News and Articles

Discord Digital Accessibility Press Release

Posted on Updated on January 8, 2022
Congratulations Discord! The popular communications tool recently announced its commitment to digital accessibility with the press release posted here. Discord worked in conjunction with the American Council of the Blind in Structured Negotiation on its accessibility initiative. Lainey Feingold and Washington, D.C. civil rights lawyer Matt Handley of Handley Farah & Anderson were the lawyers… Read more… Discord Digital Accessibility Press Release

HR and Payroll Software Leader ADP to Enhance Product Accessibility

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On December 16, 2021, the non-profit law office Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) announced an agreement with HR software giant ADP that will improve the accessibility of ADP’s products used by employees of the San Francisco LightHouse for the Blind. Originally filed as a lawsuit in September of 2020, the agreement states that On January 27,… Read more… HR and Payroll Software Leader ADP to Enhance Product Accessibility

Judging a Book by its Cover

Posted on Updated on December 21, 2021
This post is about the hexagons on the cover of my book — Structured Negotiation: a Winning Alternative to Lawsuits. The hexagons were prominent in the first edition of the book, published by the American Bar Association (ABA) in 2016. They are in the background of the second edition, published in October 2021. Hexagons are the perfect symbol for a book about cooperation, trust, and resolving legal claims without the conflict, expense and stress of traditional litigation. Read more… Judging a Book by its Cover

CVS Spoken Rx November 2021 Press Release

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Congratulations CVS and the American Council of the Blind! Today CVS and ACB announced, in the press release posted here, the availability of talking prescription labels in every CVS Pharmacy location in the United States. This announcement resulted from a collaborative effort using Structured Negotiation. CVS’ talking prescription program is called Spoken Rx. Spoken Rx adds… Read more… CVS Spoken Rx November 2021 Press Release

U.S. Federal Judge Rules for Walmart, against Blind Shoppers, in Self-checkout Kiosk Case

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On October 12, 2021 a United States federal judge in Maryland ruled that Walmart does not have to make its self-check kiosks accessible to blind shoppers. This is a disappointing result in a case that started when a Walmart employee stole $40.00 from two blind shoppers while the employee was assisting them with the inaccessible self-check kiosk. Read more… U.S. Federal Judge Rules for Walmart, against Blind Shoppers, in Self-checkout Kiosk Case

Digital Accessibility Legal Update (December 2015)

Posted on Updated on October 10, 2021
This post is part of an occasional series about recent legal developments impacting technology and information access for people with disabilities. This post covers activity from August 11, 2015 through December 10, 2015. This update includes Department of Justice activity, the settlement of cases against Scribd and the General Services Administration, Structured Negotiation with Humana, an important new voting rights case, and other developments. Read more… Digital Accessibility Legal Update (December 2015)

Bank One Preliminary Talking ATM Press Release

Posted on Updated on August 31, 2021
The Bank One Press Release posted here was issued as a result of an initial settlement agreement that Bank One signed with Chicago blind activists Kelly Pierce and Anna Byrne using Structured Negotiations instead of litigation. In the 2001 Bank One Preliminary Settlement Agreement, the bank agreed to install Talking ATMs at 130 locations, making it the first bank with Talking ATMs in Illinois and Ohio. Two years later, the bank signed a comprehensive agreement providing for additional Talking ATMs, an alternative format policy, and an accessible web site. Read more… Bank One Preliminary Talking ATM Press Release

Talking ATM History: Early Structured Negotiations in New England and the Midwest

Posted on Updated on August 31, 2021
This post is one in an ongoing series on the history of the advocacy and technology behind Talking ATMs. A short summary of all articles in this series is available by selecting the Talking ATM History link on the Categories Page of this website. In this post you can read about early Massachusetts Talking ATM advocacy and Talking ATM efforts in Chicago and the Midwest. Read more… Talking ATM History: Early Structured Negotiations in New England and the Midwest