From philosopher25 at gmail.com Fri May 2 05:00:14 2014 From: philosopher25 at gmail.com (Sexton, bruce) Date: Thu, 1 May 2014 21:00:14 -0800 Subject: [blindlaw] LSAT reader available Message-ID: <00b701cf65c3$6a9c9af0$3fd5d0d0$@gmail.com> Hello List, I have been working with a dynamic reader as I self-study for the LSAT with Bookshare books. She has a nursing degree, and do to a recent disability, is no longer able to meet the physical demands of the job. She is punctual and highly motivated. If you are looking for such a reader to do work over the phone, please contact me at: philosopher25 at gmail.com . Thanks, Bruce From Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov Fri May 2 20:15:57 2014 From: Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov (Nightingale, Noel) Date: Fri, 2 May 2014 15:15:57 -0500 Subject: [blindlaw] Washington Attorney General's Office civil rights chief in Seattle Message-ID: <04F1893C93758F4AA7CB436BB26750660118C25BDF77@EDUPTCEXMB02.ed.gov> From: Nakamura, Linda (ATG) [mailto:LindaP2 at atg.wa.gov] Sent: Friday, May 02, 2014 1:12 PM Subject: WA AGO - Civil Rights Unit Position in Seattle Importance: High Greetings. The Washington State Attorney General's Office has created a new Civil Rights Unit and we are looking for an experienced attorney to lead that office. Attached you will find the recruitment notice and it is our hope that you would be willing to share this with your members, as well as anyone you feel may be interested or qualified. As always, with great appreciation, * Linda PDF: Word: Text: A leadership opportunity exists in the Washington State Attorney General's Office. Agency Profile The Attorney General, an elected official, serves clients in more than 230 state agencies, boards and commissions, colleges and universities, as well as the Legislature and the Governor. Our mission is to deliver the highest quality professional legal services to officials, agencies, and residents of Washington. We also serve the public through our Consumer Protection and Antitrust Divisions, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and Public Counsel Unit. The Attorney General's Office employs approximately 500 attorneys and 600 support staff. The Position/Desired Qualifications The Attorney General of Washington seeks an excellent, highly motivated, experienced, Washington-licensed attorney to serve as Chief of the Civil Rights Unit. The Chief will be the first attorney to serve in the newly formed Civil Rights Unit, and will have strategic, supervisory, and litigating responsibility for the activities of the Unit. The Unit will investigate and litigate violations of the laws of Washington that may include discrimination on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, and veteran status. The Civil Rights Unit will work closely with the Consumer Protection Division and the Criminal Justice Division of the AG's Office, as well as with the Washington Human Rights Commission and federal agencies. The Chief of the Civil Rights Unit will report to a Deputy Attorney General, and initially will supervise one investigator and a support staff professional. The position preferably will be located in Seattle, but may be located in Olympia. Travel around the state is necessary and may include litigation duties throughout the state. The successful applicant must be admitted to the Washington State Bar Association and bring substantial experience litigating, advising clients, and (preferably) managing attorneys and other professionals. The successful applicant also should have excellent oral and written communication skills, produce consistently high quality work product, exercise excellent litigating judgment, value diversity and inclusion, and be an outstanding leader and team player. The applicant should have a demonstrated commitment to civil rights and public service. The applicant should have the ability to develop and sustain strong relationships within the AG's Office, as well as externally, with state agency clients, legislators, local and federal agencies, the media, and community groups. Compensation Salary is DOE and commensurate with comparable positions in the AGO. A standard state benefits package is offered which includes a choice of medical/dental plans, retirement, life and basic long-term disability insurance. Application Process To apply, qualified applicants must submit a letter of interest, resume and writing sample to Linda Nakamura, Attorney Recruitment Administrator, by e-mail at linda.nakamura at atg.wa.gov. For questions about the application process, contact Linda at (206) 464-6446 or by e-mail. If you have specific questions about the position please contact Deputy AG Darwin Roberts at (206) 389-3881 or darwin.roberts at atg.wa.gov. Required documents must be received by 5:00 p.m. (PST) on May 23, 2014. The Office respects and encourages diversity in the work force and is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity diversity, age, honorably discharged veteran, veteran status, or the presence of any sensory, mental or physical disability or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability. Persons requiring reasonable accommodation in the application process or requiring any information in an alternative format may contact Tracy Robinson at 360-586-7693 or Washington Relay Service at 1-800-676-3777 or www.washingtonrelay.com. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: CRUAAG5.23.14.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 332739 bytes Desc: CRUAAG5.23.14.pdf URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: CRU Chief in Word.docx Type: application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document Size: 31867 bytes Desc: CRU Chief in Word.docx URL: From Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov Fri May 2 22:04:20 2014 From: Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov (Nightingale, Noel) Date: Fri, 2 May 2014 17:04:20 -0500 Subject: [blindlaw] DOJ Civil Rights Division, Federal Coordination and Compliance Section, ATTORNEY ADVISER, GS-905-12/15, ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: 14-ATT-008 In-Reply-To: <41370810CEBD1C4DA64C9361CE162341E21C72B0F4@EDUPTCEXMB01.ed.gov> References: <41370810CEBD1C4DA64C9361CE162341E21C72B0F4@EDUPTCEXMB01.ed.gov> Message-ID: <04F1893C93758F4AA7CB436BB26750660118C25BDFA2@EDUPTCEXMB02.ed.gov> Link: http://www.justice.gov/careers/legal/jobs/14-att-008.htm Text: [cid:image003.jpg at 01CF660B.D7683D40] UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION, FEDERAL COORDINATION AND COMPLIANCE SECTION ATTORNEY ADVISER, GS-905-12/15 ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: 14-ATT-008 ________________________________ About the Office: The Civil Rights Division, (Division) of the Department of Justice, created by the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, works to uphold the civil and constitutional rights of all Americans, particularly some of the most vulnerable members of our society. The Division is primarily responsible for enforcing federal statutes and executive orders that prohibit, among other things, unlawful discrimination in education, employment, housing, police service, public accommodations and facilities, voting, and federally funded and conducted programs. The Division also has jurisdiction to enforce constitutional prohibitions on certain conduct by law enforcement agencies and public residential institutions, such as health care and correctional facilities. The Federal Coordination and Compliance Section (FCS or Section) ensures that all federal agencies consistently and effectively enforce civil rights statutes and Executive Orders that prohibit discrimination in federally conducted and assisted programs and activities. Who May Apply: United States Citizens Number of Opportunities: 1 - Full Time Excepted Service Application Period: Applications are being accepted from Friday, April 28, 2014 to 11:59 PM (ETZ) on Tuesday, May 20, 2014. Responsibilities and Opportunity Offered: The Attorney Adviser will be responsible for conducting administrative investigations, technical assistance projects, policy and regulatory reviews, and addressing all other aspects of FCS' enforcement duties including advising or participating as co-counsel with other Division attorneys and U.S. Attorney's Offices in statements of interest, amicus briefs, or litigation. FCS attorneys are responsible for the administrative enforcement and oversight of other federal agencies that enforce Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as amended; and similarly-worded federal statutes that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, and religion in federally assisted programs. In addition, Attorney Advisers will conduct outreach to public interest and non-governmental civil rights organizations, develop and draft technical assistance materials and guidance, and organize and conduct training programs for governmental and non-governmental stakeholders. Required Qualifications: Applicants must possess a J.D. or LL.M professional law degree from an American Bar Association accredited law school, be an active member of the bar in good standing (any jurisdiction), and possess the minimum years of post-professional law degree experience commensurate to the grade level of eligibility, as shown below. Applicants must possess superior oral and written communication skills, exceptional analytical and negotiation skills, excellent academic and professional credentials, and outstanding professional references. Applicants must also demonstrate exceptional interpersonal, leadership, and organizational skills, solid professional judgment, a demonstrated commitment to public service and civil rights, and be able to excel in a fast-paced, highly demanding environment. * At least 1 year - GS-12 ($75,621 to $98,305 per annum) * At least 1.5 years - GS-13 ($89,924 to $116,901 per annum) * At least 2.5 years - GS-14 ($106,263 to $138,136 per annum) * At least 4 years - GS-15 ($124,995 to $157,100 per annum) Preferred Qualifications: Expertise in Title VI law or related laws prohibiting discrimination in federally-assisted programs is strongly preferred. Such experience may include (1) experience investigating allegations of discrimination in federally assisted or conducted programs, including interviewing witnesses, reviewing documents and applicable case law to assess the merits of a case; or (2) experience in drafting regulations, rules, manuals, or policy documents concerning prohibitions against discrimination in federally-assisted programs. In addition, while not required, consideration may be given to candidates with relevant additional civil rights experience outside the core competencies of the Section, but within the critical responsibilities of the Division, such that the candidate could play a supporting role in ongoing or potential Division initiatives in these areas. How You Will Be Evaluated: Applicants will be evaluated relative to the qualifications set forth above and other job-related skills, experience and qualifications set forth in their application materials and consistent with merit system principles applicable to hiring for career positions with the Department of Justice. Salary Information: $75,621.00 to $157,100.00 / Per Year Location: Washington, D.C. Relocation Expenses: Relocation expenses are not authorized. Travel: Weekend travel may be required. Submission Process and Deadline Date: You must submit your application so that it will be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Time Zone on the closing date of the announcement. Please refer to the "How To Apply" section at this link: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/367978500 Question may be directed to Diane Turner at 202-514-3934 or Diane.M.Turner at usdoj.gov. Benefits: The Department of Justice offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacations, sick leave, holidays, telework, life insurance, health benefits, and, participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System. This link provides an overview of the benefits currently offered to eligible federal employees: http://www.usajobs.gov/ResourcesCenter/Index/Interactive/Benefits#icc. Internet Sites: This and other attorney vacancy announcements can be found at: http://www.justice.gov/careers/legal/attvacancies.html For more information about the Civil Rights Division, visit the Civil Rights Division's web page. Department Policies: Equal Employment Opportunity: The U.S. Department of Justice is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer. Except where otherwise provided by law, there will be no discrimination because of color, race, religion, national origin, political affiliation, marital status, disability (physical or mental), age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, status as a parent, membership or non-membership