
After two months of sleeping in the Salvation Army Center of Hope homeless shelter in Charlotte, N.C., Margaret Davis has had no luck finding an apartment she can afford. The 55-year-old grandmother receives about $750 a month from the federal government. She's trying to live on just $50 cash and $150 in food stamps each month so she can save enough for a place to call home. Davis is homeless even though she receives funds from the Supplemental Security Income program, a hard-to-get federal benefit that was created nearly 50 years ago to lift Americans who are older, blind or disabled out of poverty.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE'S DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND ACCESSIBILITY (DEIA) STRATEGIC PLAN
The Department of State is releasing the essential components of its Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Strategic Plan. Per Executive Order 14035 on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Ambassador Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley and her team have worked diligently with Department stakeholders and experts to finalize the Departments five-year DEIA Strategic Plan and establish the Departments first-ever Demographic Baseline Report. The DEIA Strategic Plan was developed with input from all segments across our workforce.
Thirty-two House Democrats have come together to request in a letter that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) address digital accessibility issues by making regulations and other administrative actions well known. In the letter, addressed to Attorney General Merrick Garland, DOJs recent issuance of guidance the March 2022 Guidance on Web Accessibility and the Americans with Disabilities Act was commended. However, it is noted that while the DOJ issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in 2010 to increase clarity in ADA regulations, the notice was withdrawn in 2017 by the Trump administration and a proposed rule was never issued.
FCC PUSHES FOR MORE ACCESSIBLE EMERGENCY ALERTS
The FCC this month is set to consider a Report and Order (R&O) to improve the clarity and accessibility of Emergency Alert System visual messages to the public. This includes persons who are deaf or hard of hearing who are often unable to access the audio message. One of the changes it could adopt at its Sept. 29 monthly meeting requires EAS participants, when they receive an EAS alert in the legacy format, to check whether a CAP version of the alert is available, and if it is, to send the CAP version rather than the legacy version.
SUBTITLE THE WORLD
Sirens blare and the roar of impatient drivers echoes in the background. Jake Giovanni, who is deaf, sits across from me in his apartment in Charlotte, North Carolina, to test out XRAI Glass new tech that produces captions in real time for those who are deaf or hard of hearing. Giovanni, 24, is one of the first in the US to see the tech in action. A compatible smartphone running XRAI Glass software captures audio while a pair of augmented reality glasses in this case, the Nreal Air AR glasses created by Beijing-based Nrealódisplay captions on Giovannis lenses.
Sponsored by VOTEC
Ahead of the November election, Milwaukee officials are highlighting the steps they're taking to make voting accessible particularly for people with disabilities whose access to absentee voting has been the subject of recent litigation. "Now more than ever it is extremely important that voters with disabilities be aware of the accessibility of elections but also changing election laws," Milwaukee Election Commission Executive Director Claire Woodall-Vogg said during a press conference at Independence First.
Retailer Hy-Vee's website is not accessible to legally blind people who use a screen reader in violation of the law, a new class action lawsuit alleges. Plaintiff Jasmine Toro filed the class action complaint against Hy-Vee, Inc. Aug. 24 in a New York federal court, alleging violations of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). Toro is a visually impaired and legally blind person who requires screen-reading software to read website content using her computer, she says. According to the lawsuit, Hy-Vee has failed to design its website, shop.hy-veedeals.com, to be fully accessible to blind or visually impaired users…
L'ORÉAL HIT WITH CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT OVER WEBSITE BEING INACCESSIBLE TO BLIND USERS. Read More
CHIC SOUL CLASS ACTION CLAIMS WEBSITE INACCESSIBLE TO BLIND, VISUALLY IMPAIRED USERS. Read More
GUESS HIT WITH SOUTH FLORIDA WEBSITE ACCESSIBILITY SUIT. Read More
LARGE RIAS SUED OVER CLAIMS THAT WEBSITES ARE INACCESSIBLE TO THE BLIND. Read More
BENIHANA CLASS ACTION ALLEGES WEBSITE NOT ACCESSIBLE TO VISUALLY IMPAIRED, BLIND
Benihana failed to design, construct, maintain and operate its website so that it is fully accessible to individuals who are blind or visually impaired, a new class action lawsuit alleges. Plaintiff Miriam Cruz claims Benihana's online website contains numerous access barriers that prevent equal access to screen-reading software used by individuals who are blind or visually impaired. Cruz argues the alleged access barriers on Benihana's website deny individuals who are blind or visually impaired with equal access to services provided to their non-disabled customers, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
CRAFT BREWERIES HIT WITH ADA WEBSITE CLAIMS BY PACIFIC TRIAL ATTORNEY. Read More
WESTERN UNION CLASS ACTION ALLEGES WEBSITE INACCESSIBLE TO BLIND, VISUALLY IMPAIRED. Read More
BRUNO THE BRAKE CAR JOINS "THOMAS & FRIENDS" AS FIRST CHARACTER WITH AUTISM
Fans of "Thomas & Friends" will get to meet a new character, as Bruno the Brake Car joins Thomas the Tank Engine as the franchise's first character with autism. Mattel announced the addition to the beloved British children's show Wednesday. The company described Bruno in a news release as a "joyful, pun-making brake car" and plays a "vital role" in the show, which also airs in the United States, Canada, Australia and other countries. He also has stairs and a lantern on his bright red exterior that indicates his emotional state and moves when he is excited or cautious.
In a long-overdue move, the federal Office of Science and Technology Policy has issued guidance on making federally supported research and publications available to all without delay or embargo. This remarkable announcement about open access has the potential to remove information barriers that have long held back social and scientific progress. Even with immediate open access to research results, however, people with disabilities face unique barriers to information access. These issues must be considered as this policy takes shape…
OPTAVIA CLASS SETTLEMENT PROVIDING DIGITAL ACCESS TO THE BLIND PRELIMINARILY APPROVED
A class settlement providing accessibility to a health and wellness companies website, including its online store, within the next three years for blind individuals using screen-access software, a fee for the lead plaintiff and attorney fees was preliminarily approved Sept. 12 by a federal judge in Pennsylvania. Blair Douglass, a Pennsylvania man who is blind, filed a class complaint against Optavia LLC in April 2022 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania alleging that the company violated Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. ßß 12181-12189, by failing to make its digital properties accessible to blind individuals.
WITH EARLY ALZHEIMER'S IN THE FAMILY, THESE SISTERS DECIDED TO TEST FOR THE GENE
In some families, Alzheimer's disease seems inevitable. "Your grandmother has it, your mom has it, your uncle has it, your aunts have it, your cousin has it. I always assumed that I would have it," says Karen Douthitt, 57. "It was always in our peripheral vision," says Karen's sister June Ward, 61. "Our own mother started having symptoms at age 62, so it has been a part of our life." Nearly a decade ago, Karen, June, and an older sister, Susie Gilliam, 64, set out to learn why Alzheimer's was affecting so many family members.
ARLINGTON, VA, Sept. 23, 2022—Over thirty years since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), there is still a difference of opinion from courts, and there is a lack of definitive legislation from the US government, on whether the web is covered. This situation has kept plaintiff and defendant lawyers busy in recent years, as people with disabilities bring discrimination lawsuits against companies, alleging denial of their rights to information and services.
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