Cases
January 26, 2021
On January 26, 2021, DRA and partners filed a major class action lawsuit challenging New York City’s segregated school system for students with disabilities on Staten Island. The lawsuit alleges that the borough’s separate school district for children with disabilities, known as District 75, denies these students an equal education, forcing them into segregated … Continue reading » “EF v. New York City Department of Education”
January 13, 2021
Image: “Have you been denied medication for opioid use disorder at the Salvation Army or other residential treatment programs? We want to hear from you. Justice Catalyst Law and Disability Rights Advocates are investigating discrimination by the Salvation Army and other residential treatment programs against people experiencing Opioid Use Disorder. Have you experienced any of … Continue reading » “Denial of Medication for Opioid Use Disorder by Residential Treatment Programs Including the Salvation Army”
December 3, 2020
Indiana voters with print disabilities can now use their own assistive technology to cast their absentee ballot privately and independently, due to a historic settlement agreement reached in January 2023. As a result of the settlement, the state has agreed to acquire a new remote accessible ballot marking tool that will allow these voters to … Continue reading » “American Council of the Blind of Indiana v. Indiana Election Commission”
October 19, 2020
In a landmark agreement, advocates for people who are blind obtained WarnerMedia’s pledge to increase the accessibility of HBO Max—the much-anticipated online streaming platform that was launched in May 2020. Among other commitments, the agreement provided that WarnerMedia would provide audio description on at least 1,500 hours of new and existing programming on HBO Max … Continue reading » “HBO Max Structured Negotiations”
October 15, 2020
Disability Rights Advocates, Westchester Disabled on the Move, Inc., and Westchester County have reached a settlement agreement that will result in significant improvements to the County’s emergency preparedness and response programs for people with disabilities who live in, work in, or travel to the County. The agreement was reached through structured negotiations without any lawsuit … Continue reading » “Westchester County Emergency Preparedness”
October 14, 2020
In October 2020, Disability Rights Advocates filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of blind New Yorkers and the American Council of the Blind, New York against New York state entities, challenging the inaccessibility of “NY-Alert,” a Mass Notification System intended to warn New Yorkers and visitors of emergencies and other critical information in a … Continue reading » “Chiappetta vs. New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services”
October 9, 2020
The Legal Action Center and Disability Rights Advocates are investigating discrimination by nursing homes or other long-term care facilities in NYC and NYS, against people receiving medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD). MOUD is the use of methadone, buprenorphine (often goes by the brand name Suboxone), or injectable naltrexone (Vivitrol) to treat opioid use disorder. … Continue reading » “Access to Long-Term Care Facilities for Patients on Medication for Opioid Use Disorder”
September 23, 2020
In September 2020, DRA filed a class action suit on behalf of San Francisco’s LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired and two of its employees against payroll processing and HR giant, ADP TotalSource and its parent company Automatic Data Processing, Inc. for failing to make their industry-leading products and services accessible to blind managers and … Continue reading » “LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired v. ADP TotalSource”
August 13, 2020
First Urology is a full-service urological medical and imaging practice with roughly twenty locations in Kentucky and Indiana. First Urology is required by law to buy equipment and train its staff to help people with disabilities lift onto examination and imaging tables. Instead, First Urology had a written policy stating that patients requiring assistance to … Continue reading » “Fust v. First Urology”
July 27, 2020
On July 27, 2020, disability organizations filed a lawsuit against the North Carolina State Board of Elections for excluding North Carolinians with disabilities from their Absentee Voting program. The lawsuit charges the state agency with discrimination against voters who are unable to independently and privately mark a paper ballot due to vision disabilities. All North … Continue reading » “North Carolina Council of the Blind v. North Carolina State Board of Elections”