in an employee organization, on the basis of personal favoritism, or any non merit factor. The Department of Justice welcomes and encourages applications from persons with physical and mental disabilities. The Department is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on the basis of merit within the Department of Justice. Reasonable Accommodations: This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. Outreach and Recruitment for Qualified Applicants with Disabilities: The Department encourages qualified applicants with disabilities, including individuals with targeted/severe disabilities to apply in response to posted vacancy announcements. Applicants with targeted/severe disabilities include those applicants who are deaf or blind, have missing extremities, partial or complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, or psychiatric disability, and little people/applicants with dwarfism. Qualified applicants with targeted/severe disabilities may be eligible for direct hire, non-competitive appointment under Schedule A (5 C.F.R. § 213.3102(u)) hiring authority. Individuals with targeted/severe disabilities are encouraged to register for the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Shared List of People with Disabilities (the Bender Disability Employment Registry) by submitting their resume to resume at benderconsult.com and referencing "Federal Career Opportunities" in the subject line. Additional information about the Bender Registry is available at www.benderconsult.com. Individuals with targeted/severe disabilities are also encouraged to submit their resumes to the Division by emailing them to CRT.Specprogvacancies at usdoj.gov. Applicants with questions about this process may contact the Division's Disability Point of Contact (DPOC) at (202) 514-3934. Suitability and Citizenship: It is the policy of the Department to achieve a drug-free workplace and persons selected for employment will be required to pass a drug test which screens for illegal drug use prior to final appointment. Employment is also contingent upon the completion and satisfactory adjudication of a background investigation. Only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review and the United States Attorneys' Offices. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, non-U.S. citizens may apply for employment with other organizations, but should be advised that appointments of non-U.S. citizens are extremely rare; such appointments would be possible only if necessary to accomplish the Department's mission and would be subject to strict security requirements. Applicants who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and another country will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Veterans: There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Justice considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g., the DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and other supporting documentation) to their submissions. Although the "point" system is not used, per se, applicants eligible to claim 10-point preference must submit Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, and submit the supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed (visit the OPM website, www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf for a copy of SF 15, which lists the types of 10-point preferences and the required supporting documents). Applicants should note that SF 15 requires supporting documentation associated with service-connected disabilities or receipt of nonservice-connected disability pensions to be dated 1991 or later except in the case of service members submitting official statements or retirement orders from a branch of the Armed Forces showing that his or her retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that he/she was transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more). * * * The Department of Justice cannot control further dissemination and/or posting of information contained in this vacancy announcement. Such posting and/or dissemination are not an endorsement by the Department of the organization or group disseminating and/or posting the information. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image003.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 4807 bytes Desc: image003.jpg URL: From Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov Fri May 2 22:05:59 2014 From: Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov (Nightingale, Noel) Date: Fri, 2 May 2014 17:05:59 -0500 Subject: [blindlaw] DOJ Civil Rights Division, Special Litigation Section, TRIAL ATTORNEY, GS-905-14/15, ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: 14-ATT-012 In-Reply-To: <41370810CEBD1C4DA64C9361CE162341E21C72B0ED@EDUPTCEXMB01.ed.gov> References: <41370810CEBD1C4DA64C9361CE162341E21C72B0ED@EDUPTCEXMB01.ed.gov> Message-ID: <04F1893C93758F4AA7CB436BB26750660118C25BDFA4@EDUPTCEXMB02.ed.gov> Link: http://www.justice.gov/careers/legal/jobs/14-att-012.htm Text: [cid:image003.jpg at 01CF660B.7E39BBE0] UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION, SPECIAL LITIGATION SECTION TRIAL ATTORNEY, GS-905-14/15 ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: 14-ATT-012 ________________________________ About the Office: The Civil Rights Division (Division) of the Department of Justice, created by the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, works to uphold the civil and constitutional rights of all Americans, particularly some of the most vulnerable members of our society. The Division is primarily responsible for enforcing federal statutes and executive orders that prohibit, among other things, unlawful discrimination in education, employment, housing, police service, public accommodations and facilities, voting, and federally funded and conducted programs. The Division also has jurisdiction to enforce constitutional prohibitions on certain conduct by law enforcement agencies and public residential institutions, such as health care and correctional facilities. The Special Litigation Section (SPL or Section) is one of several Sections in the Civil Rights Division. The experienced attorneys selected for these positions will be dedicated to the Section's work pursuant to the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control ("HCFAC") Program, with an emphasis on the Section's matters that seek to enforce compliance with the integration mandate of the Americans with Disabilities Act, as interpreted by the Supreme Court in Olmstead v. L.C., 527 U.S. 581 (1999). More specifically, most of the incumbents' work will be devoted to investigating and litigating matters involving the unnecessary segregation or the risk of unnecessary segregation of individuals in institutions. Who May Apply: United States Citizens Number of Opportunities: 3 - Full Time Excepted Service Application Period: Applications are being accepted from Friday, April 28, 2014 to 11:59 PM (ETZ) on Tuesday, May 20, 2014. Responsibilities and Opportunity Offered: The incumbents will be responsible for duties such as, but not limited to: 1) conducting investigations, litigation, and negotiations regarding the Section's HCFAC docket, with an emphasis on its active Olmstead enforcement program; 2) working with managers to develop and establish strategies and priorities for HCFAC and Olmstead enforcement; 3) working with team members to coordinate with other federal agencies to develop strategies for effective and efficient information sharing and case referrals; and 4) conducting outreach. These investigations can result in significant litigation, including extensive discovery, pretrial motions practice, preliminary injunction hearings, trials, and post judgment enforcement and contempt proceedings. The incumbents will be responsible for screening and developing new matters, conducting comprehensive investigations involving in-person visits, witness interviews, and work with experts, analyzing data, drafting written recommendations including legal analyses, litigating all aspects of the Section's enforcement duties and negotiating, monitoring, and enforcing settlement agreements. Required Qualifications: Applicants must possess a J.D. or LL.M professional law degree from an American Bar Association accredited law school, be an active member of the bar in good standing (any jurisdiction), and possess the minimum years of post-professional law degree experience commensurate to the grade level of eligibility, as shown below. Applicants must demonstrate superior oral and written communication skills (including strong advocacy skills), possess excellent academic and professional credentials, and outstanding professional references. Applicants must also demonstrate exceptional interpersonal skills and professional judgment, and be able to excel in a highly demanding environment. * At least 2.5 years - GS-14 ($106,263 to $138,136 per annum) * At least 4 years - GS-15 ($124,995 to $157,100 per annum) Preferred Qualifications: Given the nature and volume of this work, the Section generally seeks candidates with significant litigation experience and a demonstrated commitment to public service and/or civil rights. Applicants with one or more of the following qualifications are preferred: (1) civil or criminal trial experience; (2) federal civil or criminal litigation experience; (3) experience with complex investigations; (4) demonstrated commitment to public service through employment or volunteering; (5) demonstrated commitment to civil rights and/or human rights issues; (6) substantive knowledge of Olmstead and other applicable law; or (7) judicial clerkship experience. How You Will Be Evaluated: Applicants will be evaluated relative to the qualifications set forth above and other job-related skills, experience and qualifications set forth in their application materials and consistent with merit system principles applicable to hiring for career positions with the Department of Justice. Salary Information: $106,263.00 to $157,100.00 / Per Year Location: Washington, D.C. Relocation Expenses: Relocation expenses are not authorized. Travel: Travel may be required 2-4 nights each month as well as holidays and weekends. If case goes to trial, extensive travel may be required. Submission Process and Deadline Date: You must submit your application so that it will be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Time Zone on the closing date of the announcement. Please refer to the "How To Apply" section at this link: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/PrintPreview/368302500 Question may be directed to Diane Turner at 202-514-3934 or Diane.M.Turner at usdoj.gov. Benefits: The Department of Justice offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacations, sick leave, holidays, telework, life insurance, health benefits, and, participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System. This link provides an overview of the benefits currently offered to eligible federal employees: http://www.usajobs.gov/ResourcesCenter/Index/Interactive/Benefits#icc. Internet Sites: This and other attorney vacancy announcements can be found at: http://www.justice.gov/careers/legal/attvacancies.html For more information about the Civil Rights Division, visit the Civil Rights Division's web page. Department Policies: Equal Employment Opportunity: The U.S. Department of Justice is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer. Except where otherwise provided by law, there will be no discrimination because of color, race, religion, national origin, political affiliation, marital status, disability (physical or mental), age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, status as a parent, membership or non-membership in an employee organization, on the basis of personal favoritism, or any non merit factor. The Department of Justice welcomes and encourages applications from persons with physical and mental disabilities. The Department is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on the basis of merit within the Department of Justice. Reasonable Accommodations: This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. Outreach and Recruitment for Qualified Applicants with Disabilities: The Department encourages qualified applicants with disabilities, including individuals with targeted/severe disabilities to apply in response to posted vacancy announcements. Applicants with targeted/severe disabilities include those applicants who are deaf or blind, have missing extremities, partial or complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, or psychiatric disability, and little people/applicants with dwarfism. Qualified applicants with targeted/severe disabilities may be eligible for direct hire, non-competitive appointment under Schedule A (5 C.F.R. § 213.3102(u)) hiring authority. Individuals with targeted/severe disabilities are encouraged to register for the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Shared List of People with Disabilities (the Bender Disability Employment Registry) by submitting their resume to resume at benderconsult.com and referencing "Federal Career Opportunities" in the subject line. Additional information about the Bender Registry is available at www.benderconsult.com. Individuals with targeted/severe disabilities are also encouraged to submit their resumes to the Division by emailing them to CRT.Specprogvacancies at usdoj.gov. Applicants with questions about this process may contact the Division's Disability Point of Contact (DPOC) at (202) 514-3934. Suitability and Citizenship: It is the policy of the Department to achieve a drug-free workplace and persons selected for employment will be required to pass a drug test which screens for illegal drug use prior to final appointment. Employment is also contingent upon the completion and satisfactory adjudication of a background investigation. Only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review and the United States Attorneys' Offices. