Home : Disability Rights

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.

ACLU Joins Civil Rights Organizations for Disability Rights Briefing (01/08/2008)
Washington, DC – Today the American Civil Liberties Union participated in a briefing in conjunction with the Leadership Conference for Civil Rights, to discuss the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Restoration Act of 2007 (H.R. 3195 / S. 1881). The briefing was held to expand the base of supporters for this vital legislation beyond the disability community, specifically reaching out to veterans services organizations, unions, civil rights and religious groups, racial justice organizations, and others.

ACLU Commends Senate Committee for Support of ADA Restoration Act (11/15/2007)
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union commends the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Chairman Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Ranking Member Michael Enzi (R-WY), for holding a hearing on S. 1881, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Restoration Act of 2007. The ACLU also acknowledges the leadership and vision of Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) for their co-sponsorship and support of this important legislation.

ACLU Praises Senate Introduction of Pay Equity Legislation (07/20/2007)
Washington, DC - The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded the Senate introduction of the Fair Pay Restoration Act, companion to H.R. 2831, Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2007. This bipartisan legislation would restore protections against pay discrimination that were undermined by the May 29, 2007 Supreme Court decision Ledbetter v. Goodyear.

ACLU Welcomes Pay Equity Legislation in the House of Representatives (06/22/2007)
Washington, DC - The American Civil Liberties Union applauded today’s introduction in the House of Representatives of the “Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2007,” legislation aimed at clarifying the law regarding wage discrimination. On May 29, the Supreme Court ruled in Ledbetter v. Goodyear that workers cannot sue for wage discrimination that occurred years earlier. According to the 5-4 decision, the majority held that the plaintiff had no claim because she had not filed a complaint within 180 days of the initial discrimination.

Alaska Natives and ACLU Sue Over Voting Rights Violations in Bethel (06/11/2007)
ANCHORAGE — The Native American Rights Fund and the American Civil Liberties Union, acting on behalf of four Bethel-area Alaska Natives, filed a federal lawsuit today charging state and local elections officials with ongoing violations of the federal Voting Rights Act. The groups charge that state and local officials have denied voter assistance and failed to provide oral language assistance and voting materials to citizens who primarily speak Yup’ik, the first language of many Alaska Natives in the Bethel region.