Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing

Employment Accommodations at the Social Security Administration

December 1, 2023

Disability Rights Advocates is investigating the experiences of Social Security Administration employees who have been denied disability-related accommodations at work. We would greatly appreciate if you would complete the following survey if you have been denied disability accommodations related to your employment with the Social Security Administration.

Battle v. Tennessee

April 18, 2023

This case was filed on January 14, 2022 to challenge the State of Tennessee’s failure to ensure that effective communication is provided to d/Deaf people who receive services from the State’s Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (DIDD) and its Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (DMHSAS). For instance, the Defendants have placed Plaintiffs in group homes without any … Continue reading “Battle v. Tennessee”

Weimer v. U.S. Air Force

October 18, 2022

Since 2020, Disability Rights Advocates and the Law Offices of Wendy Musell have represented a group of Deaf civilian employees, applicants, and former employees in an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) case against the United States Air Force—which, despite its $190 billion annual budget, has consistently failed to provide Deaf employees and applicants with American … Continue reading “Weimer v. U.S. Air Force”

National Association of the Deaf v. Sirius XM

December 13, 2021

In December 2021, Disability Rights Advocates and National Association of the Deaf filed a lawsuit against three major providers of podcasts, SiriusXM, Stitcher, and Pandora, to end their exclusion of deaf and hard of hearing Americans from each company’s extensive podcast streaming service. Read the complaint here. Because Defendants do not make transcripts available for … Continue reading “National Association of the Deaf v. Sirius XM”

Ruffa v. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)

July 21, 2021

On July 20, 2021, DRA filed a class action lawsuit against the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) on behalf of Deaf human resource (HR) professionals who do not have equal access to SHRM’s services because SHRM fails to provide accommodations like sign language interpreters, captioning, and timely transcripts for SHRM’s continuing education programming. SHRM … Continue reading “Ruffa v. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)”

Terrill v. State of Oregon

April 21, 2021

On April 20, 2021, Disability Rights Advocates and Lynn S. Walsh filed a class action lawsuit against the State of Oregon and the Oregon Department of Corrections (ODOC) on behalf of current and former people with disabilities who are incarcerated and who have been charged for the costs of the prostheses and other equipment they … Continue reading “Terrill v. State of Oregon”

Geary v. City of Pacifica

March 15, 2021

On March 15, 2021, on behalf of five Pacifica residents who reside in RVs, Disability Rights Advocates, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California, and the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County filed a class action lawsuit against the city to strike down a law that bans RV parking within city limits. The lawsuit argues … Continue reading “Geary v. City of Pacifica”