American Civil Liberties Union
 
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  • Disability Backlogs Violate Due Process Rights
    WASHINGTON, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union was encouraged by today’s Senate Finance Committee hearing on service delivery problems with the Social Security Administration (SSA) field offices. The SSA has struggled in processing disability claims in reasonable timeframes and the ACLU has concerns that a mandatory employment verification system would capsize the already overburdened agency.
  • Employment Verification Would Create a ‘No Work List’ in the U.S.
    WASHINGTON – As the House Ways & Means subcommittee on Social Security met today to debate employment eligibility verification systems, the American Civil Liberties Union sounds its call for Congress not to erect barriers for Americans who seek employment. The hearing is to examine the impact that employment verification systems would have on the Social Security Administration (SSA), an already overburdened governmental agency.
  • ACLU Sues City of Greenacres on Behalf of Disabled Resident
    WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida filed a lawsuit today against the City of Greenacres in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, State Court. Filed on behalf of Peter W. Ballance, 63, the lawsuit alleges that the City denied him reasonable accommodation services and treated him differently due to communication issues associated with Asperger's Syndrome, from which Ballance suffers.
  • Social Security Delays of Disability Claims Violate Due Process Rights
    WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union commends the House Ways and Means Committee for holding a hearing today on the backlog of Social Security disability claims. The ACLU has submitted a written statement to the committee.
  • Budget Cuts Target Elderly and Disabled Refugees
    PORTLAND, ME – Many elderly and disabled refugees who have sought asylum in Maine could lose their only source of income under proposed budget cuts that will be presented Thursday to a joint meeting of the Appropriations and Health and Human Services Committees. The budget cuts proposed by Governor John Baldacci would change current law, which has allowed the state to help disabled refugees who are here legally but who are not eligible for federal SSI benefits.
  • ACLU Urges House Committee to Support ADA Restoration Act
    Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded the House Committee on Education and Labor for holding a hearing on H.R. 3195, the Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Restoration Act.
  • Paraplegic Man Sues Hospital For “Dumping” Him in Skid Row Gutter Without a Wheelchair
    LOS ANGELES – Attorneys for Public Counsel, the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, and the law firm of Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. filed a lawsuit today against a southern California hospital, Hollywood Presbyterian, on behalf of a paraplegic homeless man who was “dumped” in a skid row gutter. Gabino Olvera, a 42-year-old man with a history of mental illness, was treated and discharged from the hospital in February 2007, transported by van across town in a soiled hospital gown, and deposited on the side of a street without a wheelchair. According to the complaint, witnesses at the scene observed Olvera dragging himself on the ground with his papers clenched in his teeth.
  • ACLU Joins Civil Rights Organizations for Disability Rights Briefing
    Washington, DC – Today the American Civil Liberties Union participated in a briefing in conjunction with the Leadership Conference for Civil Rights, to discuss the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Restoration Act of 2007 (H.R. 3195 / S. 1881). The briefing was held to expand the base of supporters for this vital legislation beyond the disability community, specifically reaching out to veterans services organizations, unions, civil rights and religious groups, racial justice organizations, and others.
  • ACLU Commends Senate Committee for Support of ADA Restoration Act
    Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union commends the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Chairman Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Ranking Member Michael Enzi (R-WY), for holding a hearing on S. 1881, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Restoration Act of 2007. The ACLU also acknowledges the leadership and vision of Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) for their co-sponsorship and support of this important legislation.
  • ACLU Praises Senate Introduction of Pay Equity Legislation
    Washington, DC - The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded the Senate introduction of the Fair Pay Restoration Act, companion to H.R. 2831, Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2007. This bipartisan legislation would restore protections against pay discrimination that were undermined by the May 29, 2007 Supreme Court decision Ledbetter v. Goodyear.
  • ACLU Welcomes Pay Equity Legislation in the House of Representatives
    Washington, DC - The American Civil Liberties Union applauded today’s introduction in the House of Representatives of the “Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2007,” legislation aimed at clarifying the law regarding wage discrimination. On May 29, the Supreme Court ruled in Ledbetter v. Goodyear that workers cannot sue for wage discrimination that occurred years earlier. According to the 5-4 decision, the majority held that the plaintiff had no claim because she had not filed a complaint within 180 days of the initial discrimination.
