The Nation's Voice for People with Hearing Loss
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reported a Title I settlement agreement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with the Illinois State Police to eliminate policies that automatically exclude cadet job applicants who use hearing aids or who manage their diabetes with insulin pumps has also been added and is now available.
For more news from the U.S. Department of Justice regarding the ADA, visit http://www.ada.gov/new.htm
WASHINGTON — On September 27, 2011, the U.S. Department of Labor announced $21,166,560 for seven states under the Disability Employment Initiative to improve education, training, and employment opportunities and outcomes for youth and adults who are unemployed, underemployed and/or receiving Social Security disability benefits. The initiative is jointly funded and administered by the department’s Employment and Training Administration and its Office of Disability Employment Policy.
WASHINGTON — On September 28, 2011, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy announced a total of $3,787,000 in continued funding for organizations managing consortia that develop models, provide technical assistance and share best practices to improve employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
Assistant Teacher with Hearing Loss to Receive $100,000
Baltimore: One of the largest metropolitan Jewish community centers in the country will pay $100,000 and provide other relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today. The EEOC had charged that the Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington (JCCGW) in Rockville, Maryland, violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when it demoted and fired an assistant teacher because of her hearing loss.
In an article published June 19, 2011, (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/20/nyregion/ny-enforces-ban-on-police-officers-using-hearing-aids.html ) the New York Times reported the New York City police department has banned the use of hearing aids on the job. Two officers who were forced to retire because they did wear hearing aids on the job have filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), saying that the policy is discriminatory toward people with hearing loss.
On April 20, 2010, I blogged about the US Marshal Service’s decision to allow for testing of hearing loss with hearing aids on. That was terrific! We are pleased that our work contributed to the US Marshal Service revisiting this issue.
But we cannot stop there. We have heard from consumers that there are other employers who do not understand that if there is a need for a hearing test, that test should be done with hearing aids or the cochlear implant on.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's Science Blog on Workplace Hearing Loss (NIOSH) has a posting dated November 24, 2009, that describes a new surveillance system and seeks input from readers on a series of issues to help inform future prevention efforts. To review the posting and provide input, visit the NIOSH blog.
Read the following three stories below:
President Obama Announces New Initiatives During National Disability Employment Awareness Month
Justice for All Action Network (JFAAN) is a cross disability coalition of national organizations by and for people with disabilities. HLAA has joined and now serves on the steering committee and the employment committee.
Last Friday, we joined others from JFAAN to meet with Assistant Secretary of the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) Kathy Martinez, at the U.S. Department of Labor to discuss a number of issues impacting people with disabilities:
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has not yet completed the regulations for the new legislation. However, the Job Accommodation Network has developed a publication and resource page regarding what information is currently available about the Act.
The new publication is called JAN's Accommodation and Compliance Series:
Copyright © 2005 - 2012 Hearing Loss Association of America®. All Rights Reserved.
The Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) is a tax-exempt, charitable organization and is eligible to receive tax deductible contributions under the IRS Code 501(c)(3).