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, non-U.S. citizens may apply for employment with other organizations, but should be advised that appointments of non-U.S. citizens are extremely rare; such appointments would be possible only if necessary to accomplish the Department's mission and would be subject to strict security requirements. Applicants who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and another country will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Veterans: There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Justice considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g., the DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and other supporting documentation) to their submissions. Although the "point" system is not used, per se, applicants eligible to claim 10-point preference must submit Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, and submit the supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed (visit the OPM website, www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf for a copy of SF 15, which lists the types of 10-point preferences and the required supporting documents). Applicants should note that SF 15 requires supporting documentation associated with service-connected disabilities or receipt of nonservice-connected disability pensions to be dated 1991 or later except in the case of service members submitting official statements or retirement orders from a branch of the Armed Forces showing that his or her retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that he/she was transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more). * * * The Department of Justice cannot control further dissemination and/or posting of information contained in this vacancy announcement. Such posting and/or dissemination are not an endorsement by the Department of the organization or group disseminating and/or posting the information. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image003.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 4807 bytes Desc: image003.jpg URL: From Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov Fri May 2 22:05:14 2014 From: Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov (Nightingale, Noel) Date: Fri, 2 May 2014 17:05:14 -0500 Subject: [blindlaw] DOJ Civil Rights Division, Special Litigation Section, TRIAL ATTORNEY, GS-905-14/15, ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: 14-ATT-011 In-Reply-To: <41370810CEBD1C4DA64C9361CE162341E21C72B0F1@EDUPTCEXMB01.ed.gov> References: <41370810CEBD1C4DA64C9361CE162341E21C72B0F1@EDUPTCEXMB01.ed.gov> Message-ID: <04F1893C93758F4AA7CB436BB26750660118C25BDFA3@EDUPTCEXMB02.ed.gov> Link: http://www.justice.gov/careers/legal/jobs/14-att-011.htm Text: [cid:image003.jpg at 01CF660B.B721E900] UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION, SPECIAL LITIGATION SECTION TRIAL ATTORNEY, GS-905-14/15 ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: 14-ATT-011 ________________________________ About the Office: The Civil Rights Division (Division) of the Department of Justice, created by the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, works to uphold the civil and constitutional rights of all Americans, particularly some of the most vulnerable members of our society. The Division is primarily responsible for enforcing federal statutes and executive orders that prohibit, among other things, unlawful discrimination in education, employment, housing, police service, public accommodations and facilities, voting, and federally funded and conducted programs. The Division also has jurisdiction to enforce constitutional prohibitions on certain conduct by law enforcement agencies and public residential institutions, such as health care and correctional facilities. The Special Litigation Section (SPL or Section) is one of several Sections in the Civil Rights Division. SPL is seeking up to four experienced attorneys for the position of Trial Attorney. The attorneys selected for these positions will be dedicated to the Section's work to protect civil rights in the following areas: 1) the rights of people in state or local institutions, including: jails, prisons, and juvenile detention facilities; 2) the rights of people who interact with state or local police or sheriffs' departments; 3) the rights of youth involved in the juvenile justice system; 4) the rights of people to have safe access to reproductive health care clinics; and 5) the rights of people to practice their religion while confined to state and local institutions. More specifically, the incumbents' work will be devoted to investigating, negotiating, and litigating matters relating to this work. Most of the work involves allegations of patterns or practices of unlawful conduct. Who May Apply: United States Citizens Number of Opportunities: 4 - Full Time Excepted Service Application Period: Applications are being accepted from Friday, April 28, 2014 to 11:59 PM (ETZ) on Tuesday, May 20, 2014. Responsibilities and Opportunity Offered: The incumbents will be responsible for duties such as, but not limited to: 1) conducting investigations, litigation, and negotiations; 2) working with managers to develop and establish strategies and priorities for enforcement; 3) working with team members to coordinate with other federal agencies to develop strategies for effective and efficient information sharing and case referrals; and 4) conducting outreach. The incumbents will be responsible for screening and developing new matters, conducting comprehensive investigations involving in-person visits, witness interviews, and work with experts, analyzing data, drafting written recommendations including legal analyses, litigating all aspects of the Section's enforcement duties and negotiating, monitoring, and enforcing settlement agreements. Required Qualifications: Applicants must possess a J.D. or LL.M professional law degree from an American Bar Association accredited law school, be an active member of the bar in good standing (any jurisdiction), and possess the minimum years of post-professional law degree experience commensurate to the grade level of eligibility, as shown below. Applicants must demonstrate superior oral and written communication skills (including strong advocacy skills), possess excellent academic and professional credentials, and outstanding professional references. Applicants must also demonstrate exceptional interpersonal skills and professional judgment, and be able to excel in a highly demanding environment. * At least 2.5 years - GS-14 ($106,263 to $138,136 per annum) * At least 4 years - GS-15 ($124,995 to $157,100 per annum) Preferred Qualifications: Given the nature and volume of this work, the Section generally seeks candidates with significant litigation experience and a demonstrated commitment to public service and/or civil rights. Applicants with one or more of the following qualifications are preferred: (1) civil or criminal trial experience; (2) federal civil or criminal litigation experience; (3) experience with complex investigations; (4) demonstrated commitment to public service through employment or volunteering; (5) demonstrated commitment to civil rights and/or human rights issues; (6) substantive knowledge of the kinds of work done pursuant to the Section's statutes; or (7) judicial clerkship experience. How You Will Be Evaluated: Applicants will be evaluated relative to the qualifications set forth above and other job-related skills, experience and qualifications set forth in their application materials and consistent with merit system principles applicable to hiring for career positions with the Department of Justice. Salary Information: $106,263.00 to $157,100.00 / Per Year Location: Washington, D.C. Relocation Expenses: Relocation expenses are not authorized. Travel: Travel may be required 2-4 nights each month as well as holidays and weekends. If case goes to trial, extensive travel may be required. Submission Process and Deadline Date: You must submit your application so that it will be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Time Zone on the closing date of the announcement. Please refer to the "How To Apply" section at this link: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/PrintPreview/368230500 Question may be directed to Diane Turner at 202-514-3934 or Diane.M.Turner at usdoj.gov. Benefits: The Department of Justice offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacations, sick leave, holidays, telework, life insurance, health benefits, and, participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System. This link provides an overview of the benefits currently offered to eligible federal employees: http://www.usajobs.gov/ResourcesCenter/Index/Interactive/Benefits#icc. Internet Sites: This and other attorney vacancy announcements can be found at: http://www.justice.gov/careers/legal/attvacancies.html For more information about the Civil Rights Division, visit the Civil Rights Division's web page. Department Policies: Equal Employment Opportunity: The U.S. Department of Justice is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer. Except where otherwise provided by law, there will be no discrimination because of color, race, religion, national origin, political affiliation, marital status, disability (physical or mental), age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, status as a parent, membership or non-membership in an employee organization, on the basis of personal favoritism, or any non merit factor. The Department of Justice welcomes and encourages applications from persons with physical and mental disabilities. The Department is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on the basis of merit within the Department of Justice. Reasonable Accommodations: This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. 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Name: image003.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 4807 bytes Desc: image003.jpg URL: From mnowicki4 at icloud.com Mon May 5 01:29:04 2014 From: mnowicki4 at icloud.com (Michael Nowicki) Date: Sun, 04 May 2014 20:29:04 -0500 Subject: [blindlaw] Exemption of blind people from logic games on the LSAT Message-ID: <002a01cf6801$67c54030$374fc090$@icloud.com> Dear list members, I recently heard something about a law suit against LSAC, which, if successful, would exempt blind people from the logic games portion of the LSAT on the grounds that it is not fair for us to be tested on such a visually-oriented concept. Do any of you happen to know whether or not such a case has in fact reached the courts? I am particularly interested in this matter because although I have figured out how to conquer most types of games using Excel, setting them up and getting through the questions is very time-consuming. That is, there are four games in a section, but I am usually able to get through only one within the allotted time (I get 70 minutes). I've been trying to work faster, but when I speed up, my accuracy suffers tremendously. This is because when I feel the clock ticking, I often misinterpret one or more of the rules governing a game, which in turn produces a negative chain reaction, since answering the questions requires spotting available major deductions, and making deductions depends on combining rules, something that cannot be done without a solid grasp of each rule. That being said, not having to worry about logic games on test day would alleviate much of the stress. At the same time, though, I know that even if such a law suit has been filed, there is no guarantee that it will be successfully litigated, and even if it is, who knows how long the trial will take. In short, it is highly unlikely, if not impossible, that the changes in question would take effect before June 9. Nonetheless, please let me know if you have any information on this topic. Thank you in advance. Michal From chris.stewart at uky.edu Mon May 5 12:19:44 2014 From: chris.stewart at uky.edu (Stewart, Christopher K) Date: Mon, 5 May 2014 08:19:44 -0400 Subject: [blindlaw] blindlaw Digest, Vol 120, Issue 5 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I certainly hope this is not the truth. It's like saying blind children should be excluded from learning long division because it's clumsy and time-consuming in braille. Logic games are hard for everyone. My sighted friends, many of whom are extremely bright, struggled mightily with logic games on the LSAT and still didn't do all that well. If there is a lawsuit, however, I can assure you it will not affect your chances. You'll be completing a logic section if you wish to go to law school any time soon. Just buckle down and stay calm. Remember, people who score over 165 on the LSAT, whether sighted or not, are the exception. It's not like sighted people go in and just nail the logic section. One more thing that I found useful was inductive reasoning. So, take the answer choices and fit them into the rules. When I would read a problem, I could always eliminate three pretty readily. So, you're left with two. Run those options. The test books probably discourage this method, but it worked for me. If there's anything else I can do, please let me know. Best, Chris On 5/5/14, blindlaw-request at nfbnet.org wrote: > Send blindlaw mailing list submissions to > blindlaw at nfbnet.org > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > blindlaw-request at nfbnet.