Our Mission
With offices in California and New York, Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) is one of the leading nonprofit disability rights legal centers in the nation. Its mission is to advance equal rights and opportunity for people with all types of disabilities nationwide.
Contact for Press Inquiries
Email: communications@dralegal.org
Phone: (510) 665-8644
Links
DRA General Information Brochure (PDF)
New York, NY—October 2017—Disability Rights Advocates (DRA), the leading national nonprofit disability rights legal center, honors three outstanding advocates for the disability community in 2017. The Museum Access Consortium (MAC), Rebecca Alexander, and Starbucks were each presented with Eagle Awards at DRA’s Inaugural New York Gala on October 12, 2017. About DRA’s Eagle Awards Every … Continue reading “Disability Rights Advocates Presents Three Eagle Awards in 2017”
New York, NY—October 12, 2017— Beth Israel Medical Center, St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, and Continuum Health Partners (collectively, the “Heritage Continuum Hospitals”) have agreed to a comprehensive long-term plan to improve access to health care for patients and hospital visitors with disabilities. The agreement settles a 2013 lawsuit brought … Continue reading “Beth Israel Medical Center, St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center, The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary and Continuum Health Partners Agree to Landmark Class Action Settlement to Improve Health Care Services for New Yorkers with Disabilities”
Photo by Andrew Dallos, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 New York, New York—Disability Rights Advocates (DRA), a national nonprofit legal center, filed a Charge of Discrimination for Julio Andrade, a former Marine, after the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) denied him a job as a Fire Fighter because of a diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress … Continue reading “FDNY Violates ADA by Pre-judging Veteran Applicants as Unfit”
New York, NY—September 14, 2017—eatsa, a growing, national fast-casual restaurant chain, has reached an agreement with the American Council of the Blind (ACB) and members of the blind community in New York and California to make its automated self-service restaurant experience accessible to blind customers throughout the country. eatsa utilizes a high-tech service model in … Continue reading “eatsa Agrees to Make its Cutting-Edge Technology Accessible to Blind Customers”
New York, NY—August 10, 2017—Special Master Robert L. Burgdorf, Jr., one of the nation’s leading experts on disability rights, issued a 285 page report finding that it could take another 20 years or more to bring New York City street corners into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if a proposed class settlement … Continue reading “Court Report Confirms Dismal State of Sidewalks for Disabled New Yorkers”
July 27, 2017 – New York, NY – Disability Rights Advocates (“DRA”), a national nonprofit legal center, brought a class action lawsuit in federal court today on behalf of students with disabilities from the Bronx who are being denied legally-mandated special education services. When the New York City Department of Education (“DOE”) cannot find providers … Continue reading “New York City School System Fails to Provide Necessary Services to Students with Disabilities in the Bronx”
WASHINGTON, July 26, 2017 — The American Bar Association will posthumously honor Laurence (Larry) W. Paradis, the former executive director of Disability Rights Advocates in Berkeley, Calif., with its Paul G. Hearne Award for Disability Rights. Paradis died July 28, 2016. The ABA Commission on Disability Rights selected Paradis for his advocacy and leadership for … Continue reading “ABA to posthumously honor Laurence W. Paradis with Paul G. Hearne Award for Disability Rights”
Seattle, WA—May 16, 2017—Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) today announces an agreement with Northwest Hospital & Medical Center. Over the last several months, Northwest Hospital, DRA, three individual members of Seattle’s Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing (DDBHH) community, and Abused Deaf Women’s Advocacy Services (ADWAS) have worked together to ensure that Northwest Hospital’s outstanding, patient-focused … Continue reading “Northwest Hospital and Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community Partners to Ensure Effective Communication during Health Care”
San Francisco, CA – April 28, 2017 – AMC Theaters (AMC) has reached an agreement with several blind individuals, the California Council of the Blind (CCB), and the LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired in San Francisco (LightHouse) to ensure blind customers have reliable access to audio description services at AMC movie theaters nationwide. … Continue reading “AMC Theaters Agrees to Improve Services for Blind Movie-Goers”
New York, NY—April 25, 2017—Two class action lawsuits were filed today against the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), accusing it of systematically excluding people with disabilities. One suit, filed in New York state court, is the first case to ever challenge the fact that over 350 of New York City’s subway stations are unusable by people … Continue reading “Unprecedented Dual Class Action Suits Filed Today Challenging the New York City Subway System’s Illegal Discrimination Against Wheelchair Users and Others”