| August, 2003 |
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In the News
UN Convention for People with Disabilities
Adapted from NCD Bulletin, May 2003
Representative Tom Lantos (D-CA) introduced a bill expressing the sense of congress that the U.S. government should play a leading role in drafting a United Nations (UN) convention that affirms the rights of people with disabilities. The convention will be discussed before a UN ad hoc committee in June.
For more information on the convention, please visit www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/unwhitepaper_05-23-02.html
NFB Certifies eBusiness Leaders
National Federation of the Blind Certifies eBusiness Leaders HP, Wells Fargo and the U.S. Social Security Administration for Web Accessibility
Baltimore, MD, May 12, 2003 The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), the nation's largest consumer and advocacy membership organization of blind persons, today announced the first national recipients of its Nonvisual Accessibility Web Application (NVA) Certification. The first companies and national organizations to be recognized by the NFB for their efforts in the area of Web accessibility are HP, Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC), and the U.S. Social Security Administration.
In support of companies that stand behind every blind Americans right to full and active participation on the Internet, the NFB enacted the NVA certification program to recognize organizations that construct Web sites to be as fundamentally usable by the blind as by the sighted. Todays announcement recognizes HP, Wells Fargo, and the U.S. Social Security Administration as leaders in Web accessibility for the visually impaired in their respective fields and also demonstrates the growing success of the certification program in assisting Web site owners to address the issue of creating content and services that are accessible to all.
HP, Wells Fargo and the U.S. Social Security Administration are leaders in Web accessibility, said Dr. Marc Maurer, President, National Federation of the Blind. We created the certification process so that Internet accessibility leaders, such as these, could be publicly recognized by the NFB for their efforts. We hope that more companies and organizations will follow the example that these innovators have set and make Web accessibility a priority in their organizations.
Certification was granted after the NFB conducted task-performance tests of the primary functions of the organizations Web sites. It was determined that a visually impaired user can perform the primary functions of the Web sites using at least two talking-screen access programs. As part of the certification program, NFB will continuously monitor these Web sites for accessibility using an automated system that flags potential problems for review by blind users.
This certification is a significant step towards our goal of connecting everyone to the power of technology by integrating accessibility into core business functions across HP, said Marius Haas, vice president of worldwide eBusiness, HP. Supporting these types of measures helps ensure that HP products, services, and content on hp.com are accessible to everyone, regardless of their abilities.
The Internet provides a new medium to expand access to the visually impaired and blind, said Avid Modjtabai, executive vice president and head of Wells Fargos Internet Services Group. Wells Fargo is pleased to be the nations first and only financial institution to be certified by the National Federation of the Blind. And, we are committed to bringing financial services to all of our customers including people who are blind or visually impaired.
The Social Security Administrations re-designed Web site www.socialsecurity.gov is easier to navigate and more accessible to all visitors, including people with visual and other physical disabilities, said Jo Anne Barnhart, commissioner of Social Security. Social Securitys programs touch the lives of nearly every American. Our Web site offers online services to people at every stage of life.
The NFB worked closely with the technology community to develop the procedures by which the Web sites and applications of these organizations may be certified. HP, Wells Fargo, and the U.S. Social Security Administration worked with SSB Technologies of San Francisco, an NFB-designated Web Accessibility Consultant (WAC), to prepare for certification.
ADA Update
Adapted from New Mobility, June 2003
On April 22 the Supreme Court ruled that partners of proprietors of businesses may not count as employees, thus exempting many small businesses from the employment provisions of the ADA. Currently all businesses with 15 or more employees are prohibited by law from discriminating against employees with disabilities.