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SPECIAL REPORT
posted April 11, 2010
IOWA CITY, IA - The Disability Law & Policy e-Newsletter of the Law, Health Policy & Disability Center at the University of Iowa College of Law and the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University disclosed:
Alistrun LLP, a Philadelphia McDonald's franchisee, agreed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to pay $90,000 to an ex-employee with an intellectual disability. The complaint filed by plaintiff Timothy Artis alleges that while employed as a lobby worker, his supervisors and coworkers harassed him due to his disability. He claimed workers yelled offensive names, physically abused him, and threatened him. Artis was forced to resign over this harassment. A U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania judge approved the accord, and Alistrun will pay $90,000 to Artis. Alistrun will be enjoined from future discriminating due to disability, will post EEOC remedial notice posters, and will train all supervisors about the Americans with Disabilities Act.
A Northern District of Illinois federal judge signed a consent decree affirming an accord between Illinois-based Direct Wines Inc. and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Direct Wines was sued by former employee Pamela Stokes, terminated when she sought medical leave due to her disability. Direct Wines, which distributes beverages, had a policy that allowed employees to take medical leave only Feb.15-May 15. or July 15-Oct.15, when business was slow. Stokes sought eight weeks of medical leave after she needed surgery for chronic back pain and was denied; she was forced to resign to take the leave. She alleged Direct Wines violated the ADA in not accommodating her (and a class of similarly-situated employees). Under the pact, Direct Wines will pay Stokes $50,000, revise its policy to comply with the ADA, prevent disability discrimination, provide yearly training to employees on disability law, and submit reports to the EEOC.
The U.S. Secretary of Education stated the Dept. of Education will send letters of guidance to school districts on restraint issues, seclusion, English Language Learning students with disabilities, and students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). With a shift to inclusion of students with disabilities to mainstream classrooms, public schools have encountered problems with restraint and seclusion. Restraint problems in school are often encountered by children with Autism, where teachers don’t know how to handle emotional or physical outbursts, and physically restrain students. Seclusion is placing disabled students in seclusion rooms as part of disciplinary confinement. The department's Office of Civil Rights (OCR) can issue policy guidance, compliance interviews, and withhold federal funding if violations are unresolved. A spokesperson for the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) stated OCR hasn’t been as vigilant as it should be, but is trying to redouble efforts to crack down on violators through participation in a dialogue between OCR and NDRN.
A new iPhone Application - IEP Checklist - may change making individualized education plans. It will organize the plans into categories and allow users to record notes and goals on the phone. The application lists the applicable federal education laws and regulations. In part, it was developed by the Parent Educational Training Advocacy Center and can be downloaded from the online iTunes store, at the regular fee. This is the first iPhone app that address directly special education.
A report in Training and Development Magazine claims the No. 1 barrier the disabled face when trying to enter the workforce involves attitudes of supervisors and co-workers - at every corporate level. While the report asserts inclusion of employees with disabilities can cut turnover, boost consumer loyalty, and qualify employers for financial incentives, the disabled in general still experience tremendously high joblessness. Today, only about 21.8% of the total disabled population is employed. The report discusses misconceptions about workers with disabilities, including those related to cost of accommodations, job performance, turnover, consumer awareness, and legal implications.
Walgreens is implementing a program to hire people with disabilities to cover 10% of their service clerk staff in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. This program, in alliance with the Texas Dept. of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services, serves as a pilot program Walgreens hopes to expand to other markets in 2011. Walgreens provides a four-week training program for new employees and has stated its program goal is to create an inclusive workplace.
Two Tennessee men sued the state's Medicaid provider for cuts to programs which likely will take both out of home care programs and place them into nursing homes. They seek a court order to force the state to pay their home care services. Under the new state program, people can pick if they want home treatment or a nursing home. To qualify, the cost of home care must be cheaper than in a nursing home. The state contends the two men filing lawsuits don’t have the choice under the new program because the cost of residential care for them would exceed that at a nursing home. Both men, who are quadriplegic, maintain placement in a nursing home would restrict severely not only their personal freedom but also their quality of life.
Morgan's Wonderland - a theme park highly accessible for the disabled - opened on March 3. It purports to be "the world's first ultra-accessible family fun park." Gordon Hartman, a philanthropist, founded the project, naming it after his daughter, who is disabled. Construction took three years and cost $32 million. Rides offered include an off-road track using vehicles that can accommodate wheelchairs and can protect some persons with physical disabilities. There are swings equipped for wheelchairs.
