Updated Human Rights Law in NY
United Spinal Association was pleased that New York Governor Elliot Spitzer signed into law a bill that significantly expands the rights of persons with disabilities. This new legislation will bring New York State’s Human Rights Law up-to-date to reflect the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) pertaining to places of public accommodation.
Presently, New York State’s law does not explicitly require the removal of architectural barriers in places of public accommodation, which include restaurants, theaters, shopping centers-and other places where goods or services are provided to the public. While the old law prohibited discrimination against persons with disabilities in places of public accommodation, it fell short of the ADA’s requirement that structural barriers to accessibility be removed when it is readily achievable to do so.
The new legislation expands the rights for persons with disabilities by specifically making it unlawful for places of public accommodation to refuse to remove architectural and communication barriers if removal is readily achievable.
This law becomes effective January 1, 2008. For more information regarding this law, please contact John P. Herrion, Counsel, at United Spinal Association.
October Is National Disability Employment Awareness Month
It started in 1945 when Congress resolved that the first week in October would be “Employ the Handicapped Week.” In 1988, there were so many consciousness-raising events nationwide that Congress turned October into National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and placed the U.S. Department of Labor at its helm.
United Spinal Association will be celebrating with several major events, including a presentation at Merrill Lynch on Wall Street on October 3. Entitled “Bridging the Gap” the program is designed to raise awareness of disability issues in the work place and provides a unique opportunity for Wall Street firms to share information on best practices on employing persons with disabilities. Leading the event will be prominent disability champions and a panel of successful Wall Street businessmen and businesswomen with disabilities.
United Spinal representatives will have the opportunity to provide information on our valuable resources: Disability Etiquette training for employers; Accessibility Services, which focuses on physical access. Chris Fossel (one of United Spinal’s newest board members), vice president of Client Services and chair of Merrill Lynch’s Disability Awareness Professional Network (DAPN) is the principal coordinator of the event.
United Spinal is also partnering with PepsiCo and its enAble Leadership Council on October 16 for a kids sports clinic at PepsiCo’s Westchester campus in Purchase, New York.
And on October 17, we are one of six partnering organizations in an event called “Ramp Up Your Awareness” at three different locations in New York City. This event will announce that the Honda Odyssey mininvan-the best-selling of its kind in the country-is now available in a wheelchair- accessible version from VMI of Phoenix.