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > blindlaw-owner at nfbnet.org > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of blindlaw digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Exemption of blind people from logic games on the LSAT > (Michael Nowicki) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Sun, 04 May 2014 20:29:04 -0500 > From: Michael Nowicki > To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org > Subject: [blindlaw] Exemption of blind people from logic games on the > LSAT > Message-ID: <002a01cf6801$67c54030$374fc090$@icloud.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; CHARSET=US-ASCII > > Dear list members, > > > > I recently heard something about a law suit against LSAC, which, if > successful, would exempt blind people from the logic games portion of the > LSAT on the grounds that it is not fair for us to be tested on such a > visually-oriented concept. Do any of you happen to know whether or not > such > a case has in fact reached the courts? I am particularly interested in > this > matter because although I have figured out how to conquer most types of > games using Excel, setting them up and getting through the questions is > very > time-consuming. That is, there are four games in a section, but I am > usually able to get through only one within the allotted time (I get 70 > minutes). I've been trying to work faster, but when I speed up, my > accuracy > suffers tremendously. This is because when I feel the clock ticking, I > often misinterpret one or more of the rules governing a game, which in turn > produces a negative chain reaction, since answering the questions requires > spotting available major deductions, and making deductions depends on > combining rules, something that cannot be done without a solid grasp of > each > rule. > > > > That being said, not having to worry about logic games on test day would > alleviate much of the stress. At the same time, though, I know that even > if > such a law suit has been filed, there is no guarantee that it will be > successfully litigated, and even if it is, who knows how long the trial > will > take. In short, it is highly unlikely, if not impossible, that the changes > in question would take effect before June 9. Nonetheless, please let me > know if you have any information on this topic. Thank you in advance. > > > > Michal > > > > ------------------------------ > > Subject: Digest Footer > > _______________________________________________ > blindlaw mailing list > blindlaw at nfbnet.org > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org > > > ------------------------------ > > End of blindlaw Digest, Vol 120, Issue 5 > **************************************** > -- Chris K. Stewart University of Kentucky College of Law, J.D. Candidate, 2016 California Institute of the Arts, B.F.A. 2010 Ph: (502)457-1757 From al.elia at aol.com Mon May 5 12:57:01 2014 From: al.elia at aol.com (ALBERT ELIA) Date: Mon, 5 May 2014 08:57:01 -0400 Subject: [blindlaw] Exemption of blind people from logic games on the LSAT In-Reply-To: <002a01cf6801$67c54030$374fc090$@icloud.com> References: <002a01cf6801$67c54030$374fc090$@icloud.com> Message-ID: I actually found the logic games to be the easiest portion of the LSAT, and the section on which I consistently scored the highest. I have no useful vision, and I didn't use Excel or any other aids. I think it's just a matter of different people being better at different types of problems. The logic games are not visual: They are presented in written form. The problem is that students are taught to solve them visually with charts, graphs, tables, etc. I believe the gentleman who thinks the logic games are unfair should focus on gaining the skills and training to use non-visual techniques to solve them, rather than suggest that he should be exempt. After all, when he's an attorney, he won't be able to object to visual evidence on the grounds that he can't see it. On May 4, 2014, at 9:29 PM, Michael Nowicki wrote: > Dear list members, > > > > I recently heard something about a law suit against LSAC, which, if > successful, would exempt blind people from the logic games portion of the > LSAT on the grounds that it is not fair for us to be tested on such a > visually-oriented concept. Do any of you happen to know whether or not such > a case has in fact reached the courts? I am particularly interested in this > matter because although I have figured out how to conquer most types of > games using Excel, setting them up and getting through the questions is very > time-consuming. That is, there are four games in a section, but I am > usually able to get through only one within the allotted time (I get 70 > minutes). I've been trying to work faster, but when I speed up, my accuracy > suffers tremendously. This is because when I feel the clock ticking, I > often misinterpret one or more of the rules governing a game, which in turn > produces a negative chain reaction, since answering the questions requires > spotting available major deductions, and making deductions depends on > combining rules, something that cannot be done without a solid grasp of each > rule. > > > > That being said, not having to worry about logic games on test day would > alleviate much of the stress. At the same time, though, I know that even if > such a law suit has been filed, there is no guarantee that it will be > successfully litigated, and even if it is, who knows how long the trial will > take. In short, it is highly unlikely, if not impossible, that the changes > in question would take effect before June 9. Nonetheless, please let me > know if you have any information on this topic. Thank you in advance. > > > > Michal > > _______________________________________________ > blindlaw mailing list > blindlaw at nfbnet.org > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org > To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for blindlaw: > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/al.elia%40aol.com From mnowicki4 at icloud.com Mon May 5 16:34:09 2014 From: mnowicki4 at icloud.com (Michael Nowicki) Date: Mon, 05 May 2014 11:34:09 -0500 Subject: [blindlaw] Exemption of blind people from logic games on the LSAT In-Reply-To: References: <002a01cf6801$67c54030$374fc090$@icloud.com> Message-ID: <000201cf687f$d7eb2180$87c16480$@icloud.com> Hi Albert, You wrote that you consistently scored highest on logic games without the help of aids, such as Excel. How, then, did you tackle the games, particularly complex hybrids? Did you keep track of all the rules, big deductions, and previous work in your head? If so, how did you manage to do this, given that testmakers often deliberately write rules in complex ways to try to trick us? Please share any strategies that you found useful, for as you correctly observed, most, if not all, LSAT study aids and prep companies rely heavily on visual methods. After all, most of their customers are sighted, and most sighted students are visual learners. Also, I wanted to clarify my original post. I'm not sure whether the law suit to which I was referring intends to exempt the blind from logic games or to get rid of the section altogether, which, from a practical standpoint, is least relevant to success in law school and in the legal profession. Best, Michal -----Original Message----- From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of ALBERT ELIA Sent: Monday, May 5, 2014 7:57 AM To: Blind Law Mailing List Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Exemption of blind people from logic games on the LSAT I actually found the logic games to be the easiest portion of the LSAT, and the section on which I consistently scored the highest. I have no useful vision, and I didn't use Excel or any other aids. I think it's just a matter of different people being better at different types of problems. The logic games are not visual: They are presented in written form. The problem is that students are taught to solve them visually with charts, graphs, tables, etc. I believe the gentleman who thinks the logic games are unfair should focus on gaining the skills and training to use non-visual techniques to solve them, rather than suggest that he should be exempt. After all, when he's an attorney, he won't be able to object to visual evidence on the grounds that he can't see it. On May 4, 2014, at 9:29 PM, Michael Nowicki wrote: > Dear list members, > > > > I recently heard something about a law suit against LSAC, which, if > successful, would exempt blind people from the logic games portion of > the LSAT on the grounds that it is not fair for us to be tested on > such a visually-oriented concept. Do any of you happen to know > whether or not such a case has in fact reached the courts? I am > particularly interested in this matter because although I have figured > out how to conquer most types of games using Excel, setting them up > and getting through the questions is very time-consuming. That is, > there are four games in a section, but I am usually able to get > through only one within the allotted time (I get 70 minutes). I've > been trying to work faster, but when I speed up, my accuracy suffers > tremendously. This is because when I feel the clock ticking, I often > misinterpret one or more of the rules governing a game, which in turn > produces a negative chain reaction, since answering the questions > requires spotting available major deductions, and making deductions > depends on combining rules, something that cannot be done without a solid grasp of each rule. > > > > That being said, not having to worry about logic games on test day > would alleviate much of the stress. At the same time, though, I know > that even if such a law suit has been filed, there is no guarantee > that it will be successfully litigated, and even if it is, who knows > how long the trial will take. In short, it is highly unlikely, if not > impossible, that the changes in question would take effect before June > 9. Nonetheless, please let me know if you have any information on this topic. Thank you in advance. > > > > Michal > > _______________________________________________ > blindlaw mailing list > blindlaw at nfbnet.org > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org > To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for blindlaw: > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/al.elia%40aol.co > m _______________________________________________ blindlaw mailing list blindlaw at nfbnet.org http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for blindlaw: http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/mnowicki4%40icloud.com From mnowicki4 at icloud.com Mon May 5 16:38:09 2014 From: mnowicki4 at icloud.com (Michael Nowicki) Date: Mon, 05 May 2014 11:38:09 -0500 Subject: [blindlaw] blindlaw Digest, Vol 120, Issue 5 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <000401cf6880$66b4eef0$341eccd0$@icloud.com> Hi Chris, Thank you for your advice. Right now I'm hoping to score somewhere in the 150s, though ideally, I would like to get up to 160. Michal -----Original Message----- From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Stewart, Christopher K Sent: Monday, May 5, 2014 7:20 AM To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org Subject: Re: [blindlaw] blindlaw Digest, Vol 120, Issue 5 I certainly hope this is not the truth. It's like saying blind children should be excluded from learning long division because it's clumsy and time-consuming in braille. Logic games are hard for everyone. My sighted friends, many of whom are extremely bright, struggled mightily with logic games on the LSAT and still didn't do all that well. If there is a lawsuit, however, I can assure you it will not affect your chances. You'll be completing a logic section if you wish to go to law school any time soon. Just buckle down and stay calm. Remember, people who score over 165 on the LSAT, whether sighted or not, are the exception. It's not like sighted people go in and just nail the logic section. One more thing that I found useful was inductive reasoning. So, take the answer choices and fit them into the rules. When I would read a problem, I could always eliminate three pretty readily. So, you're left with two. Run those options. The test books probably discourage this method, but it worked for me. If there's anything else I can do, please let me know. Best, Chris On 5/5/14, blindlaw-request at nfbnet.org wrote: > Send blindlaw mailing list submissions to > blindlaw at nfbnet.org > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > blindlaw-request at nfbnet.