  • Alaska Natives and ACLU Sue Over Voting Rights Violations in Bethel
    ANCHORAGE — The Native American Rights Fund and the American Civil Liberties Union, acting on behalf of four Bethel-area Alaska Natives, filed a federal lawsuit today charging state and local elections officials with ongoing violations of the federal Voting Rights Act. The groups charge that state and local officials have denied voter assistance and failed to provide oral language assistance and voting materials to citizens who primarily speak Yup’ik, the first language of many Alaska Natives in the Bethel region.
  • ACLU of Maryland and Maryland Disability Law Center Hail Governor for Signing New Accessible “Paper Trail” Bill
    The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland and the Maryland Disability Law Center (MDLC) joined today to celebrate a shared victory for all Maryland voters in the enactment of an election law requiring Maryland’s voting system to produce voter verified paper records. The law, HB 18/SB 392, also contains model standards for voters with disabilities.
  • New Mexico Mall Agrees to Temporarily Allow Man to Use Segway
    ALBUQUERQUE - The Mesilla Valley Mall in Las Cruces, NM agreed to a preliminary injunction that will allow John R. Funk to operate his Segway in the mall. Funk, who has severe scoliosis and spinal stenosis, uses the Segway as an alternative to a wheelchair.
  • Hampton Veterans Hospital to Allow Visitors
    HAMPTON, VA Following the threat of a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia the Hampton Veterans Affairs Medical Center today announced that it will allow patients held in its psychiatric ward to have visitors, effective immediately.
  • ACLU of Virginia Demands Veterans Hospital Lift Ban on Patients’ Visitors
    HAMPTON, VA — The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia today sent a letter to the Hampton Veterans Affairs Medical Center demanding that it rescind a two-year old policy preventing psychiatric patients from receiving visitors. The civil liberties organization says it is considering litigation, but hopes to resolve the matter without going to court.
  • ACLU of Massachusetts and Disability Law Center Applaud State Approval of New Voting Technology
    BOSTON - The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts and the Disability Law Center today again joined forces to applaud Massachusetts Secretary of State William F. Galvin's decision to approve the use of a ballot-marking voting machine that is both accessible and secure.
  • ACLU Welcomes U.S. Department of Justice’s Support in Boca Raton Housing Discrimination Case
    BOCA RATON, FL -- The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit in federal court today intervening in the city of Boca Raton’s unconstitutional discrimination against persons with disabilities. The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida’s Palm Beach Chapter, which filed suit on behalf of residents with disabilities in 2004, welcomed the DOJ’s support on this important civil liberties case.
  • ACLU of Rhode Island and Community Groups Denounce Rules Denying Compensation to Certain Crime Victims
    PROVIDENCE, RI -- Seven organizations that service people with substance abuse problems today sharply criticized as “discriminatory and mean-spirited” regulations approved earlier this week by General Treasurer Paul Tavares, allowing the state to deny compensation to victims of violent crimes based solely on their past drug-related criminal history.
  • Westmoreland to Remove Barriers in Public Buildings to People with Disabilities
    WESTMORELAND COUNTY, VA -- In response to a letter from the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, the Westmoreland County Board of Supervisors yesterday adopted a plan to make county buildings fully accessible for people with disabilities.
  • Illinois Residents Sue State for Violating Americans with Disabilities Act, Failing to Provide Community Services
    CHICAGO -- Nine Illinois residents with developmental disabilities today sued Illinois state officials, seeking an order that would require the state to provide services within a smaller community setting, instead of segregating people in large private institutions. The class-action lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, among others, charges that by warehousing persons with developmental disabilities in large institutions, the state deprives them of their fundamental right to pursue meaningful and productive lives.
  • Indiana Civil Liberties Union and Broad Coalition Challenge State's New Voting Rights Rules
    INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana Civil Liberties Union, acting on behalf of a broad coalition including state representatives and advocacy groups, today filed a challenge to a new state law with the most restrictive voting requirements in the nation, including a mandate that government-issued photo identification must be presented in order for most Hoosier citizens to cast their ballots.