WASHINGTON - The Kiplinger Letters offered changes in the massive healthcare overhaul that could affect your tax bill. The law has tax breaks to help individuals and small businesses buy insurance. A 10% excise tax on indoor tanning services after June 30. Small firms get tax credits to provide coverage, starting in 2010. Employers with 10 or fewer workers and average annual wages of less than $25,000 can get a credit up to 35% of their health premiums yearly through 2013. This is phased out for firms larger than that and disappears if a company has more than 25 employees or average annual wages of $50,000 or more. In 2014, small firms that sign up with one of the health exchanges to be created can receive a credit of up to 50% of their costs. Businesses must include on W-2s the value of healthcare benefits they provide employees, in 2011. End the deduction employers take for providing Medicare Part D Rx drug coverage to their retirees to the extent the federal government subsidizes coverage - effective 2013. Double the penalty for nonqualified payments from health savings accounts, to 20%, in 2011. Limit what employees can contribute to healthcare flexible spending accounts (FSA) to $2,500 a year; will begin 2013. Ban using funds from FSAs, health reimbursement arrangements, or health savings accounts for cost of over-the-counter meds, starting in 2011. In 2013, a 0.9% Medicare surtax will go on wages over $200,000 for singles and over $250,000 for married couples. The 3.8% levy will hit the lesser of (1) unearned income or (2) the amount by which adjusted gross income exceeds $200,000 or $250,000 thresholds. A hike in the 7.5% floor on itemized deductions for health expenses to 10%, in 2013 - taxpayers 65 and over are exempt through 2016. A new 40% excise tax, in 2018, on high-cost health plans, on the portion over $10,200 for singles, $27,500 for families. A new tax on those who don't obtain adequate health coverage by 2014; phased in over three years, at the greater of $95, or 1% of income, in 2014, and rising to the greater of $695, or 2.5% of income, in 2016. Provide a refundable tax credit, once the individual mandate takes effect in 2014, to help low-income folks buy coverage. A person's household income must be between 100%-400% of the U.S. poverty level, generally $11,000-$44,000 for singles and $22,000-$88,000 for families. A non-deductible fee charged to businesses with 50 or more employees if the firms fail to offer adequate coverage. The fee will equal $2,000 times the number of employees, after the first 30 workers in that calculation.
Alistrun LLP, a Philadelphia McDonald's franchisee, agreed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to pay $90,000 to an ex-employee with an intellectual disability. The complaint filed by plaintiff Timothy Artis alleges that while employed as a lobby worker, his supervisors and coworkers harassed him due to his disability. He claimed workers yelled offensive names, physically abused him, and threatened him. Artis was forced to resign over this harassment. A U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania judge approved the accord, and Alistrun will pay $90,000 to Artis. Alistrun will be enjoined from future discriminating due to disability, will post EEOC remedial notice posters, and will train all supervisors about the Americans with Disabilities Act.
A Northern District of Illinois federal judge signed a consent decree affirming an accord between Illinois-based Direct Wines Inc. and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Direct Wines was sued by former employee Pamela Stokes, terminated when she sought medical leave due to her disability. Direct Wines, which distributes beverages, had a policy that allowed employees to take medical leave only Feb.15-May 15. or July 15-Oct.15, when business was slow. Stokes sought eight weeks of medical leave after she needed surgery for chronic back pain and was denied; she was forced to resign to take the leave. She alleged Direct Wines violated the ADA in not accommodating her (and a class of similarly-situated employees). Under the pact, Direct Wines will pay Stokes $50,000, revise its policy to comply with the ADA, prevent disability discrimination, provide yearly training to employees on disability law, and submit reports to the EEOC.
The U.S. Secretary of Education stated the Dept. of Education will send letters of guidance to school districts on restraint issues, seclusion, English Language Learning students with disabilities, and students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). With a shift to inclusion of students with disabilities to mainstream classrooms, public schools have encountered problems with restraint and seclusion. Restraint problems in school are often encountered by children with Autism, where teachers don’t know how to handle emotional or physical outbursts, and physically restrain students. Seclusion is placing disabled students in seclusion rooms as part of disciplinary confinement. The department's Office of Civil Rights (OCR) can issue policy guidance, compliance interviews, and withhold federal funding if violations are unresolved. A spokesperson for the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) stated OCR hasn’t been as vigilant as it should be, but is trying to redouble efforts to crack down on violators through participation in a dialogue between OCR and NDRN.
