RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EMPLOYERS

Identify the factors that work for people with disabilities that are successfully employed.

States should become a model for best practices in providing reasonable accommodation utilizing policies such as adopting flexible schedules and “alternate” not-traditional offices and schedules.

Increase community education using business leaders that work with or employ people with disabilities.

Provide information and training to businesses and government agencies regarding the ADA Amendments Act and ADA requirements.

Educate employers on how to market their jobs to people with disabilities – i.e. how to make job postings and websites accessible.

Education of employers about the benefits of employment of people with disabilities beyond legal compliance.

Emphasize hiring of individuals and consider disabilities to be part of organizational diversity.

Raise awareness level of unemployment statistics for people who have disabilities.

Provide doctors/medical professionals with information regarding what is needed for disability documentation and reasonable accommodation recommendations for employment.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EMPLOYEES

Establish mentorship programs using employed people with disabilities.

Identify the factors that work for people with disabilities that are successfully employed.

Create social networking sites to bring people with disabilities together to share information, mentorship, and support.

Repeated from above- Provide doctors/medical professionals with information regarding what is needed for disability documentation and reasonable accommodation recommendations for employment.

RESOLUTION MECHANISMS

Use mediation resources to attempt resolution in complaints in a timely manner–preferably before termination.

Increase training and knowledge base of the people who are investigating Title I complaints as well as hire more people to conduct enforcement in the EEOC.

Get regulations out on the ADA Amendments Act so everyone can understand them. Presently, people with disabilities and employers are in limbo.

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Program and Facility Access

Require ADA Coordinators in every state government agency. Assign individuals to work directly with the ADA Coordinator in every department of public entities.

Provide more information in accessible formats and use multiple methods of dissemination.

Educate mayors, city council members and commissioners through forums such as the National Leagues of Cities conference (or hold a Symposium for Mayors) on the importance of the ADA and the benefits to their cities.

Develop more specific resources for schools (K-12) regarding interplay between ADA and IDEA.

K-12 needs to focus on the multitude of areas covered by the ADA: employment, areas of accommodation, physical access, facilities, programs, web access, playgrounds,
classroom acoustics, awareness programs for students, and universal design for learning.

Increase interagency communication and collaboration to achieve greater awareness for working together and exchange of ideas.

Require Title II entities to build ADA compliance standards into contractual agreements for products/services as part of the bidding process.

Implementation and Maintenance

Establish a mechanism such as certification to increase accountability regarding state/local ADA Coordinators.

Require that each state has a qualified state ADA Coordinators. This position would be a clearly defined and coordinated position within a stand alone division/agency that would bring all ADA contacts together.

Propose that all municipalities establish a special needs registry that will assist emergency management in the event of a disaster.

Repeated from above -Increase interagency communication and collaboration to achieve greater awareness for working together and exchange of ideas.

Mechanism for Resolution of Problems

Need “substantially equivalent” ability to receive/investigate resolve access complaints/issues on state/local level–similar to the ability (given to) HUD to investigate Fair Housing complaints. This would (hopefully) mean quicker enforcement and (increased) accessibility.

Passage and immediate implementation of the ADA/ABA regulations by U.S. Dept. of Justice.

Provide additional funds to the Dept. of Justice for enforcement of the ADA.
Expand the Dept. of Justice’s Civic Access Project including increased follow up technical assistance to municipalities.

Increase the consistency in interpretation and enforcement of the ADA among federal agencies and regional Civil Rights offices. This could be accomplished by providing more training to the agencies that are involved in implementing the ADA.

Lobby state governments to adopt ADA guidelines into their own regulations and assume enforcement responsibilities.

Back to Title III Recommendations
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Recommendations for Title III of the ADA

Access to Goods and Services

Provide more training on ADA guidelines and updates when they change. Providing more publicity on guidelines and changes may clear up misinterpretations. There needs to be a greater understanding among business owners that the ADA does not have a “grandfather clause”.

Provide more technical assistance–particularly for rural areas.

The federal govt. (DOJ) should reach out to local building inspectors so that building inspectors will remind businesses applying for permits or certifications of occupancy that ADA compliance is necessary in addition to the local (city/town) building requirements.
Business owners are being confused and unfairly left open to compliance complaints without this “reminding” on the local level.

Provide greater incentives to business for access such as increased tax incentives.

Increase the understanding of auxiliary aids and services.

Develop a formal training program for those who conduct inspections and business owners.

Resolution to Problems

Immediate adaptation for the ADA/ABA into regulations — this will make it much easier for designers and architects.

Increased enforcement and better coordination between the Dept. of Justice and local code enforcement.

More local enforcement with the possible use of fines for businesses that are not compliant. Withhold Certificate of Occupancy to businesses if not in ADA compliance.

Utilize mediation for informal resolutions instead of litigation or no response from the Department of Justice.

Provide formal interpretations for gray areas of the law.

Passage and immediate implementation of the new DOJ regulations for Title III of the ADA.

Require ADA compliance as part of criteria at the local level to get a business license.
Provide information on which agencies are involved in enforcement and what areas they enforce.