  • ACLU of Virginia Offers Legal Aid to Methadone Clinics Barred From Opening Under New Law
    RICHMOND, VA- The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia announced today that it will offer legal representation to methadone clinics prevented from opening because of a new state moratorium. The ACLU charges that the new law discriminates against recovering addicts who are denied the services offered by the clinics.
  • MI Court of Appeals Backs Disability Rights of Cyclist on Mackinac Island
    DETROIT - Responding to a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, a state appeals court today ruled unanimously that Mackinac Island violated the Americans With Disabilities Act by refusing to grant a resident with multiple sclerosis his request to use an electric-assisted tricycle.
  • ACLU of Florida Asks Court to Strike Down Ban on Residential Housing for Recovering Addicts
    WEST PALM BEACH, FL--Saying that a law here blatantly discriminates against people in addiction recovery, the Palm Beach Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union today filed a lawsuit in federal district court challenging a zoning ordinance that effectively bans former substance abusers from living in the city's residential areas.
  • CT Town's Denial of Zoning Permit Discriminated Against Persons with Disabilities, Court Rules
    NEW LONDON, CT -- In a case brought by the Connecticut Civil Liberties Union, a federal district court today ruled that city officials had intentionally discriminated against a non-profit agency that serves persons with psychiatric disabilities when it denied the group a zoning permit to move to a new location.
  • ACLU Applauds Federal Court Decision Upholding Oregon's Death with Dignity Law
    PORTLAND, OR--The American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon today applauded a federal court decision upholding Oregon's landmark Death with Dignity law. 
  • ACLU Requests Transfer of Mentally-Ill Prisoners from Supermax
    MADISON, WI - - The American Civil Liberties Union in coalition with other prisoner advocacy groups today asked a federal court to order the immediate transfer of six seriously mentally ill prisoners from Wisconsin's Supermax Correctional Institution to an inpatient psychiatric facility. The ACLU is also asking the court for an order allowing an independent psychiatric assessment of all prisoners housed at the Supermax Correctional Institution (SMCI). 
  • ACLU Announces Model Settlement in Maryland Disability Rights Challenge
    BALTIMORE, MD--The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland and the Maryland Disability Law Center today announced their settlement of a federal court lawsuit filed last April on behalf of a disability rights advocate against the city of Cambridge.
  • ACLU and Disability Rights Group File Class-Action Lawsuit Against Los Angeles County Transit Authority Over Poor Service to People with Disabilities
    LOS ANGELES - The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and the Western Law Center for Disability Rights, Protection and Advocacy Inc., filed a major class action lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and its provider of paratransit services, Access Services, Inc. here in federal court today.
  • In Landmark Settlement, ACLU Wins New Guarantees For Mobility Impaired Bus Passengers in Los Angeles
    LOS ANGELES -- The ACLU of Southern California today announced a landmark settlement with county transit officials in a legal fight to guarantee access to city bus lines for passengers who use wheelchairs or other assistive devices.
  • Important Anti-Discrimination Bill for People with Disabilities Enacted
    RHODE ISLAND -- Garnering high-praise from the American Civil Liberties Union, the General Assembly of Rhode Island today enacted a new law to protect its disabled citizens from last years' Supreme Court decision that limited the effectiveness of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
  • ACLU and Disability Rights Groups Urge Congress to Reject Attempt to Gut Law that Ensures Accessible Housing
    WASHINGTON--Housing developers requested today that Congress pass a bill that would lift accessibility requirements for recently constructed housing. The move was harshly criticized by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Paralyzed Veterans of America and disability rights activists.
  • ACLU Sues Arkansas Judge for Denying Man in Wheelchair Access to Courthouse
    LITTLE ROCK, AR -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas today announced the filing of a class-action lawsuit against a county judge on behalf of a man who could not attend court proceedings because he is in a wheelchair.
  • ACLU Defends Disabled Schoolteacher Denied Right to Serve on Jury
    ATLANTA -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia this week filed a lawsuit on behalf of a woman who was denied the right to serve on a jury because she is in a wheelchair.

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