Out-Law News 2 min. read

US benefits agency ordered to supply information in Braille


A wing of the US Government has been ordered to communicate in Braille and electronic form with visually impaired people. The Social Security Administration (SSA) had previously refused to provide documents in accessible form, a court said.

The American Council of the Blind (ACB), which took the case, has called it a "major victory". The Court said that the SSA had been "quick to find lame excuses for noncompliance but exceedingly slow to favor accommodations" with the US Rehabilitation Act.

The SSA offers an option for blind or partially sighted people to be read communications down the phone but call centre staff must only try to reach the person three times and letters with many legalistic clauses or large, unchanging sections of 'boilerplate' text can take half an hour to read, the District Court for the Northern District of California said.

The ACB and two groups of three million people demanded that the SSA offer communication via Braille, large print, email, CD, and audiotape recordings. The SSA refused and the ACB and the 3m users took it to court.

The Court has ruled that the SSA must start making information available in the accessible formats by April of next year. It said that the SSA had been unhelpful.

"The agency has greatly exaggerated the burden and risks associated with extending accommodations beyond [the current setup]," said the Court's ruling. "The vast majority of SSA’s 'burden' and 'risk' evidence is larded with speculation."

The Court said that Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities, required that the SSA communicate with blind users in the accessible formats.

The Court said that the SSA had not even accepted that it had duties under Section 504 until forced to do so by an earlier court hearing.

"Section 504’s implementing regulations require that the agency take steps to ensure effective communication. No such steps have been taken," said Judge William Alsup in the ruling.

The Court discounted some of the delivery media requested by the people behind the case. "Audio cassettes are now passe and will not be ordered on a class-wide systematic basis," said Judge Alsup. "Large print is too burdensome and those with low vision can read existing notices with magnifying glasses or other home tools and/or will be able to benefit from the CD relief that is ordered. Email would be very handy but the risk of personal identifiable information being stolen is too great."

He did say, though, that the SSA must be prepared to send Braille or electronic versions of material.

"Braille will cover most older recipients and recipients blind from birth. A Microsoft Word CD will cover recipients with access to computers. These two groups overlap and it is highly likely that one alternative or the other (or both) will satisfy the vast majority of blind and visually impaired individuals," he said.

"This ruling signals a major victory for the disability rights movement, and it sets a precedent for the obligations of other federal and state agencies to accommodate people who are blind or have visual impairments," said a statement by the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF).

"Arlene Mayerson, Directing Attorney for the DREDF, emphasized that providing alternative formats to blind and visually impaired individuals is a civil right to equal access analogous to providing ramps for wheelchair users," said the statement. "She urged other agencies to take stock in light of the legal precedent established in the order."

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