Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and other lawmakers are pushing to make it easier for Americans with disabilities to take action if they feel their rights have been violated.
Duckworth sent a letter to the Department of Justice on Thursday asking for greater transparency and updates on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Mediation Program, an informal process designed to help parties work out mutually agreeable solutions that comply with federal law.
The Department of Justice has mediated thousands of interactions between individuals with disabilities and public accommodations to address alleged violations of the ADA.
But the senators’ letter, co-signed by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), argued that the Department of Justice has failed to provide Congress and the public with transparent and timely updates on the program’s performance and effectiveness for more than a decade, despite having done so on a quarterly basis in the past.
“When disability rights are violated, those affected have the right to be heard and to receive the help they need, quickly and fairly. While the Department of Justice’s Mediation Program has made progress as a valuable tool for resolving ADA complaints, in over a decade the Department has failed to regularly share updates on the program’s success with Congress or the American public. This must change,” Duckworth said in a statement to HuffPost.
“I’m asking the Department of Justice for feedback on this program so we can help make it as effective and efficient as possible for the millions of Americans who live with disabilities and experience discrimination across the country,” she said.
The ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in the U.S. However, public and private organizations sometimes fail to comply with federal law, leaving Americans with disabilities to assert their rights when they face violations.
If an individual believes their rights have been violated by a public or private entity, they can file a complaint with a federal agency, such as the Department of Justice. According to the Department of Justice website, the Department of Justice refers certain ADA disputes to a mediator who will facilitate one or more talks between the parties to resolve the dispute.
According to information about the Department of Justice’s ADA Mediation Program, disputes often revolve around “removal of barriers or program accessibility, policy changes, and effective communication.” If no resolution is reached, the Department of Justice may launch a formal investigation.
The Justice Department said the mediation process addresses the barriers people with disabilities face and “allows the Department to achieve substantial compliance with the law without allocating scarce resources to investigating and litigating these disputes.”
“When the rights of people with disabilities are violated, those affected should have the right to be heard and to receive the help they need, quickly and fairly.”
– Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)
But Michelle Uzeta, deputy legal director for the Disability Rights Education and Advocacy Fund, told HuffPost she doesn’t know of anyone who has been referred to a mediation program in her 30 years of work, adding that the Justice Department doesn’t accept the vast majority of complaints from people with disabilities for investigation or referral for mediation.
“It’s no secret that the department is underfunded, under-resourced, and subject to the priorities of changing administrations,” Uzeta said. “This is why private enforcement of the ADA by people with disabilities remains critical: without it, the ADA’s promise of full and equal participation in society will never be realized.”
According to the Department of Justice website, since its inception in 1994, more than 7,000 complaints nationwide have been referred to the mediation program, and about 78 percent of mediated cases have been successfully resolved.
However, over the past decade there has been a lack of transparency and information about its effectiveness and performance: the last report containing information on the mediation program was released in 2011.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
Uzeta, the ADA litigation expert, said he hasn’t heard many complaints about mediation programs from the disability community, and he thinks that’s because even people who know about the programs believe they’re unlikely to be referred to them.
“I don’t believe most people with disabilities know about this program. It’s not well-advertised or promoted, and neither is the ADA grievance process,” she said.
But she said there have been calls for greater transparency about what complaints the Justice Department receives and whether those complaints are dismissed, referred to mediation or investigated by the department.
“As advocates, we want to know what types of complaints the police department is receiving, what trends are emerging, what priorities the department has and how the complaints are being handled or resolved,” Uzeta said.
The senators are asking the Department of Justice to provide more up-to-date information about the mediation program through a series of questions, ranging from clarification of what constitutes a successful settlement through the program to an update on the number of cases referred to the mediation program.