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > blindlaw-owner at nfbnet.org > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of blindlaw digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Exemption of blind people from logic games on the LSAT > (Michael Nowicki) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Sun, 04 May 2014 20:29:04 -0500 > From: Michael Nowicki > To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org > Subject: [blindlaw] Exemption of blind people from logic games on the > LSAT > Message-ID: <002a01cf6801$67c54030$374fc090$@icloud.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; CHARSET=US-ASCII > > Dear list members, > > > > I recently heard something about a law suit against LSAC, which, if > successful, would exempt blind people from the logic games portion of > the LSAT on the grounds that it is not fair for us to be tested on > such a visually-oriented concept. Do any of you happen to know > whether or not such a case has in fact reached the courts? I am > particularly interested in this matter because although I have figured > out how to conquer most types of games using Excel, setting them up > and getting through the questions is very time-consuming. That is, > there are four games in a section, but I am usually able to get > through only one within the allotted time (I get 70 minutes). I've > been trying to work faster, but when I speed up, my accuracy suffers > tremendously. This is because when I feel the clock ticking, I often > misinterpret one or more of the rules governing a game, which in turn > produces a negative chain reaction, since answering the questions > requires spotting available major deductions, and making deductions > depends on combining rules, something that cannot be done without a > solid grasp of each rule. > > > > That being said, not having to worry about logic games on test day > would alleviate much of the stress. At the same time, though, I know > that even if such a law suit has been filed, there is no guarantee > that it will be successfully litigated, and even if it is, who knows > how long the trial will take. In short, it is highly unlikely, if not > impossible, that the changes in question would take effect before June > 9. Nonetheless, please let me know if you have any information on > this topic. Thank you in advance. > > > > Michal > > > > ------------------------------ > > Subject: Digest Footer > > _______________________________________________ > blindlaw mailing list > blindlaw at nfbnet.org > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org > > > ------------------------------ > > End of blindlaw Digest, Vol 120, Issue 5 > **************************************** > -- Chris K. Stewart University of Kentucky College of Law, J.D. Candidate, 2016 California Institute of the Arts, B.F.A. 2010 Ph: (502)457-1757 _______________________________________________ blindlaw mailing list blindlaw at nfbnet.org http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for blindlaw: http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/mnowicki4%40icloud.com From gerard.sadlier at gmail.com Wed May 7 05:02:39 2014 From: gerard.sadlier at gmail.com (Gerard Sadlier) Date: Wed, 7 May 2014 06:02:39 +0100 Subject: [blindlaw] Experience Doing E Discovery Message-ID: Hi all, If any of you have experience successfully using platforms to carry out E Discovery exercises, I really would be interested in hearing from you! Ger From Bennett.Prows at HHS.GOV Wed May 7 13:52:35 2014 From: Bennett.Prows at HHS.GOV (Prows, Bennett (HHS/OCR)) Date: Wed, 7 May 2014 13:52:35 +0000 Subject: [blindlaw] FW: Vacancy Annoucement Supervisory Equal Opportunity Specialists (Regional Manager) - GS-360-15 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Two Regional Manager positions announced within the Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights. See below. /s/ Bennett Prows -----Original Message----- From: OCR HIPAA Privacy Rule information distribution [mailto:OCR-PRIVACY-LIST at LIST.NIH.GOV] On Behalf Of OS OCR PrivacyList, OCR (HHS/OS) Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2014 12:24 PM To: OCR-PRIVACY-LIST at LIST.NIH.GOV Subject: Vacancy Annoucement Supervisory Equal Opportunity Specialists (Regional Manager) - GS-360-15 May 5, 2014 Become a part of the Department that touches the lives of every American! At the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) you can give back to your community, state, and country by making a difference in the lives of Americans everywhere. It is the principal agency for protecting the health of citizens. Join HHS and help make our world healthier, safer; and better for all Americans. The Office for Civil Rights has two Supervisory Equal Opportunity Specialist (Regional Manager) position available within our Regional office one located in Boston, MA and Denver, CO. OCR provides the oversight, leadership, and coordination necessary to ensure that individuals have nondiscriminatory access to HHS services or programs and that the privacy and security of their health information is protected. The primary duties of this position include, serving as a manager, provide program leadership, set priorities, coordinates and/or direct team action, ensure quality of all regional activities, and ensures and evaluates accomplishment in a wide variety of civil rights and privacy rule functions including conducting investigations, negotiating resolution/settlement agreements, making determinations, resolving complaints, and providing public education, outreach and technical assistance. Establishes and maintain effective working relationship with covered entities, State government, hospitals and governmental social service agencies. For more information on this position click on the link below or go to http://www.usajobs.gov and enter the corresponding job announcement number. Vacancy Announcement information: Job Title: Supervisory Equal Opportunity Specialists (Regional Manager) - GS-360-15 Location: Boston, MA HHS-OCR-MP-14-1094536 https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/368498900 Location: Denver, CO HHS-OCR-MP-14-1098572 https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/367777500 Opening Date: May 2, 2014 Closing Date: May 9, 2014 For more information about OCR, visit our website at http://www.hhs.gov/ocr ********************************************************************** This email is being sent to you from the OCR-Privacy-List listserv, operated by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in the US Department of Health and Human Services. This is an announce-only list, a resource to distribute information about the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules. For additional information on a wide range of topics about the Privacy and Security Rules, please visit the OCR Privacy website at http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/index.html. You can also call the OCR Privacy toll-free phone line at (866) 627-7748. Information about OCR's civil rights authorities and responsibilities can be found on the OCR home page at http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/office/index.html. If you believe that a person or organization covered by the Privacy and Security Rules (a "covered entity") violated your health information privacy rights or otherwise violated the Privacy or Security Rules, you may file a complaint with OCR. For additional information about how to file a complaint, visit OCR's web page on filing complaints at http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/index.html. To subscribe to or unsubscribe from the list serv, go to https://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa.exe?SUBED1=OCR-PRIVACY-LIST&A=1. From davant1958 at gmail.com Sun May 11 00:37:24 2014 From: davant1958 at gmail.com (denise avant) Date: Sat, 10 May 2014 19:37:24 -0500 Subject: [blindlaw] {Disarmed} Fwd: Call for Nominations for the 2014 Paul G. Hearne Award for Disability Rights!! References: Message-ID: Begin forwarded message: > From: "Stratton, Michael" > Subject: Re: Call for Nominations for the 2014 Paul G. Hearne Award for Disability Rights!! > Date: May 8, 2014 at 3:06:49 PM CDT > To: CDR-FULL at MAIL.AMERICANBAR.ORG > Reply-To: "Stratton, Michael" > > FYI – Please forward far and wide. Thanks! > > > > > Call for Nominations -- > 2014 Paul G. Hearne Award for Disability Rights > > Do you know an outstanding advocate for persons with disabilities who has achieved professional excellence in his or her field? > > The ABA Commission on Disability Rights is seeking nominations for the 2014 Paul G. Hearne Award for Disability Rights. This award will be presented at a reception during the 2014 ABA Annual Meeting Boston on Monday, August 11, 2014. > > Submit your nomination > > The deadline to submit the nomination form and supporting materials is the close of business on Friday, June 6, 2014. > > If you have nominated someone previously and want to nominate them again for 2014, please (1) submit the nomination form and (2) contact Michael Stratton at 202-662-1571 orMichael.Stratton at americanbar.org. > > For more information, please click on the links below: > > About the Award > > Nomination Form > > View the list of distinguished award recipients > > If you have further questions, please contact Michael Stratton at 202-662-1571 or via email atMichael.Stratton at americanbar.org. > > Thank You! > > ABA Commission on Disability Rights > > > Call for Nominations for the 2014 Paul G. Hearne Award for Disability Rights > > This message was sent to. > Your e-mail address will only be used within the ABA. We do not sell or rent e-mail addresses. > Privacy Policy > Contact Us > American Bar Association | 321 N Clark, Chicago, IL 60654-7598 | 800-285-2221 | 312-988-5522 > > > Michael J. Stratton > Administrative Coordinator > Commission on Disability Rights (CDR) - Mail Stop 11.0 > American Bar Association (ABA) > 1050 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 400 > Washington, DC 20036-5303 > > T: 202-662-1571 > F: 202-442-3439 > michael.stratton at americanbar.org > http://www.americanbar.org/disability > > > > ______________________________________ > Thank you for your continued interest in this list. A summary of your discussion list subscriptions, including CDR-FULL, can be found athttp://apps.americanbar.org/elistserv/home.cfm . This new List Subscription Page allows you to manage your lists - unsubscribe from existing or join others. > > If you have any issues you may either contact the list owner via email: CDR-FULL-request at mail.americanbar.org , or the ABA Service Center at phone: 1-800-285-2221 or email: service at americanbar.org . > ______________________________________ > From Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov Mon May 12 21:03:34 2014 From: Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov (Nightingale, Noel) Date: Mon, 12 May 2014 16:03:34 -0500 Subject: [blindlaw] DOJ Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section, TRIAL ATTORNEY, GS-905-14/15, ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: 14-ATT-006 In-Reply-To: <41370810CEBD1C4DA64C9361CE162341E21C86A638@EDUPTCEXMB01.ed.gov> References: <41370810CEBD1C4DA64C9361CE162341E21C86A638@EDUPTCEXMB01.ed.gov> Message-ID: <04F1893C93758F4AA7CB436BB26750660118C2653C58@EDUPTCEXMB02.ed.gov> Link: http://www.justice.gov/careers/legal/jobs/14-att-006.htm Text: [cid:image003.jpg at 01CF6DEA.D23C3650] UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION, DISABILITY