Lex Frieden, Chairperson
May 2005

The Bulletin, which is free of charge and at NCD’s award-winning Web site (www.ncd.gov), brings you the latest issues and news affecting people with disabilities. To subscribe to the new NCD listserv, go to http://listserv.access.gpo.gov, click on Online mailing list archives, select NCD-NEWS-L, click on Join or leave the list, then complete the short subscription form. Please send your editorial comments to Bulletin editor Mark S. Quigley (mquigley@ncd.gov).

NCD to Release Transportation Report

On June 13, NCD will release its report The Current State of Transportation for People with Disabilities at a news conference at 2:00 p.m. on June 13, 2005, in Room 2165, Rayburn House Office Building, Independence Avenue between South Capitol and First Streets, SW, Washington, DC.

This event is hosted by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Members of the public are welcome to attend.

There have been many advances in America’s transportation systems and services for citizens with disabilities, particularly since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The U.S. Department of Transportation, the nation’s public transportation industry, and the disability community are to be applauded for their part in this progress. However, NCD’s research reveals that many barriers to transportation continue to exist that prevent the full inclusion and full participation of people with disabilities in society.

NCD’s report highlights industry best practices and successful initiatives that can serve as models for enhancing transportation and mobility for people with disabilities. This report also sets forth a variety of recommendations for service improvements and for additional research that will lead to more options for the 6 million Americans with disabilities who have difficulties obtaining the transportation they need to live independent and productive lives. The information in this report will serve as a useful resource for individuals with disabilities, transportation professionals, and lawmakers working to improve access to transportation and mobility for people with disabilities.

Joint Mediation Document Released

On May 10, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), NCD, and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) jointly released two new publications addressing how to ensure that mediation of equal employment opportunity disputes is accessible to people with disabilities. The publications are available on all three agencies’ Web sites at http://www.ncd.gov, www.eeoc.gov, www.ncd.gov, and www.ada.gov.

The documents, titled Questions and Answers for Mediation Providers: Mediation and the Americans with Disabilities Act and Questions and Answers for Parties to Mediation: Mediation and the Americans with Disabilities Act, address the obligations of all private and public sector mediation providers, including employers who offer their employees mediation as a benefit of employment. The documents are written in a question-and-answer format and discuss topics such as the following:

• types of reasonable accommodations that may be necessary to make mediation accessible to people with disabilities;

• best practices for ensuring that mediation is accessible;

• the confidentiality of medical information disclosed during mediation; and,

• recommended types of ADA training for mediators.

Both EEOC and DOJ have successfully used mediation to further their respective missions and to enhance customer service. More than 35,000 charges of discrimination have been resolved through EEOC’s private sector mediation program—the largest workplace mediation program of its kind in the country—since it was launched in 1999. In Fiscal Year 2004, EEOC achieved a record 8,086 successful resolutions through the agency’s voluntary national mediation program, resulting in $112 million in monetary benefits in addition to nonmonetary benefits, such as changes in employer policies and reasonable accommodations for employees. Additionally, EEOC and more than 670 employers have agreed to refer charges filed to mediation as an alternative to traditional investigation, with an option to continue the investigation if mediation does not resolve the charge. In some cases, EEOC will also refer charges back to participating employers’ internal alternative dispute resolution (ADR) programs. In federal sector employment, EEOC has enhanced the use of ADR by providing agencies with technical assistance in establishing their own programs and by expanding a federal sector ADR Web page at www.eeoc.gov.

DOJ, through a contract with the Key Bridge Foundation, refers for mediation complaints it receives under Title II and Title III of ADA. An increasing number of people with disabilities and disability rights organizations are specifically requesting that DOJ refer their complaints to mediation. Under the contract with Key Bridge, more than 400 professional mediators, fully trained in the legal requirements of ADA, are available nationwide to mediate these cases. Over 75 percent of the cases in which mediation has been completed have been successfully resolved.

ADA 15th Anniversary Update

On July 25, NCD and its federal partners will celebrate the 15th ADA anniversary with two events. The first is a commemorative, invitation-only reception at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., where former President George H. W. Bush will be the keynote speaker.

The second part of the program is an ADA seminar that will take place on July 26, from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m, at the Marriott at Metro Center in Washington, DC. The seminar will include an opening plenary session, six ADA-related workshops, and a closing plenary session. The seminar is open to the public.

This observance of the 15th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) would not have been possible without the strong intergovernmental support and collaboration of personnel throughout the Federal Government. This significant engagement attests to the ongoing importance of ADA. Collaborating agencies that worked with NCD to plan this observance include: Access Board; U.S. Department of Defense; U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Disability; U.S. Department of Homeland Security; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; U.S. Department of the Interior; U.S. Department of Justice; U. S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy; U.S. Department of State; U.S. Department of Transportation; U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; Federal Communications Commission; National Council on Disability; and Ticket to Work and Work Incentives and Advisory Panel.

Legislative Update

The Hearing Aid Tax Credit Act has been introduced as legislation in both houses of the U.S. Congress. S. 1060 was introduced May 18, 2005, in the U.S. Senate and H.R. 414 was introduced January 26, 2005, in the U.S. House of Representatives. These bills allow a nonrefundable income tax credit of up to $500, once every five years, for the purchase of a qualified hearing aid for an individual who is either: (1) age 55 or older or (2) is claimed as a dependent of the taxpayer. S. 1060 has been referred to the Senate Committee on Finance. H.R. 414 has been referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.