The Roving Activist’s Blog

Governor Spitzer Signs Legislation Increasing Rights for The Disabled

Governor Eliot Spitzer today announced that he has signed legislation significantly expanding the avenues for people with disabilities to assert their rights.  The new law will make it far easier for disabled New Yorkers to seek relief when public facilities fail to reasonably accommodate their disability.

“It is critical that the state provide individuals with disabilities full and equal opportunities,” said Governor Spitzer. “This law takes a significant step towards a New York that removes barriers to the full enjoyment of the rights of all of its citizens.”

Specifically, the new statute would make it a discriminatory practice under New York law for places of public accommodation to:

-        Refuse to make reasonable modifications in policies, practices, or procedures necessary to afford facilities, privileges, advantages or accommodations to individuals with disabilities, unless making such modifications would fundamentally alter the nature of the facilities, privileges, advantages or accommodations;

-        Refuse to take steps necessary to ensure that no individual with a disability is excluded or denied services because of the absence of auxiliary aids and services, unless taking such steps would fundamentally alter the nature of the facility or would result in an undue burden; or

-        Refuse to remove structural architectural or communication barriers in existing facilities, and transportation barriers in existing vehicles and rail passenger cars, where removal is readily achievable.

These principles bring New York State law in alignment with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, and thus will not present businesses or government agencies with a new or unfamiliar set of rules to follow.  

The new law will allow persons with disabilities the ability to file certain complaints related to discriminatory practices through the State Division of Human Rights rather than pursuing costly litigation in federal court.  Individuals can bring their complaints at one of the numerous DHR centers around the State.  If the Division finds probable cause of a violation, a lawyer will present the complainant’s case.  In addition, the Division itself can bring affirmative investigations and initiate complaints.

Senator Steve Saland, Senate sponsor of the legislation, said: “New York State has led the nation for many years in ensuring that accommodations are made for people with disabilities. It is vitally important for the State to continue this commitment to assure adequate protection against discrimination on the basis of disability.  By putting the federal requirements in state law, we are greatly enhancing the availability of state enforcement mechanisms through the Human Rights Law.”

Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, Assembly sponsor of the legislation and former Chair of the Assembly Task Force on People with Disabilities, said: “I am absolutely thrilled, after at least ten years of intense advocacy from New York’s disability community, that Governor Spitzer has signed this measure into law. People with disabilities need to be assured that their civil rights are well protected in this state.  This measure will go a long way toward both preventing and, hopefully eliminating, discrimination against people with disabilities when they choose to utilize areas of public accommodations in New York, regardless of what happens to the ADA on the federal level.   I look forward to working with the Governor to ensure that all existing protections offered under the ADA are put into state law as well.”

Sim Goldman of Disability Advocates said: “We are pleased that New York has clarified and strengthened the legal rights of New Yorkers with disabilities under State law.  We thank the Assembly, the Senate and the Governor for their collective efforts in enacting this law, as well as our fellow advocates who have worked tirelessly for years to achieve this goal.”

Frank Pennisi, the Chair of the ADA Committee of New York State, said:  “With the enactment of this law, Governor Spitzer has shown his commitment to true equality for all New Yorkers.  This bill will make it possible for individuals to assert their right to access to public facilities, and to make those rights guaranteed them by law a reality.”

The legislation will go into effect in January 1, 2008.

This Democrat and Chronicle article is part of an ongoing education effort by Linda Fullerton, co-founder of the SSD Coalition. She feels that it is very important that people know just what those of us with disabilities who try to get on Social Security must go through.

Backlog leaves disabled in limbo

Those seeking Social Security benefits often wait years for OK

Erica Bryant
Staff writer

(August 21, 2007) — John Johnson left the U.S. Army with such physical and mental scars, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs rated him 100 percent disabled in 2003.

But it took nearly four years for the Persian Gulf War veteran from Rochester to win approval for and finally receive Social Security Disability Insurance benefits.

About 65 percent of the 2.5 million people who file disability claims each year are initially denied and have the right to appeal. At Social Security’s Buffalo Hearing Office, where Johnson’s case was heard along with most local cases, the average time between a request for an appeals hearing and the hearing is 22 months.

Nationally, the average wait is 17 months, the longest in Social Security history.

“The process is horrifying,” said Johnson, whose SSDI benefits started last month.

Social Security Administration Commissioner Michael Astrue has blamed understaffing and an increase in claims for the backlog.

