Action Alert: NCIL Needs Your Help Documenting the Impact of the DOL Rule Changes!
In August, when the Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Department of Labor, the Home Care Association said that they were considering a Supreme Court appeal and asked if NCIL and ADAPT would be willing to write another amicus court brief in that case.
Months went by and the Home Care Association filed a petition to appeal to the Supreme Court with a motion asking the court to delay the implementation of the DOL rule until the Supreme Court decided if it would hear the case. The Supreme Court declined to delay the rule, but is allowing the Home Care Association to petition to have the appeal heard by the Supreme Court. The Home Care Association is, in fact, moving forward with petitioning the court and asked if we would file an amicus court brief with a deadline of December 24, 2015.
This brief is simply asking the court to hear the case. We are crafting an amicus emphasizing that the US Supreme Court should hear the case because the DOL's actions in changing the regulations have been harmful to attendants and people with disabilities.
In order to draft an accurate brief for the Supreme Court about how the Companionship Exemption changes have impacted people with disabilities, we need your help!
Please answer the questions below with details by Monday, December 14th! Send answers to Stephanie Woodward.
Explain how any state policies around attendant services have changed within the last 18 months. An example of this would be any rules implemented by your state that prohibit overtime for attendants.
Explain how any practices changed within the last 18 months. An example of this would be fiscal intermediaries requiring attendants to stop working overtime or people being reevaluated and receiving reduced hours that limits the potential for overtime.
Share stories of anyone who has been affected personally. Has an attendant lost hours of work?
Has a disabled person lost their attendants because of this? Is it impossible to find new attendants?
Has anyone been institutionalized as a result?
These examples will be very helpful to highlight the harm that is happening because of these rules.
Has your state done nothing to implement the rule?
Thank you for your help in addressing this critical issue!
Federal Legislation to limit Americans with Disabilities Act Enforcement
By: Mike Bachhuber and Steve Higgins
NCIL ADA, Civil Rights Subcommittee Co-Chairs
They couldn't wait for the banners to be taken down from 25th Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 25th Anniversary celebrations. Adding insult to injury, Representative Poe (R-TX) introduced H.R. 3765, the ADA Education & Reform Act, on October 20, 2015. The bill has already garnered support from others, including Representatives Collins (R-GA), Jolly (R-FL), Marchant (R-TX), and Lamar Smith (R-TX). Please reach out to your Representatives and ask them not to support this piece of legislation.
The bill is being touted as an education bill, which is a new approach by the American Hotel & Lodging Association and others supporting it. You may remember when NCIL members held a “pool party” at their office (located just a few blocks from the 2012 NCIL Annual Conference) after they supported similar legislation to damage the ADA.
ADA Notification Act with a Twist
H.R. 3765 contains language similar to that used in past proposed legislation that would have limited the ADA. Section 3 of the bill creates a new crime for sending "a demand letter… alleging a violation of [Title III] of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990…" that does not meet certain requirements. This in itself is damaging and unacceptable. In no other civil rights legislation is it a crime to file a complaint.
Should this legislation pass, it would become effective 30 days after enactment. Now is the time to reach out to your legislators and ask them not to support H.R. 3765, which would create additional barriers to our civil rights as persons with disabilities. If enacted, this bill could set damaging precedence potentially affecting other civil rights legislation by making notification a crime.
NCIL will be working with other disability rights organizations to stop this bill. Should additional actions be required, we will reach out to the membership. We must ensure that the ADA stays strong by stopping proposals like this before they gain traction.
