SSI & ADA
To qualify for disability and are working, your earnings average must be less than __?
$900 a month
At any given step of an SSDI appeal, what percentage of people do not go forward to the next step?
0.5
What is the denial rate of reconsideration of an SSDI application?
0.8
What is the denial rate of an initial SSDI application?
0.9
What is the wait time after applying for a Hearing before an Administrative Law Judge in an SSDI appeal?
1 year wait time
Name the titles of the ADA
1-Employment; 2-State & Local governments; 3-Public Accommodations; 4-Telecommunications; 5-Miscellaneous
How long must you have worked to qualify for SSDI?
40 quarters
If you stop paying into SSDI, how long is the grace period before you are ineligible for benefits?
5 years
When was the ADA signed into law?
7/26/1990
Define Reasonable Accommodation
A reasonable accommodation is any change or adjustment to a job or work environment that permits a qualified applicant or employee with a disability to participate in the job application process, to perform the essential functions of a job, or to enjoy the benefits and privileges of employment equal to those enjoyed by employees without disabilities.
Give examples of Reasonable Accommodation
Acquiring or modifying equipment or devices; part-time or modified work schedules; reassignment to a vacant position; adjusting or modifying exams, training materials, or policies; providing readers or interpreters; and making the workplace readily accessible to, and usable by, people with disabilities.
What does ADA stand for?
Americans with Disabilities Act
What is the definition of a service animal?
An animal (usually defined as a dog) that performs work or does tasks
If an individual with a disability has to schedule transportation, what should you provide?
An estimated time to schedule the trip there as well as an estimated time to schedule the trip back home.
Name what constitutes a legal definition of an individual with a disability
An individual who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; an individual who has a record of such an impairment; or an individual who is regarded as having such an impairment.
What are places of public accommodations?
Any place that the public can go.
Why do we not use the word special?
Because even special has become an almost pejorative word.
Why do we not use the word disabled?
Because people are not disabled, a stalled car is disabled. The word implies that something is broken or not functioning.
How does a person meet the third prong of being an individual with a disability?
By being "regarded as" having a disability
How does a person meet the second prong of being an individual with a disability?
By having a "record of" a disability
Disability is a _ term, not a _ term?
Disability is a legal term, not a medical term.
Name some considerations that courts look at in determining whether a function is essential
Does the job exist to perform this function?; What is the degree of expertise or skill needed to perform the function?; What is the consequence of not requiring that an employee perform the function?; How often and how much time is spent performing the function?; Among how many others might the performance of the function be shared?
Define the parameters for law firms under the ADA
Doesn't matter how many employees there are; covers architectural and communication barriers; cannot decline a client based on disability; places limits on disability-related questions.
What does EEOC stand for?
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Architectural Barriers Act applied where?
Federal Buildings only
What does FCC stand for?
Federal Communications Commission
Who did Section 504 of the Rehab Act of 1973 apply to?
Federal buildings and entities that received federal funding
What are some things you can do around your office that might assist an individual with a disability?
Find out where accessible restrooms and telephones are located so that if you are asked, you will know; know where accessible entrances are located, as well as accessible parking spaces.
What are some examples of the programs covered by Title II of the ADA
Food stamps; welfare; voting in state or local elections; all levels and activities of courts; parks & recreation programs; libraries; jails, prisons & detention facilities; town meetings; police, sheriff & fire departments; licensure or registration; public schools; public hospitals and clinics; probabtion departments & parole offices; an entity that contracts with a state or local government.
Major life activities also include major bodily functions, such as what?
Functions of the immune system; normal cell growth; digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive functions.
What are the three prongs to meeting the legal definition of an individual with a disability?
Having an disability; having a record of a disability; bring regarded as having a disability
Instead of: He's brain damaged, say ___
He has a brain injury
Instead of: He's mentally retarded or he's MR, say___
He has a cognitive disability
Instead of: He's confined to a wheelchair, say___
He uses a wheelchair
Define direct threat as a defense to the ADA
If a person is a direct threat to the health or safety of others.
How does a person meet the first prong of being an individual with a disability?
If the individual has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, which included major bodily functions, then the person meets the first prong of the definition of disability.
What is Definition Plus?
In addition to meeting the definition of disability, the person must also be otherwise qualified to perform the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodation.