When he addressed the Senate Finance Committee in May, he lamented the fact that Congress has provided the SSA with an annual average of $150 million less than what has been requested by President Bush since 2001.

Meanwhile, the disability hearings backlog has doubled to more than 745,000 cases.

“The length of time many people wait for their final disability decision is unacceptable,” Astrue told the Senate Committee.

As of the end of July, 14,707 cases were waiting for an appeals hearing at the Buffalo office. Close to 8,000 had been pending for more than a year. There are currently 13 judges working out of the Buffalo office. Social Security Administration spokesman John Shallman says that an additional administrative law judge should be added there in October.

As a veteran, Johnson was able to appeal to his congressional representatives to get his case pushed along faster.

Service in the first Persian Gulf War and a blow to the head he received while stationed in Korea left him suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder, a traumatic brain injury, degenerative disc disease and other ailments.

When Johnson applied for SSDI in 2003, he was denied. Because of the massive backlog at the Buffalo hearing office, he did not get his first appeals hearing until July 2006.

During his four-year wait, Johnson had Veterans Affairs benefits to help him manage. Terry Nichols, a Greece resident who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2002, did not.

Nichols applied for Social Security disability benefits in November 2002, after blurry vision, debilitating fatigue, persistent pains and cognitive issues made it impossible for him to keep his lawn maintenance business.

After an initial denial, he waited 18 months for a hearing. In May 2004, he received a favorable decision.

By that time, his house was already in foreclosure. He lost the home in June 2004.

“You pay into the system and you always believe there’s a safety net there for you when something like this happens,” he said.

“Then you find out it’s not there to catch you.”

Crunch to worsen

The Social Security Administration is experimenting with new efforts to speed up proceedings. It is using automation tools to screen cases and has been prioritizing cases that are or will be 1,000 days old as of Sept. 30. Astrue requested $10.44 billion for the Social Security disability system for the 2008 budget cycle. President Bush has proposed $9.4 billion and the Senate has budgeted $125 million more than that, specifically to address the backlog. The final figure will be decided later this year.

As baby boomers age and become more prone to disability, Astrue expects the crunch to worsen. He has estimated that the number of pending cases could reach 1 million by 2010.

In 1996, Linda Fullerton of Rochester bumped her head while getting out of her car. A blood clot that formed between her scalp and skull became infected, leaving her in a coma. In the aftermath of the accident, she had to have the base of her skull removed and developed several autoimmune disorders. By 2001, she could no longer work as a computer purchasing agent and filed for SSDI benefits.

She was initially denied and waited a year and a half for an appeals hearing before she started receiving benefits. In 2003, she co-founded the Social Security Disability Coalition to push Congress to reform the system and to help get other people through the appeals process.

“Most Americans can’t live for two weeks without money,” said Fullerton, who says she lost her pension and life’s savings waiting for her disability benefits. “They’re asking people who are sick and can’t work to wait 700 days? It’s insane.”

‘Ready to give up’

Johnson sought help from Fullerton’s organization when he was left stunned that he could be denied Social Security disability benefits, despite the fact that the V.A. had declared him 100 percent unemployable. “I was ready to give up,” he said.

Social Security and the V.A. are separate federal organizations and use different criteria to determine disability, explained Rick Warsinskey, the president of the National Council of Social Security Management Association.

There is no system in place to spare a veteran who has been declared disabled by the V.A. the long wait for Social Security. “It’s unfortunate,” he said.

“It was stressful, painful and humiliating,” said Johnson, who is trying to get his house out of foreclosure. “I worked. It’s not like you’re giving me anything for free.”

Nichols said one of the worst parts of applying for Social Security disability benefits was being treated like he was trying to scam the system.

He said he recognizes that some people try to get disability insurance benefits that they don’t deserve, but he said making people wait years before they get the opportunity to appeal a decision is wrong.

“There should be something in place to protect people from losing everything they’ve worked for,” Nichols said.

“It just shouldn’t take that long.”

EBRYANT@DemocratandChronicle.com

Here is a link to Linda Fullerton’s story, and what she is doing. Linda’s website is called A Bump On The Head.

http://www.frontiernet.net/~lindaf1/bump.html

This Thursday, August 23rd, I will be meeting with the Executive Director of the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley to discuss how we can build bridges between the GLBT community and the disability community. We’ll be meeting at CDR, and there will be lots to discuss. I am looking forward to this meeting because I believe that our communities should join forces and work together. I will keep you abreast of what happens.