RIGHTS SECTION TRIAL ATTORNEY, GS-905-14/15 ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: 14-ATT-006 ________________________________ About the Office: The Civil Rights Division (Division) of the Department of Justice, created by the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, works to uphold the civil and constitutional rights of all Americans, particularly some of the most vulnerable members of our society. The Division is primarily responsible for enforcing federal statutes and executive orders that prohibit, among other things, unlawful discrimination in education, employment, housing, police service, public accommodations and facilities, voting, and federally funded and conducted programs. The Division also has jurisdiction to enforce constitutional prohibitions on certain conduct by law enforcement agencies and public residential institutions, such as health care and correctional facilities. The Disability Rights Section (DRS or Section) works to achieve equal opportunity for people with disabilities in the United States by implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The attorneys selected will serve as trial attorneys protecting the rights of persons with disabilities under Titles I, II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). The ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in over seven million places of public accommodation, including all hotels, restaurants, retail stores, theaters, health care facilities, convention centers, parks, and places of recreation (Title III), in all activities of over 80,000 state and local governments (Title II), and in employment practices of state and local government employers with 15 or more employees (Title I). The ADA also establishes architectural accessibility requirements for new construction and alterations of buildings and facilities covered under Title II and Title III, which generally include all nonresidential buildings and facilities. Who May Apply: United States Citizens Number of Opportunities: 2 - Full Time Excepted Service Application Period: Applications are being accepted from Wednesday, May 07, 2014 to 11:59 PM (ETZ) on Wednesday, May 28, 2014. Responsibilities and Opportunity Offered: Trial Attorneys in the Section enjoy a diverse practice throughout the country and are responsible for conducting complex pattern and practice investigations (negotiations and litigation of civil claims) under these statutes. The work primarily involves practice before federal district courts. Trial Attorneys are responsible for screening and developing new matters, and conducting investigations, compliance reviews and litigation addressing all aspects of the Section's enforcement duties. These duties include, but are not limited to: * Conducting investigations, compliance reviews, litigation, and negotiations regarding the Section's enforcement docket, with an emphasis on all aspects of the Section's enforcement mandate; * Working with managers to develop and establish strategies and priorities for ADA and Section enforcement; * Working independently, and also with team members, in investigating and litigating an extensive portfolio of ADA matters; and * Conducting outreach, training and technical assistance, as needed. Specifically, the core duties and responsibilities are to gather facts through a variety of sources, develop investigations and compliance reviews, interview witnesses, conduct case law research, analyze data and evidence with major responsibility for electronic discovery, draft written recommendations for investigation and/or other specific enforcement action, litigate (including all pre-trial and litigation motions practice and discovery actions, including electronic discovery), negotiate and monitor settlement agreements and consent decrees, and draft briefs, including Statements of Interest. Required Qualifications: Applicants must possess a J.D. or LL.M professional law degree from an American Bar Association accredited law school, be an active member of the bar in good standing (any jurisdiction), and possess the minimum years of post-professional law degree experience commensurate to the grade level of eligibility, as shown below. Applicants must be able to engage in complex litigation and demonstrate superior oral and written communication skills (including strong advocacy skills); possess excellent academic and professional credentials, and outstanding professional references. Applicants must also demonstrate exceptional interpersonal skills and professional judgment, and be able to excel in a highly demanding environment. * At least 2.5 years - GS-14 ($106,263 to $138,136 per annum) * At least 4 years - GS-15 ($124,995 to $157,100 per annum) Preferred Qualifications: Given the nature and volume of this work, the Section generally seeks candidates with significant litigation experience and a dedicated commitment to public service and/or civil rights. Applicants with one or more of the following qualifications are preferred: (1) extensive civil trial experience; (2) extensive federal civil litigation experience; (3) experience with complex investigations; (4) demonstrated commitment to public service through employment or volunteering; (5) demonstrated commitment to civil rights and or human rights issues; (6) substantive knowledge of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 and GINA and other applicable law; or (7) judicial clerkship experience. How You Will Be Evaluated: Applicants will be evaluated relative to the qualifications set forth above and other job-related skills, experience and qualifications set forth in their application materials and consistent with merit system principles applicable to hiring for career positions with the Department of Justice. Salary Information: $106,263.00 to $157,100.00 / Per Year Location: Washington, D.C. Relocation Expenses: Relocation expenses are not authorized. Travel: Travel may be required two or three times a month and may include weekend travel. Submission Process and Deadline Date: You must submit your application so that it will be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Time Zone on the closing date of the announcement. Please refer to the "How To Apply" section at this link: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/PrintPreview/367112300 Question may be directed to Diane Turner at 202-514-3934 or Diane.M.Turner at usdoj.gov. Benefits: The Department of Justice offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacations, sick leave, holidays, telework, life insurance, health benefits, and, participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System. This link provides an overview of the benefits currently offered to eligible federal employees: http://www.usajobs.gov/ResourcesCenter/Index/Interactive/Benefits#icc. Internet Sites: This and other attorney vacancy announcements can be found at: http://www.justice.gov/careers/legal/attvacancies.html. For more information about the Civil Rights Division, visit the Civil Rights Division's web page. Department Policies: Equal Employment Opportunity: The U.S. Department of Justice is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer. Except where otherwise provided by law, there will be no discrimination because of color, race, religion, national origin, political affiliation, marital status, disability (physical or mental), age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, status as a parent, membership or non-membership in an employee organization, on the basis of personal favoritism, or any non merit factor. The Department of Justice welcomes and encourages applications from persons with physical and mental disabilities. The Department is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on the basis of merit within the Department of Justice. Reasonable Accommodations: This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. Outreach and Recruitment for Qualified Applicants with Disabilities: The Department encourages qualified applicants with disabilities, including individuals with targeted/severe disabilities to apply in response to posted vacancy announcements. Applicants with targeted/severe disabilities include those applicants who are deaf or blind, have missing extremities, partial or complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, or psychiatric disability, and little people/applicants with dwarfism. Qualified applicants with targeted/severe disabilities may be eligible for direct hire, non-competitive appointment under Schedule A (5 C.F.R. § 213.3102(u)) hiring authority. Individuals with targeted/severe disabilities are encouraged to register for the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Shared List of People with Disabilities (the Bender Disability Employment Registry) by submitting their resume to resume at benderconsult.com and referencing "Federal Career Opportunities" in the subject line. Additional information about the Bender Registry is available at www.benderconsult.com. Individuals with targeted/severe disabilities are also encouraged to submit their resumes to the Division by emailing them to CRT.Specprogvacancies at usdoj.gov. Applicants with questions about this process may contact the Division's Disability Point of Contact (DPOC) at (202) 514-3934. Suitability and Citizenship: It is the policy of the Department to achieve a drug-free workplace and persons selected for employment will be required to pass a drug test which screens for illegal drug use prior to final appointment. Employment is also contingent upon the completion and satisfactory adjudication of a background investigation. Only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review and the United States Attorneys' Offices. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, non-U.S. citizens may apply for employment with other organizations, but should be advised that appointments of non-U.S. citizens are extremely rare; such appointments would be possible only if necessary to accomplish the Department's mission and would be subject to strict security requirements. Applicants who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and another country will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Veterans: There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Justice considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g., the DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and other supporting documentation) to their submissions. Although the "point" system is not used, per se, applicants eligible to claim 10-point preference must submit Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, and submit the supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed (visit the OPM website, www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf for a copy of SF 15, which lists the types of 10-point preferences and the required supporting documents). Applicants should note that SF 15 requires supporting documentation associated with service-connected disabilities or receipt of nonservice-connected disability pensions to be dated 1991 or later except in the case of service members submitting official statements or retirement orders from a branch of the Armed Forces showing that his or her retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that he/she was transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more). * * * The Department of Justice cannot control further dissemination and/or posting of information contained in this vacancy announcement. Such posting and/or dissemination are not an endorsement by the Department of the organization or group disseminating and/or posting the information. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image003.