Who is covered in law firms under the obligations for effective communication?
Individuals with hearing impairments; speaking impairments; and vision impairments.
Name the steps of an SSDI application when there are denials.
Initial Application; Reconsideration; Hearing before an Administrative Law Judge; Appeal to Appeals Council or Federal Court
What is People First Language?
It acknowledges that people, no matter their diagnoses, are people first.
What significance does October have regarding ADA?
It is National Disability Employment Awareness month
What is the ADA?
It is a civil rights statute
What might be appropriate ways to shake hands with limited hand use or an artificial limb?
It is acceptable to shake hands with the left hand; if a person cannot shake hands at all, touch the person on the shoulder, arm or hand to welcome them.
How much are lawyers paid for SSDI cases?
Lawyers are paid 25% or the past due benefits or $6000, whichever is less.
Do animals need special training or certificates to be a service animal?
NO
Do service animals need a special leash or harness?
NO
Does proof an animal being a service animal have to be provided?
NO
Is SSDI a needs based program?
NO
Is it OK for a county recreation program to prohibit persons who use wheelchairs from participating in a SCUBA diving class because the program director believes people who use wheelchairs cannot swim well enough?
NO
Is it OK to exclude Dave, an individual with a mobility disability, from a regular aerobics class since an adaptive exercise class is available?
No
What are the nondiscrimination requirements?
No exclusion of people with disabilities & integrated settings
Should you offer to move a wheelchair if a person transfers from the wheelchair to a regular chair?
No, the person should have the wheelchair within reach. The same applies to canes or crutches.
When you are introduced to a person with a disability, use a _ _ _ _? (four words)
Normal tone of voice
What does Otherwise Qualified mean?
Otherwise qualified means that the person has the skills, education, experience and other job-related qualifications to perform the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodation.
Urban Mass Transit Act provided what?
Paratransit - If mass transit has a fixed route offered there must also be curb to curb transportation available
Instead of: She's a Down's baby, say ___
She has Down Syndrome
Instead of: She's epileptic, say __
She has epilepsy
If you are having a conversation with a person who uses a wheelchair, and the conversation lasts for more than a couple of minutes, what should you do?
Sit in a chair so that you are at the person's eye level rather than them having to continually look up.
What does SSDI stand for?
Social Security and Disability Insurance
People with disabilities do not have ____ ____? (two words)
Special needs
What defines an integrated setting?
Special programs are allowed; participation in separate programs cannot be required, accommodations must be offered in regular programs; the individual has the right to refuse an accommodation.
What does SGA stand for?
Substantial Gainful Activity
What does SSI stand for?
Supplemental Security Income
What does TCHRA stand for?
Texas Commission on Human Rights Act
Who oversees the procedural requirements for Title II and III?
The DOJ
Who oversees the procedural requirements for Title I?
The EEOC or the TCHRA
Who oversees the procedural requirements for Title IV?
The FCC
Talk to me about Essential Functions of a job
The employer decides before posting a job what the essential functions of the job
What did the Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 apply to?
The gate and plane itself, not the entire airport
What does Title I say?
Title I provides that no otherwise qualified individual with a disability will be discriminated against on the basis of disability in employment and that the person will have equal access to the privileges and benefits of employment.
What does Title II of the ADA cover?
Title II of the ADA covers public entities- basically state, county, city governments as well as private companies that contract with the state, county or city governments.
Which Title covers Law Firms?
Title III of the ADA covers places of public accommodations.
What are the different sections of the ADA called and how many are there?
Titles; 5
What are the two defenses to the ADA?
Undue Burden & Direct Threat
Tell me about the Fair Housing Act?
Was passed in 1968 and was originally based on race alone, then gender was added and then familial status
When are modifications in policies not required?
When it would fundamentally alter the nature of the service, program or activity.
When are Sign Language Interpreters required?
When they are needed for effective communication.
In a city-run planetarium, an individual who is deaf requests that the lights be left on so that she can see the ASL interpreter. They refuse. Is this ok and why or why not?
Yes, it is ok because it would fundamentally alter the activity.
Do you need a lawyer to appeal a SSDI decision?
You don't need one but you should have one.
What does Title III of the ADA cover?
places of public accommodations.
