| June, 2003 |
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In the News
CAP: An Accommodation Resource for Federal Employers
CAP - An Accommodation Resource for Federal Employers
Federal agencies have two important accommodation resources available for employees with disabilities, the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) and the Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program (CAP). CAP ensures that people with disabilities within the federal government have equal access to the information environment and opportunities. The Department of Defense (DoD) established CAP to provide assistive technology and accommodation services for individuals with disabilities. CAP is the centrally-funded program in the federal government to provide accommodations. In 2002, CAP had partnerships with 51 federal agencies including eight at the cabinet level. CAP also provided over 2,000 accommodations to its federal partners and over 3,200 accommodations to DoD organizations. CAP currently provides accommodations to DoD and 53 partner agencies.
In addition to paying for and providing a wide variety of assistive technology for people with hearing, visual, dexterity, cognitive, and communication disabilities, CAP provides services including:
- Assistance with assessments, accommodations, and training for Workers' Compensation claimants;
- Accommodations for teleworkers (telecommuters);
- Ensuring public access to Human Resource/EEO Offices and Training Centers; and
- Technology integration and installation.
In order to identify and request accommodations, CAP has a simple five-step process which includes: 1) needs assessment, 2) accommodation solution, 3) completion and submission of the CAP Request Form, 4) identification of whether training is required, and 5) feedback on customer service received from CAP. Further information on this process is available online at:
http://www.tricare.osd.mil/cap/acc_proc/acc_proc_ov.cfm.
CAP also maintains the CAP Technology Evaluation Center (CAPTEC) where employees and their supervisors can evaluate and become familiar with assistive technology. CAPTEC, located in the Pentagon, contains several computer workstations equipped with a wide variety of technology solutions for a variety of disabling conditions. CAPTEC is available via video teleconference (VTC) for individuals who cannot travel to Washington, DC. Furthermore, there is an interactive tour available online at:
http://www.tricare.osd.mil/cap/captec/captec_ov.cfm.
Recently, CAP has been more active in training federal employees and supervisors how to integrate a disability management plan into their organization to support President Bush's New Freedom Initiative (http://www.disabilityinfo.gov) and the President's Management Agenda (http://www.results.gov). Specifically, as Dinah F. B. Cohen, the CAP Director, states:
"CAP seeks to ensure that federal agencies recognize that mainstream recruitment, placement, and retention issues in their agency's Human Capital Scorecards can be positively impacted with a well-devised disability management plan. At CAP, we work with DoD and partner agencies to bring forward accommodation solutions for employees that also support an agency's overall objective, such as reduction of Workers' Compensation costs, increased utilization of teleworkers, and locating talented Americans to create the federal Workforce of the 21st Century."
CAP and JAN support the federal goal of increasing employment and retention of people with disabilities and are jointly committed to making the federal workplace a productive and healthy environment for all employees. The CAP and JAN staffs work with individuals to ensure compliance with federal laws and to assist in creating a more accessible information environment within the federal government. To assist with these initiatives, the JAN and CAP organizations have formed a partnership portal where all federal employers and employees dealing with disability issues quickly can locate information and resources to answer their most frequent questions. The CAP and JAN portal is available at: http://www.jan.wvu.edu/cap.
For further information on CAP, contact via telephone at (703) 681-8813, TTY at (703) 681-0881, e-mail at cap@tma.osd.mil, or the Internet at http://www.tricare.osd.mil/cap.
- Beth Loy, Ph.D. (With Thanks to Derek Shields, CAP Technical Manager, for supplying valuable information.)
NFB of Pennsylvania v. PA Commonwealth
PHILADELPHIA, PA (February 27, 2003)-Three blind, Pennsylvania state employees and the National Federation of the Blind Pennsylvania (NFBP) filed suit today against the state and its Governor, Edward Rendell, asserting that the state's multi-million-dollar computer system upgrade for use by all state employees is inaccessible to blind employees and, therefore, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
James Antonacci, Celia Fagnani, and Sue Davis, each of whom works for the Pennsylvania state government, contend that blind workers cannot access information previously available. Blind employees can now only examine their payroll information by permitting sighted individuals access to what would otherwise be private and confidential.
In 2001 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania entered into a contract with SAP Public Sector & Education, Inc. for the purchase of a new statewide computer system. These computer packages typically include accounting, budgeting, payroll, personnel, and purchasing. The contract to design and implement the computer system over a three-year period was for more than $40 million and is dubbed Imagine PA.
"People who are blind can and do regularly operate computers, using screen access software that converts computer text into synthesized speech or Braille," says Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), a consumer-based organization representing more than 50,000 blind persons throughout the United States.
"Unfortunately, in choosing software that is incompatible with screen access programs, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has failed to remove significant communications barriers, denying blind employees independent access to the state's information system and ultimately undermining the ability of blind individuals to do their jobs, all of which are in violation of the ADA," Dr. Maurer explains.
Two years ago, the Arkansas Administrative Statewide Information System (AASIS) ran into similar access problems for blind employees. The chief contractor for that conversion was also SAP Public Sector and Education, Inc. Two blind Arkansas state employees filed a lawsuit at that time, which was intended to prevent further use of the SAP system without the necessary access modifications.
When Imagine PA becomes effective all Pennsylvania state employees will keep time and attendance information using the computer system. Employees will track expense vouchers and a host of other functions, including budgeting, accounting, and procurement on the new system, all of which will be inaccessible to the state's blind employees.
The Imagine PA project is being implemented in "waves." To date, a number of agencies have begun using the new setup with additional agencies scheduled to implement Imagine PA over the next several months.
Training has already been conducted for the Imagine PA system. Neither the plaintiffs nor any other blind employees of the Commonwealth have been able to sign up for or participate in the training sessions because they are inaccessible.
Attorney Daniel Goldstein, a partner with the firm of Brown, Goldstein & Levy that represents both the NFB of Pennsylvania and the plaintiffs in this suit, notes that in the technology arena, discrimination against blind people "often begins with the blind being overlooked, follows with them being told to wait, and ends with them being told that, while it would have been inexpensive to make the system accessible in the first place, it is now far too expensive to fix and that they must wait until the next edition of the software."
Mr. Goldstein adds, "This suit is intended to try to change that pattern."
If successful, the suit will prohibit the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from widening the use of the SAP system until it has been made accessible to all potential users, including the blind.
The National Federation of the Blind, with more than 50,000 members and 700 local and state affiliates and chapters, is the largest and most influential membership organization of blind people in the United States. As a consumer and advocacy organization, NFB is the leading force in the blindness field today and the voice of the nation's blind.
Petition Calls for Reconsideration of Pay Phone Rule Changes
Telecommunications for the Deaf, Inc., the National Association of the Deaf, the Consumer Action Network and SHHH have filed a joint petition asking the FCC to reconsider its recent rule changes for making relay calls from pay phones, and to reinstate previous payment rates. The petition also calls for a national outreach campaign to educate relay users on the proper way to use a pay phone to make a relay call, as well as the various payment methods available.