Last month we celebrated Disability Pride Month, a commemoration each July of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as well as a time to highlight the contributions of people with disabilities and raise awareness of the stigmas many still face.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 1 in 4 adults in the U.S. have a disability impacting things like cognition, mobility, hearing, and vision.
In the legal profession, while the number of lawyers who report a disability has been growing, they represent just 1.99% of all lawyers at U.S. law firms.
Advocating for people with disabilities
The lawyers and staff at Chicago-based Equip for Equality advance the civil rights of people with disabilities through legal services, public policy, monitoring, and training.
The nonprofit organization, which also has offices in Springfield and Carbondale, Ill., administers the federally mandated Protection & Advocacy Systems for Illinois, serving as a legal advocate and an independent watchdog over the government, business, and nonprofit sectors.
As a legal advocate, Equip for Equality handles individual client cases and litigation focused on systemic reforms.
Significant legal change for people with disabilities
Christopher Garcia, a Managing Attorney for Equip for Equality’s Civil Rights Team, sees his work as a vital part of “our shared humanity,” noting that “we all need some grace, patience, and accommodation from one another.”
One way that our systems better support people with disabilities, he said, is a clarification by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Charter Comm. LLC, 75 F.4th 729 (2023).
In the case, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals weighed in on whether an “employer must afford a reasonable accommodation, in terms of modified work schedules, to accommodate an employee’s commuting challenges,” Garcia said.
The 7th Circuit noted that “where a disability makes it difficult for an employee to travel to and from work safely, the employee usually controls key variables, such as where the employee lives and which mode of transportation to use. But the employer controls the work schedule, which can impact travel times and modes,” Garcia said.
In certain circumstances, therefore, Garcia noted that “the ADA obliges an employer to accommodate an employee’s disability-related difficulties in getting to work, if reasonable. For example, when the requested accommodation is entirely within an employer’s control.”
Accessibility and the courts
Equip for Equality works to ensure its clients have “access to full participation in our systems of justice,” Garcia said.
As such, the most common question they receive from clients is a request for an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter within court proceedings, he said.
The Illinois Supreme Court’s website notes that ASL is the second most requested type of language interpreter in court proceedings, following Spanish.
The Court maintains a Court Interpreter Registry, which includes ASL interpreters who have met training and testing requirements and have been determined sufficient to interpret in legal settings by the Illinois Deaf and Hard of Hearing Commission.
Those requesting an interpreter are asked to fill out a one-page form and deliver it to the Office of Interpreter Services or the circuit clerk, judge, or other court staff.
‘Sharing their stories’
Garcia has worked on behalf of people with disabilities for the past 20 years and said that he “can think of no greater privilege than speaking for them [and] sharing their stories.”
He said that too often, the first time workplace managers hear these stories is in a litigation context.
Equip for Equality is currently requesting public feedback on a draft of its next Three-Year Priorities and Plan, which guides what cases it will accept for legal representation and self-advocacy assistance over the next three years.
If you would like to help the organization set its direction, please share your comments on the Equip for Equality website by Sept. 6, 2024.
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