DEAF WATCH----January 25, 1997 Greetings everyone! I am pleased to start this year with some shockwaves. First of all this newsletter has a homepage. I have lit the torch and it will light up shady areas the hearing society has created for us. When President Clinton took oath, I had my fist up. I believe this year will be a victorious year for the Deaf community. Read on and see you again on February 22! The Editor ************************************************************* FIGHT BACK at the Deaf Watch's homepage. Deaf Watch is pleased and excited to announce to you that we now can be found in the Web! It will be one of the most informative and resourceful locations. It will have back news letters, and information on how to fight back. It will have a huge lawyer referral list which our goal is to have at least 2 attorneys listed for each state as well as a number of national lawyer referral agencies. We will post any information from our readers as to combating the common problems Deaf people face every day at their workplace. The web page looks very attractive comparing to many other disability related web pages. Another item that could be added to the homepage will be the GRIPE file which will bear stories of hardship our Deaf workers have experienced in the past. The editor really needs your input on the development of this file. The proposed rules will apply to the stories to be included. 1) 200 word limit. 2) The sender's full name will be included, it can not be anonymous. The Company name and number will be included as well. 3) The statute of limitations must have expired for any legal action to be made. 4) If the sender has a case already in the works, he/she MUST get approval from his/her attorney prior to adding his/her story to the gripe file. 5) Some stories may have to be verified before posting. Please add this page to your bookmark. Http://home.hwsys.com/users/roehm/deaf.htm YOU WILL NOT REGRET THIS! If any of you have trouble accessing the homepage or any of the links on the page, PLEASE email me at Nesmuth@edenbbs.com. ************************************************************* ACLU Helps Disabled man win Lawsuit against Amusement Park. Eddie Dzura is a young man with Downs Syndrome who was told by an amusement park employee that the park required "mentally retarded persons" to be evaluated before they could ride the merry-go-round. Eddie was then asked a series of humiliating questions in front of a crowd of patrons. He won a favorable settlement in the suit the ACLU filed under the Americans With Disabilities Act. ACLU did not mention where and when this humiliating incident had taken place. This can happen at any amusement park. ************************************************************* National Association of the Deaf (NAD) acknowledged Disney is starting to make their attractions more accessible to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. They said on their press release on Jan 23. Limited interpreting will begin on March 1, 1998 and the captioning for some attractions will not begin until December 31, 1997. However they're disappointed that the agreement between Department of Justice (DOJ) does not provide full equal access by Deaf and Hard of Hearing patrons at Disney. "This means that for the foreseeable future, Disney will continue to be inaccessible for many Deaf and Hard of Hearing patrons." said Nancy J. Bloch, executive director of the NAD. "The terms of this agreement as a whole do not constitute equal access. Basically, we are being told that we cannot enjoy the very same Disney attractions as our hearing peers and this includes our own family members, friends, or colleagues. Disney has much to learn, and the proper way to accomplish this is with relevant input and ongoing involvement of members of the American Deaf community." NAD has expressed a number of concerns regarding the agreement between Disney and DOJ. The next issue will explain the events that lead up to this announcement from NAD. ************************************************************* The Justice Department is developing a program to monitor civil litigation initiated pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), by parties other than the United States. Litigation involving all titles of the ADA is ongoing across the country. They believe better coordination between the Department and private attorneys will benefit everyone interested in ADA enforcement and litigation by locating problems and issues, sharing successful strategies, and promoting winning arguments. If you have recently filed, or are planning to file, an action alleging a violation of the ADA, please let them know. They are interested in title II (State and local government), title III (public accommodations and commercial facilities), and employment cases alleging violations of title I against State and local government. Please do not send title I cases involving private employers as these are monitored by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Send a letter or fax about new ADA litigation with the following information : 1. Court info and date filed 2. ADA Titles Violated (list all appropriate) 3. Plaintiff's Counsel's Address & telephone 4. Defendant's Counsel's Address & telephone 5. Brief summary of claims 6. Your name, address, and telephone: 7. Other attorneys DRS should contact: To: DRS Litigation Monitoring Project Attn: Renee Wohlenhaus Special Litigation Counsel Civil Rights Division U.S. Department of Justice P.O. Box 66738 Washington, D.C. 20035-6738 Fax: (202)307-1198 (Note Make sure you get your attorney's approval first!) ************************************************************* A good example of Deaf/disabled unity would be the event last year in England when a large group of Deaf and disabled people handcuffing themselves to the railings outside the House of Commons because the Conservative Government refused to sign a bill guaranteeing equal rights for Deaf and disabled workers being passed over because of lobbying from the conservatives. Fortunately the U.S. President is sympathetic to people with disabilities. We still have to be ready to protest anything that will downgrade the quality of our lives. ************************************************************* "Hearing people don't always pay very good attention to Deaf people's needs. It's important to show them that, given the chance, Deaf people can be just as good as hearing people, maybe even better." says Jimmy McCarthy a sixth-grader who is the first profoundly Deaf youngster to make it to the annual Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee. ************************************************************* "We must not only enforce anti discrimination laws, but ensure that victims of discrimination know their rights and that employers know their responsibilities," said Office of Special Counsel William Ho-Gonzalez on October 1994 after announcing that 9 grants totalling $900,000 will go to organizations designed to help educate employers and minority workers of the rights of minority workers. ************************************************************* Letters From our readers.... Come on... Lets see some of your inputs, concerns regarding the Deaf community and its coexistence with the non-Deaf community. Send the letters to Nesmuth@bbs.hwsys.com. ------------------------------------------------------------- - DEAF WATCH - Circulation by EMAIL : 86 Subscribers - Chief Editor/Editor : Richard Roehm - Orange County, California - Internet : Nesmuth@edenbbs.com - Letters : Nesmuth@bbs.hwsys.com - Visit Http://www.edenbbs.com/nesmuth/nesmuth.htm - DEAF WATCH Http://home.hwsys.com/users/roehm/deaf.htm - Visit Http://home.hwsys.com/users/roehm/nez.htm ------------------------------------------------------------- - SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION - To be added to the mailing list, send "SUBSCRIBE" - To be deleted from the mailing list send "DELETE" - to this address NESMUTH@EDENBBS.COM ------------------------------------------------------------- - DEAF WATCH does not solicit funds from anyone nor it - sells the mailing lists to anyone. 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