(August 21, 2019): The National Federation of the Blind, its California affiliate, and two blind students, Roy Payan and Portia Mason, have won their disability discrimination lawsuit against the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD).
Baltimore (August 1, 2019): The National Federation of the Blind, its Maryland affiliate, and three blind registered Maryland voters Marie Cobb, Ruth Sager, and Joel Zimba are suing the Maryland State Board of Elections. The suit alleges that the Board of Elections is violating Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 by maintaining a segregated system of voting that denies blind voters their right to a secret ballot and equal voting experience.
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Indianapolis (August 6, 2019): Reviewing and selecting insurance and benefits are important processes that should be personal and private. For Christopher and Sarah Meyer, siblings who are blind, the print-only benefits communications they received from the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA), its Division of Family Resources (DFR), and their contractors not only forced them to rely on other people to intercept and read their private information, but caused them to lose their benefits.
The Greater Access and Independence through Nonvisual Access Technology (GAIN) Act of 2019 was introduced in the House of Representatives to Preserve Independence of Blind People in their Homes. Introduced by Representatives Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), and Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA), This legislation directs the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (the Access Board to develop a minimum nonvisual access standard for home-use medical devices, exercise equipment, and home appliances, and provide for the enforcement of the standard.
San Francisco (July 25, 2019): Berkeley businesswoman Karen Rose, who is blind, was about to throw away what she thought was junk mail when a friend noticed that it was from the IRS. It turned out to be a second notice that she owed nearly $25,000 in additional taxes. When she contacted the agency, she learned that she had also incurred an additional $1,500 in interest and penalties because she hadn't responded to the first notice. A representative from an IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center helped her appeal the penalties when Karen explained that she couldn't read the printed letters.