Iris Scanner Protects Medical Records – But What if You Don’t Have an Iris?
Web Accessibility Press Coverage on New Year’s Day
Web more accessible to those with disabilities
(article appearing on page 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle on January 1, 2010, by staff writer Alejandro Martínez-Cabrera)
San Francisco, CA (January 1, 2010)– During her high school years, Lisamaria Martinez, who has been visually impaired since she was 5, carried a 25-pound backpack to school crammed with books written in Braille.
But once she was introduced to the Web at UC Berkeley, she started getting professors’ class notes by e-mail, using text-to-speech software, and trading heavy Braille tomes for a few words and a click on a search engine.
Read more… Web Accessibility Press Coverage on New Year’s Day
Civil Rights Clearinghouse Includes Structured Negotiations Settlements
The Law Office of Lainey Feingold is pleased to announce that The Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse is now posting settlement agreements reached using Structured Negotiations. The Clearinghouse web site is a collection of documents and information about civil rights cases from across the United States organized in selected case categories. Its goal is to allow “greater understanding” of the importance of civil rights litigation in this country.
Read more… Civil Rights Clearinghouse Includes Structured Negotiations Settlements
Pakistan ATM Advocacy: Blind Community Success
In August of this year, blind advocates in Pakistan demanded an end to widespread discrimination against blind people by the banking industry in that country. Their advocacy has paid off. In early December 2009, the Islamabad-based International News and The Nation published articles, posted here, with the headlines “Banks directed to permit blind people to open accounts” and “Ministry to install ATMs for visually impaired.” The articles report that all banks in Pakistan will now be required to allow blind citizens to open their own bank accounts and will issue information in Braille to facilitate banking independence. And, for the first time, Talking ATMs are being planned for installation in Islamabad. Efforts to end discrimination in Pakistan against people with disabilities in insurance and micro-lending are also underway.
Read more… Pakistan ATM Advocacy: Blind Community Success
Talking ATM History: Litigation Plays a Role
Structured Negotiations were not the only legal strategy used by blind advocates interested in expanding Talking ATM installations in the United States. In this post you can read about successful Talking ATM litigation that increased the numbers of Talking ATMs in the United States. Litigation also played another role in the history of Talking ATMs. On at least two occasions, the blind community was forced to object to class action settlements that did not fairly address the issue of accessible ATMs. Read about objections to class action settlements that threatened Talking ATM advocacy.
Read more… Talking ATM History: Litigation Plays a Role
Trader Joe’s Point of Sale Agreement and Amendment
Blind Advocates in Islamabad, Pakistan Demand ATM Access
In October, 1999, the first Talking ATM was installed in the United States. Ten years later, advocates around the world continue to push for equal and confidential access to financial information and technology. The following article appeared on August 6, 2009 in The International News, published in Islamabad, Pakistan. It is about a protest organized by blind activists in that city to protest banks’ refusal to issue ATM cards to blind consumers.
Read more… Blind Advocates in Islamabad, Pakistan Demand ATM Access
The Barrier Free Healthcare Initiative Launched
A group of disability rights lawyers and advocates has announced the creation of The Barrier Free Healthcare Initiative, a collaborative effort to support legal and policy initiatives aimed at eliminating the physical and programmatic barriers that people with disabilities face in obtaining healthcare. More information is available at the new website launched by the initiative. The initiative was launched to coincide with the announcement of a landmark settlement with two
Read more… The Barrier Free Healthcare Initiative Launched
Broad Coalition Demands Access to Amazon Kindle / Electronic Books
Organizations representing people who cannot read print have joined together as the Reading Rights Coalition to ensure that the Amazon Kindle maintains its text-to-speech (”read aloud”) functionality. This critical function enables people who cannot access visual information to read books and other information available on the Kindle by reading through audible, rather than visual information. The Coalition, which includes the American Council of the Blind, the American Foundation for the Blind, the National Federation of the Blind and others, issued its first press release, reprinted in this post, on March 30, 2009.
Read more… Broad Coalition Demands Access to Amazon Kindle / Electronic Books