Home : Disability Rights

ACLU/SC Sues Upscale Coastal Resort for Treating Disabled Homeless People as Outlaws (03/06/2009)
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The ACLU of Southern California filed a lawsuit today against the city of Santa Barbara for intentionally violating the constitutional rights of disabled homeless people by criminalizing them through enforcement of its "anti-sleeping ordinance," while giving them no reasonable alternative to sleeping on the streets. The lawsuit – on behalf of certain homeless residents -- was filed in federal district court in Los Angeles.

ACLU Praises House Passage of ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (09/17/2008)
The American Civil Liberties Union welcomes today’s passage of the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) by the House of Representatives. The legislation, introduced by Representative Hoyer (D-MD) in the House and Senator Harkin (D-IA) in the Senate, rolls back two decades worth of legal decisions that have thwarted the original intent of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). The House passed the bill by a voice vote, as did the Senate last week.

ACLU Commends Senate Passage of ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (09/11/2008)
WASHINGTON, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union was pleased to see overwhelming bipartisan support in today’s Senate passage of the ADA Amendments Act of 2008. The legislation seeks to undo nearly two decades of legal setbacks to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), restoring the landmark legislation to its original intent. Senate passage was through unanimous consent; the House passed a similar bill this past June.

Disability Backlogs Violate Due Process Rights (05/08/2008)
WASHINGTON, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union was encouraged by today’s Senate Finance Committee hearing on service delivery problems with the Social Security Administration (SSA) field offices. The SSA has struggled in processing disability claims in reasonable timeframes and the ACLU has concerns that a mandatory employment verification system would capsize the already overburdened agency.

Employment Verification Would Create a ‘No Work List’ in the U.S. (05/06/2008)
WASHINGTON – As the House Ways & Means subcommittee on Social Security met today to debate employment eligibility verification systems, the American Civil Liberties Union sounds its call for Congress not to erect barriers for Americans who seek employment. The hearing is to examine the impact that employment verification systems would have on the Social Security Administration (SSA), an already overburdened governmental agency.

ACLU Sues City of Greenacres on Behalf of Disabled Resident (04/30/2008)
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida filed a lawsuit today against the City of Greenacres in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, State Court. Filed on behalf of Peter W. Ballance, 63, the lawsuit alleges that the City denied him reasonable accommodation services and treated him differently due to communication issues associated with Asperger's Syndrome, from which Ballance suffers.

Social Security Delays of Disability Claims Violate Due Process Rights (04/23/2008)
WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union commends the House Ways and Means Committee for holding a hearing today on the backlog of Social Security disability claims. The ACLU has submitted a written statement to the committee.

Budget Cuts Target Elderly and Disabled Refugees (02/06/2008)
PORTLAND, ME – Many elderly and disabled refugees who have sought asylum in Maine could lose their only source of income under proposed budget cuts that will be presented Thursday to a joint meeting of the Appropriations and Health and Human Services Committees. The budget cuts proposed by Governor John Baldacci would change current law, which has allowed the state to help disabled refugees who are here legally but who are not eligible for federal SSI benefits.

ACLU Urges House Committee to Support ADA Restoration Act (01/29/2008)
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded the House Committee on Education and Labor for holding a hearing on H.R. 3195, the Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Restoration Act.

Paraplegic Man Sues Hospital For “Dumping” Him in Skid Row Gutter Without a Wheelchair (01/17/2008)
LOS ANGELES – Attorneys for Public Counsel, the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, and the law firm of Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. filed a lawsuit today against a southern California hospital, Hollywood Presbyterian, on behalf of a paraplegic homeless man who was “dumped” in a skid row gutter. Gabino Olvera, a 42-year-old man with a history of mental illness, was treated and discharged from the hospital in February 2007, transported by van across town in a soiled hospital gown, and deposited on the side of a street without a wheelchair. According to the complaint, witnesses at the scene observed Olvera dragging himself on the ground with his papers clenched in his teeth.