Law Office of Lainey Feingold
Disability Rights Legal Advocacy

Clarence Whaley, who died on June 14 at the too young age of 60, was an unsung hero of Structured Negotiations. Along with blind advocate Paul Parravano, Clarence was a Claimant in the negotiations with American Express about Braille and Large Print statements. Clarence’s calm yet forceful presence was crucial to the outcome: a binding settlement agreement with American Express in which the company agreed to provide Braille and Large Print statements to all visually impaired account holders in the United States.

Disability and human rights activist Harriet McBryde Johnson died at home in South Carolina on June 3, 2008. The world has lost a passionate and dedicated advocate for social change. Untold numbers in the disability community and beyond have lost a caring friend and role model.

RITE AID’S WEB SITE AND POINT OF SALE IMPROVEMENTS PRAISED BY BLIND COMMUNITY LEADERS

Camp Hill, PA (May 1, 2008)– In a move praised by state and national blindness organizations, Rite Aid (NYSE:RAD) today announced it has undertaken a nationwide initiative that will benefit Rite Aid customers with visual impairments and other disabilities. As part of the program, Rite Aid has made enhancements to its Web site and has begun installing new point of sale equipment with tactile keypads to protect the privacy and security of all shoppers who have difficulty entering numbers on a flat screen.

The Rite Aid Web Accessibility Agreement was negotiated by Lainey Feingold and co-counsel Linda Dardarian using Structured Negotiations on behalf of the American Council of the Blind (ACB), the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), and the California Council of the Blind (CCB). In this agreement, Rite Aid committed to upgrade its website to comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) promulgated by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium. The agreement specifically states that if there is a visual “Captcha” on the Rite Aid web site, there will also be an alternative security measure that is equally effective and usable by blind and visually-impaired users. At the time this web accessibility agreement was negotiated, these parties also negotiated a Rite Aid Point of Sale Agreement to ensure that devices in over 5,000 Rite Aid stores have tactile keypads so that a blind customer can independently enter his or her PIN.

The Rite Aid Point of Sale (POS) Agreement was negotiated by Lainey Feingold and co-counsel Linda Dardarian using Structured Negotiations on behalf of the American Council of the Blind (ACB), the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), and the California Council of the Blind (CCB). In this agreement, Rite Aid has ensured that all of its 5000 stores across the United States will have tactile point of sale devices so that blind and visually impaired customers can independently enter their PIN and other confidential information. At the time this tactile point of sale agreement was negotiated, these parties also negotiated the Rite Aid Web Accessibility Agreement to ensure that riteaid.com is accessible to and usable by all customers in accordance with guidelines promulgated by the Web Accessibility Initiative of the World Wide Web consortium.

National Credit Reporting Companies, Blind Community, Announce Landmark Initiative to Provide Accessible Online Credit Reports

Braille and Other Formats also to be Made Available

Washington, D.C. (April 23, 2008) – The nation’s three major consumer credit reporting companies today unveiled a comprehensive program to provide improved access to important credit information for people who are blind or visually impaired. The initiative, crafted with the American Council of the Blind, its California affiliate and several individual members of the blind community, will help protect the credit information of individuals who cannot read a standard print credit report.