CalCLAD ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Below is a list of significant cases and legislative projects that have been successfully concluded over the past years on behalf of our clients:
- Settled a federal court suit against St. Helena Hospital for failing to use qualified sign language interpreters for a patient’s deaf spouse. Settlement terms are confidential.
- Obtained favorable OCR decisions on complaints against Queen of the Valley Hospital, San Leandro Hospital, Humana Hospital and the University of Southern California Medical Center for failures to provide sign language interpreters for deaf patients.
- Favorably settled a federal class action lawsuit against the Santa Clara County Department of Correction resulting in installation of TTYs, amplified phones and visual alarms in the county jails, provision of accommodations such as interpreters for inmate programs, and other improvements in jail policies and procedures.
- Co-counsel in a federal lawsuit favorably settled against the San Francisco Airport (SFO) resulting in new visual displays of airport information and a visual paging system, additional TTYs, service dog relief areas, continuous use of captions on TVs, and access to video remote sign language interpreting services.
- Settled a federal court suit against Washington Hospital in Fremont for refusing to provide interpreters needed by a patient’s deaf spouse to attend community health education classes. Settlement terms are confidential.
- Obtained favorable Office of Civil Rights decisions on complaints against Valley Care Medical Center in Pleasanton and CPC Hospital in Walnut Creek for failing provide interpreters for a deaf mental health patient resulting in improved accommodations policies, including the provision of interpreters.
- Obtained favorable action on a complaint to the Division of Licensing of the California Department of Health Services for Highland Hospital’s failure to provide a qualified interpreter for a deaf patient undergoing surgery. Highland is a county hospital in Oakland. The Hospital agreed to an improved accommodations policy, including provision of qualified interpreters.
- Favorably settled a federal lawsuit against the S.F. Municipal Railway for interference with signal dog access, resulting in ongoing driver training, posting of notices in busses, and monetary compensation for three of our clients.
- Favorably settled two federal lawsuits against the Fremont Police Department; one for failing to provide an interpreter during an interview with a deaf crime victim and the other for failing to provide an interpreter during an interrogation of a deaf suspect and for failing to provide a TTY at the jail. As a result of the settlements, the department improved its policies in interacting with deaf, including the provision of qualified interpreters, and obtained TTYs for the jail.
- Settled a federal court suit against the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing for its failure to provide an interpreter during meetings between its staff and a deaf complainant, which resulted in the deaf person’s unknowing release of monetary claims against a health clinic that had also refused to provide interpreters during prenatal health care visits. The settlement included monetary relief and improved interpreter policy for the DFEH.
- Obtained a favorable settlement by HUD of a complaint filed with it against a homeowners association for its refusal to provide interpreters at meetings of the association needed by deaf homeowners wanting to attend the meetings. The settlement included monetary relief and a commitment to provide interpreters for future meetings.
- Obtained favorable OCR decision on a complaint against the Newark Unified School System requiring it to provide sign language interpreters so that deaf parents may attend high school graduation ceremonies.
- Obtained a favorable Dept. of Justice 504 complaint against the Alameda County Superior Court resulting in adoption of policies to accommodate deaf court participants, including traffic court, by providing them with sign language interpreters.
- Obtained favorable OCR decisions on complaints against the San Ramon Medical Group and the John Muir Health Network for refusals to provide interpreters for a deaf patient.
- Obtained a favorable OCR decision on a complaint against the Eden Hospital Medical Center in Castro Valley for refusal to pay for a professional interpreter needed by the deaf spouse of a hearing patient for the entire labor and delivery by LaMaze method. Settlement included improved interpreter policy and payment with interest of interpreter fees.
- Settled an EEOC complaint against Federal Express over its refusal to permit a deaf employee to drive ground support vehicles such as tugs or forklifts pursuant its policy that required hearing ability. Settlement terms are confidential.
- Obtained a favorable settlement agreement between the U.S. Department of Justice and the Oakland Police Department on three complaints over the lack of TTYs and failures to obtain qualified interpreters by the police. The agreement requires the police to obtain additional TTYs for use by deaf inmates, to obtain qualified interpreters when needed, and specific sensitivity training for all officers and other police personnel.
- Successfully petitioned the FCC to require video relay services, the providers of which are all federally funded, to be interoperable. This includes any associated customer premises equipment such as video phones.
- Successfully proposed and lobbied AB 3152 in 1996 to require the California Public Utilities Commission to establish a program to place publicly available TTYs in existing buildings and facilities around the state.
- State legislation to exempt prelingually deaf teachers who teach deaf students from the teaching credential requirement of passing the California Basic Educational Skills Test.
- Successfully proposed and lobbied legislation in 1996 to provide state tax credits in addition to federal tax credits available to small businesses for removing architectural and communication barriers, such as interpreter costs, required by the ADA.
- Obtained amendments to SB 1687, subsequently enacted in 1996, that made a violation of the ADA a violation of state civil rights protections for individuals with disabilities, raised minimum statutory damages for a violation, and clarified the jurisdiction of the DFEH to enforce these protections.
- Successfully proposed and lobbied for a new state budget item for Medicaid coverage of interpreter costs incurred by small health care providers in providing health care to deaf beneficiaries.
- State legislative requirements for ALS and Real Time Captioning in courtrooms.
- State legislative amendments to strengthen and broaden courtroom interpreter requirements.
- State legislation clarifying interpreter requirements for traffic schools.
- State legislative amendments requiring hospitals to provide qualified sign language interpreters to deaf patients.
- State building regulations requiring hotel visual alarms.
- State building regulations requiring ALS in assembly and conference meeting rooms.
- Extensive work before the California PUC and Legislature to establish the Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program and ensure greater consumer involvement in its administration.
- PUC order to Pacific Bell, GTE and AT&T to offer TTY toll call discounts.
- Initiated the nation’s first legal services program to exclusively represent deaf and hard-of-hearing victims of domestic violence and stalking and to provide community legal education and outreach to this population.
- Initiated the Deaf Education Coalition and the deaf children’s bill of rights, including the adoption of the policy by the U.S. Department of Education.
- Initiated the Californians for Television Access coalition that has improved access to broadcast news in the Bay Area.
- Adoption of DMV policy to obtain interpreters for deaf citizens using DMV services.
- Elimination of hearing requirements for driving USPS forklifts and tugs.
- Adoption by U.S. Small Business Administration of interpreter policy.
- Strengthened INS policy to use interpreters for deaf immigrants.
- Numerous improvements regarding deaf access in the policies, procedures and regulations of numerous local, state, and federal agencies, as well as state courts.