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 4807 bytes Desc: image003.jpg URL: From Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov Mon May 12 21:04:45 2014 From: Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov (Nightingale, Noel) Date: Mon, 12 May 2014 16:04:45 -0500 Subject: [blindlaw] DOJ Civil Rights Division, Housing and Civil Enforcement Section, TRIAL ATTORNEY, GS-905-14/15, ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: 14-ATT-004R In-Reply-To: <41370810CEBD1C4DA64C9361CE162341E21C86A637@EDUPTCEXMB01.ed.gov> References: <41370810CEBD1C4DA64C9361CE162341E21C86A637@EDUPTCEXMB01.ed.gov> Message-ID: <04F1893C93758F4AA7CB436BB26750660118C2653C59@EDUPTCEXMB02.ed.gov> Link: http://www.justice.gov/careers/legal/jobs/14-att-004r.htm Text: [cid:image003.jpg at 01CF6DEA.AE1AA3B0] UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION, HOUSING AND CIVIL ENFORCEMENT SECTION TRIAL ATTORNEY, GS-905-14/15 ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: 14-ATT-004R ________________________________ About the Office: The Civil Rights Division, (Division) of the Department of Justice, created by the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, works to uphold the civil and constitutional rights of all Americans, particularly some of the most vulnerable members of our society. The Division is primarily responsible for enforcing federal statutes and executive orders that prohibit, among other things, unlawful discrimination in education, employment, housing, police service, public accommodations and facilities, voting, and federally funded and conducted programs. The Division also has jurisdiction to enforce constitutional prohibitions on certain conduct by law enforcement agencies and public residential institutions, such as health care and correctional facilities. The Housing and Civil Enforcement Section (HCE or Section) works to protect some of the most fundamental rights of individuals, including the right to access housing free from discrimination, the right to access credit on an equal basis, the right to patronize places of business that provide public accommodations and the right to practice one's faith free from discrimination. HCE handles the Department's fair lending enforcement responsibilities under the Fair Housing Act (FHA), the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and the Service members Civil Relief Act (SCRA). The Section also enforces the other provisions of the FHA and the SCRA, as well as the land use provisions of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act and Title II of the 1964 Civil Rights. Applicants who previously applied under this job announcement will be considered and need not reapply under this re-advertisement. Subject to future funding, candidates selected under this job announcement may be converted to permanent, excepted service appointments. Who May Apply: United States Citizens Number of Opportunities: 3 - Full Time Excepted Service Time-Limited NTE 09/30/2016 Application Period: Applications are being accepted from Friday, May 09, 2014 to 11:59 PM (ETZ) on Friday, May 16, 2014. Responsibilities and Opportunity Offered: The attorneys hired under this announcement will handle an active docket of investigations and litigation focusing on the lending provisions of the FHA, ECOA, and the SCRA. Responsibilities will include: (1) developing and conducting complex investigations involving potential violations of the FHA, ECOA or SCRA including reviewing policies and procedures of the target entity, conducting interviews, working with statistical data and experts to evaluate possible discrimination, reviewing loan files or other relevant files of the target entity, and conducting legal and factual research; (2) preparing legal arguments and memoranda on substantive legal issues involving the statutes enforced by the Section; (3) handling complex litigation, including preparing and responding to discovery requests, conducting extensive document review, identifying and working with expert witnesses, preparing witnesses and participating in depositions, and developing and presenting the government's case in federal court; (4) preparing for and participating in settlement negotiations and mediation on behalf of the Department, including drafting and editing settlement proposals; (5) monitoring judgments and settlement agreements to assure compliance by defendants; (6) recommending and reviewing private litigation for intervention or amicus participation; and (7) analyzing and preparing responses to inquiries from the public, testimony, legislative proposals and other written materials. Required Qualifications: Applicants must possess a J.D. or LL.B professional law degree from an American Bar Association (ABA) accredited law school, be an active member of the bar in good standing (any jurisdiction), and possess the minimum post-professional law degree experience commensurate to the grade level of eligibility, as shown below. Applicants should possess knowledge of the FHA, ECOA and/or the SCRA; strong organizational, writing, and oral communication skills; demonstrated ability to work independently or cooperatively on investigation or litigation teams; demonstrated professional judgment; and experience developing and conducting complicated investigations or cases involving violations of federal law. * At least 2.5 years - GS-14 ($106,263 to $138,136 per annum) * At least 4 years - GS-15 ($124,995 to $157,100 per annum) Preferred Qualifications: Experience in fair lending enforcement or compliance is preferred. Federal court litigation experience, including experience with complex electronic discovery, is also preferred. How You Will Be Evaluated: Applicants will be evaluated relative to the qualifications set forth above and other job-related skills, experience and qualifications set forth in their application materials and consistent with merit system principles applicable to hiring for career positions with the Department of Justice. Salary Information: $106,263.00 to $157,100.00 / Per Year Location: Washington, D.C. Relocation Expenses: Relocation expenses are not authorized. Travel: Occasional travel is required. Submission Process and Deadline Date: You must submit your application so that it will be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Time Zone on the closing date of the announcement. Please refer to the "How To Apply" section at this link: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/369639400 Question may be directed to Harry Vickers at 202-514-3934 or Harry.Vickers at usdoj.gov. Benefits: The Department of Justice offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacations, sick leave, holidays, telework, life insurance, health benefits, and, participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System. This link provides an overview of the benefits currently offered to eligible federal employees: http://www.usajobs.gov/ResourcesCenter/Index/Interactive/Benefits#icc. Internet Sites: This and other attorney vacancy announcements can be found at: http://www.justice.gov/careers/legal/attvacancies.html. For more information about the Civil Rights Division, visit the Civil Rights Division's web page. Department Policies: Equal Employment Opportunity: The U.S. Department of Justice is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer. Except where otherwise provided by law, there will be no discrimination because of color, race, religion, national origin, political affiliation, marital status, disability (physical or mental), age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, status as a parent, membership or non-membership in an employee organization, on the basis of personal favoritism, or any non merit factor. The Department of Justice welcomes and encourages applications from persons with physical and mental disabilities. The Department is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on the basis of merit within the Department of Justice. Reasonable Accommodations: This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. Outreach and Recruitment for Qualified Applicants with Disabilities: The Department encourages qualified applicants with disabilities, including individuals with targeted/severe disabilities to apply in response to posted vacancy announcements. Applicants with targeted/severe disabilities include those applicants who are deaf or blind, have missing extremities, partial or complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, or psychiatric disability, and little people/applicants with dwarfism. Qualified applicants with targeted/severe disabilities may be eligible for direct hire, non-competitive appointment under Schedule A (5 C.F.R. § 213.3102(u)) hiring authority. Individuals with targeted/severe disabilities are encouraged to register for the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Shared List of People with Disabilities (the Bender Disability Employment Registry) by submitting their resume to resume at benderconsult.com and referencing "Federal Career Opportunities" in the subject line. Additional information about the Bender Registry is available at www.benderconsult.com. Individuals with targeted/severe disabilities are also encouraged to submit their resumes to the Division by emailing them to CRT.Specprogvacancies at usdoj.gov. Applicants with questions about this process may contact the Division's Disability Point of Contact (DPOC) at (202) 514-3934. Suitability and Citizenship: It is the policy of the Department to achieve a drug-free workplace and persons selected for employment will be required to pass a drug test which screens for illegal drug use prior to final appointment. Employment is also contingent upon the completion and satisfactory adjudication of a background investigation. Only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review and the United States Attorneys' Offices. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, non-U.S. citizens may apply for employment with other organizations, but should be advised that appointments of non-U.S. citizens are extremely rare; such appointments would be possible only if necessary to accomplish the Department's mission and would be subject to strict security requirements. Applicants who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and another country will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Veterans: There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Justice considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g., the DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and other supporting documentation) to their submissions. Although the "point" system is not used, per se, applicants eligible to claim 10-point preference must submit Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, and submit the supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed (visit the OPM website, www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf for a copy of SF 15, which lists the types of 10-point preferences and the required supporting documents). Applicants should note that SF 15 requires supporting documentation associated with service-connected disabilities or receipt of nonservice-connected disability pensions to be dated 1991 or later except in the case of service members submitting official statements or retirement orders from a branch of the Armed Forces showing that his or her retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that he/she was transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more). * * * The Department of Justice cannot control further dissemination and/or posting of information contained in this vacancy announcement. Such posting and/or dissemination are not an endorsement by the Department of the organization or group disseminating and/or posting the information. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image003.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 4807 bytes Desc: image003.jpg URL: From Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov Mon May 12 21:05:30 2014 From: Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov (Nightingale, Noel) Date: Mon, 12 May 2014 16:05:30 -0500 Subject: [blindlaw] DOJ, CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION, DISABILITY RIGHTS SECTION, TRIAL ATTORNEY, GS-905-14/15, ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: 14-ATT-010 In-Reply-To: <41370810CEBD1C4DA64C9361CE162341E21C86A639@EDUPTCEXMB01.ed.gov> References: <41370810CEBD1C4DA64C9361CE162341E21C86A639@EDUPTCEXMB01.ed.gov> Message-ID: <04F1893C93758F4AA7CB436BB26750660118C2653C5A@EDUPTCEXMB02.ed.gov> Link: http://www.justice.gov/careers/legal/jobs/14-att-010.htm Text: [cid:image003.jpg at 01CF6DEA.F4B4ACD0] UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION, DISABILITY RIGHTS SECTION TRIAL ATTORNEY, GS-905-14/15 ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: 14-ATT-010 ________________________________ About the Office: The Civil Rights Division (Division) of the Department of Justice, created by the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, works to uphold the civil and constitutional rights of all Americans, particularly some of the most vulnerable members of our society. The Division is primarily responsible for enforcing federal statutes and executive orders that prohibit, among other things, unlawful discrimination in education, employment, housing, police service, public accommodations and facilities, voting, and federally funded and conducted programs. The Division also has jurisdiction to enforce constitutional prohibitions on certain conduct by law enforcement agencies and public residential institutions, such as health care and correctional facilities. The Disability Rights Section (DRS or Section) works to achieve equal opportunity for people with disabilities in the United States by implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in over seven million places of public accommodation, including all hotels, restaurants, retail stores, theaters, health care