A new iPhone Application - IEP Checklist - may change making individualized education plans. It will organize the plans into categories and allow users to record notes and goals on the phone. The application lists the applicable federal education laws and regulations. In part, it was developed by the Parent Educational Training Advocacy Center and can be downloaded from the online iTunes store, at the regular fee. This is the first iPhone app that address directly special education.
A report in Training and Development Magazine claims the No. 1 barrier the disabled face when trying to enter the workforce involves attitudes of supervisors and co-workers - at every corporate level. While the report asserts inclusion of employees with disabilities can cut turnover, boost consumer loyalty, and qualify employers for financial incentives, the disabled in general still experience tremendously high joblessness. Today, only about 21.8% of the total disabled population is employed. The report discusses misconceptions about workers with disabilities, including those related to cost of accommodations, job performance, turnover, consumer awareness, and legal implications.
Walgreens is implementing a program to hire people with disabilities to cover 10% of their service clerk staff in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. This program, in alliance with the Texas Dept. of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services, serves as a pilot program Walgreens hopes to expand to other markets in 2011. Walgreens provides a four-week training program for new employees and has stated its program goal is to create an inclusive workplace.
Two Tennessee men sued the state's Medicaid provider for cuts to programs which likely will take both out of home care programs and place them into nursing homes. They seek a court order to force the state to pay their home care services. Under the new state program, people can pick if they want home treatment or a nursing home. To qualify, the cost of home care must be cheaper than in a nursing home. The state contends the two men filing lawsuits don’t have the choice under the new program because the cost of residential care for them would exceed that at a nursing home. Both men, who are quadriplegic, maintain placement in a nursing home would restrict severely not only their personal freedom but also their quality of life.
Morgan's Wonderland - a theme park highly accessible for the disabled - opened on March 3. It purports to be "the world's first ultra-accessible family fun park." Gordon Hartman, a philanthropist, founded the project, naming it after his daughter, who is disabled. Construction took three years and cost $32 million. Rides offered include an off-road track using vehicles that can accommodate wheelchairs and can protect some persons with physical disabilities. There are swings equipped for wheelchairs.
WASHINGTON - The Kiplinger Letters offered changes in the massive healthcare overhaul that could affect your tax bill. The law has tax breaks to help individuals and small businesses buy insurance. A 10% excise tax on indoor tanning services after June 30. Small firms get tax credits to provide coverage, starting in 2010. Employers with 10 or fewer workers and average annual wages of less than $25,000 can get a credit up to 35% of their health premiums yearly through 2013. This is phased out for firms larger than that and disappears if a company has more than 25 employees or average annual wages of $50,000 or more. In 2014, small firms that sign up with one of the health exchanges to be created can receive a credit of up to 50% of their costs. Businesses must include on W-2s the value of healthcare benefits they provide employees, in 2011. End the deduction employers take for providing Medicare Part D Rx drug coverage to their retirees to the extent the federal government subsidizes coverage - effective 2013. Double the penalty for nonqualified payments from health savings accounts, to 20%, in 2011. Limit what employees can contribute to healthcare flexible spending accounts (FSA) to $2,500 a year; will begin 2013. Ban using funds from FSAs, health reimbursement arrangements, or health savings accounts for cost of over-the-counter meds, starting in 2011. In 2013, a 0.9% Medicare surtax will go on wages over $200,000 for singles and over $250,000 for married couples. The 3.8% levy will hit the lesser of (1) unearned income or (2) the amount by which adjusted gross income exceeds $200,000 or $250,000 thresholds. A hike in the 7.5% floor on itemized deductions for health expenses to 10%, in 2013 - taxpayers 65 and over are exempt through 2016. A new 40% excise tax, in 2018, on high-cost health plans, on the portion over $10,200 for singles, $27,500 for families. A new tax on those who don't obtain adequate health coverage by 2014; phased in over three years, at the greater of $95, or 1% of income, in 2014, and rising to the greater of $695, or 2.5% of income, in 2016. Provide a refundable tax credit, once the individual mandate takes effect in 2014, to help low-income folks buy coverage. A person's household income must be between 100%-400% of the U.S. poverty level, generally $11,000-$44,000 for singles and $22,000-$88,000 for families. A non-deductible fee charged to businesses with 50 or more employees if the firms fail to offer adequate coverage. The fee will equal $2,000 times the number of employees, after the first 30 workers in that calculation.