facilities, convention centers, parks, and places of recreation (Title III), in all activities of over 80,000 state and local governments (Title II), and in employment practices of state and local government employers with 15 or more employees (Title I). The ADA also establishes architectural accessibility requirements for new construction and alterations of buildings and facilities covered under Title II and Title III, which generally include all nonresidential buildings and facilities. The experienced attorneys selected for these positions will be dedicated to the Section's work pursuant to the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control ("HCFAC") Program, with an emphasis on the Section's matters that seek to enforce compliance with the integration mandate of the Americans with Disabilities Act, as interpreted by the Supreme Court in Olmstead v. L.C., 527 U.S. 581 (1999). More specifically, most of the incumbents' work will be devoted to investigating and litigating matters involving the unnecessary segregation or the risk of unnecessary segregation of individuals with disabilities. Who May Apply: United States Citizens Number of Opportunities: 3 - Full Time Excepted Service Application Period: Applications are being accepted from Wednesday, May 07, 2014 to 11:59 PM (ETZ) on Wednesday, May 28, 2014. Responsibilities and Opportunity Offered: Trial Attorneys are responsible for screening and developing new matters, conducting systemic investigations, and complex litigation addressing all aspects of the Section's Olmstead enforcement activities. These duties include, but are not limited to: * Conducting investigations, litigation, and negotiations regarding the Section's Olmstead enforcement docket; * Working with managers to develop and establish strategies and priorities for Olmstead enforcement; * Working independently, and also with team members, in investigating and litigating cases; and * Conducting outreach, training and technical assistance, as needed. Specifically, the core duties and responsibilities are to gather facts through a variety of sources, develop investigations and compliance reviews, interview witnesses, conduct case law research, analyze data and evidence with major responsibility for electronic discovery, draft written recommendations for investigation and/or other specific enforcement action, litigate (including all pre-trial and litigation motions practice and discovery actions, including electronic discovery), negotiate and monitor settlement agreements and consent decrees, and draft briefs, including Statements of Interest. Required Qualifications: Applicants must possess a J.D. or LL.M professional law degree from an American Bar Association accredited law school, be an active member of the bar in good standing (any jurisdiction), and possess the minimum years of post-professional law degree experience commensurate to the grade level of eligibility, as shown below. Applicants must be able to engage in complex litigation and demonstrate superior oral and written communication skills (including strong advocacy skills); possess excellent academic and professional credentials, and outstanding professional references. Applicants must also demonstrate exceptional interpersonal skills and professional judgment, and be able to excel in a highly demanding environment. * At least 2.5 years - GS-14 ($106,263 to $138,136 per annum) * At least 4 years - GS-15 ($124,995 to $157,100 per annum) Preferred Qualifications: Given the nature and volume of this work, the Section generally seeks candidates with significant experience in complex litigation and a dedicated commitment to public service and/or civil rights. Applicants with one or more of the following qualifications are preferred: (1) extensive civil trial experience; (2) extensive federal civil litigation experience; (3) experience with complex investigations; (4) demonstrated commitment to public service through employment or volunteering; (5) demonstrated commitment to civil rights and or human rights issues; (6) substantive knowledge of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 and GINA and other applicable law; or (7) judicial clerkship experience. How You Will Be Evaluated: Applicants will be evaluated relative to the qualifications set forth above and other job-related skills, experience and qualifications set forth in their application materials and consistent with merit system principles applicable to hiring for career positions with the Department of Justice. Salary Information: $106,263.00 to $157,100.00 / Per Year Location: Washington, D.C. Relocation Expenses: Relocation expenses are not authorized. Travel: Travel may be required two or three times a month and may include weekend travel. Submission Process and Deadline Date: You must submit your application so that it will be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Time Zone on the closing date of the announcement. Please refer to the "How To Apply" section at this link: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/PrintPreview/368209500 Question may be directed to Diane Turner at 202-514-3934 or Diane.M.Turner at usdoj.gov. Benefits: The Department of Justice offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacations, sick leave, holidays, telework, life insurance, health benefits, and, participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System. This link provides an overview of the benefits currently offered to eligible federal employees: http://www.usajobs.gov/ResourcesCenter/Index/Interactive/Benefits#icc. Internet Sites: This and other attorney vacancy announcements can be found at: http://www.justice.gov/careers/legal/attvacancies.html. For more information about the Civil Rights Division, visit the Civil Rights Division's web page. Department Policies: Equal Employment Opportunity: The U.S. Department of Justice is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer. Except where otherwise provided by law, there will be no discrimination because of color, race, religion, national origin, political affiliation, marital status, disability (physical or mental), age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, status as a parent, membership or non-membership in an employee organization, on the basis of personal favoritism, or any non merit factor. The Department of Justice welcomes and encourages applications from persons with physical and mental disabilities. The Department is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on the basis of merit within the Department of Justice. Reasonable Accommodations: This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. Outreach and Recruitment for Qualified Applicants with Disabilities: The Department encourages qualified applicants with disabilities, including individuals with targeted/severe disabilities to apply in response to posted vacancy announcements. Applicants with targeted/severe disabilities include those applicants who are deaf or blind, have missing extremities, partial or complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, or psychiatric disability, and little people/applicants with dwarfism. Qualified applicants with targeted/severe disabilities may be eligible for direct hire, non-competitive appointment under Schedule A (5 C.F.R. § 213.3102(u)) hiring authority. Individuals with targeted/severe disabilities are encouraged to register for the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Shared List of People with Disabilities (the Bender Disability Employment Registry) by submitting their resume to resume at benderconsult.com and referencing "Federal Career Opportunities" in the subject line. Additional information about the Bender Registry is available at www.benderconsult.com. Individuals with targeted/severe disabilities are also encouraged to submit their resumes to the Division by emailing them to CRT.Specprogvacancies at usdoj.gov. Applicants with questions about this process may contact the Division's Disability Point of Contact (DPOC) at (202) 514-3934. Suitability and Citizenship: It is the policy of the Department to achieve a drug-free workplace and persons selected for employment will be required to pass a drug test which screens for illegal drug use prior to final appointment. Employment is also contingent upon the completion and satisfactory adjudication of a background investigation. Only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review and the United States Attorneys' Offices. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, non-U.S. citizens may apply for employment with other organizations, but should be advised that appointments of non-U.S. citizens are extremely rare; such appointments would be possible only if necessary to accomplish the Department's mission and would be subject to strict security requirements. Applicants who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and another country will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Veterans: There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Justice considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g., the DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and other supporting documentation) to their submissions. Although the "point" system is not used, per se, applicants eligible to claim 10-point preference must submit Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, and submit the supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed (visit the OPM website, www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf for a copy of SF 15, which lists the types of 10-point preferences and the required supporting documents). Applicants should note that SF 15 requires supporting documentation associated with service-connected disabilities or receipt of nonservice-connected disability pensions to be dated 1991 or later except in the case of service members submitting official statements or retirement orders from a branch of the Armed Forces showing that his or her retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that he/she was transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more). * * * The Department of Justice cannot control further dissemination and/or posting of information contained in this vacancy announcement. Such posting and/or dissemination are not an endorsement by the Department of the organization or group disseminating and/or posting the information. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image003.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 4807 bytes Desc: image003.jpg URL: From blindlaw at nfbnet.org Fri May 16 01:39:43 2014 From: blindlaw at nfbnet.org (denise avant via blindlaw) Date: Thu, 15 May 2014 20:39:43 -0500 Subject: [blindlaw] Fwd: Disability Rights/Employment Discrimination Attorney Opening at Equip for Equality References: <004201cf7098$be3aacd0$3ab00670$@sbcglobal.net> Message-ID: Begin forwarded message: > From: "David Meyer" > Subject: FW: Disability Rights/Employment Discrimination Attorney Opening at Equip for Equality > Date: May 15, 2014 at 6:52:32 PM CDT > To: "denise avant" > > > > David Meyer, NFB of Illinois > Coordinator and channel administrator, NFB-NewsLine > Chicago Chapter President > > From: Barry Taylor [mailto:BarryT at equipforequality.org] > Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2014 11:19 AM > To: Barry Taylor > Subject: Disability Rights/Employment Discrimination Attorney Opening at Equip for Equality > > Equip for Equality (IL P&A) is seeking to hire a staff attorney to work on discrimination matters, with an emphasis on employment discrimination. Job notice is below – please share with your contacts. > > Thanks, > Barry > > Barry C. Taylor > Equip for Equality > > Disability Rights/Employment Discrimination Attorney > > Equip for Equality, an Illinois civil rights organization for people with disabilities, seeks a full-time attorney for its Chicago office. The selected candidate must have a law degree, employment litigation experience, including experience in federal court, and a commitment to the civil rights of people with disabilities. The attorney will represent people with disabilities in discrimination matters, with a strong emphasis on employment discrimination. Competitive salary with excellent benefits. Equal Opportunity Employer. People with disabilities and people of color are strongly encouraged to apply. Applicants should send a cover letter, resume and salary history to Megan Loutfi, Equip for Equality, 20 N. Michigan, Suite 300, Chicago, IL 60602, fax: 312-541-7544 or by email toMeganL at equipforequality.org From blindlaw at nfbnet.org Fri May 16 16:55:38 2014 From: blindlaw at nfbnet.org (Nightingale, Noel via blindlaw) Date: Fri, 16 May 2014 11:55:38 -0500 Subject: [blindlaw] FW: Job Opening ACLU- Paralegal- Please Post and Forward In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <04F1893C93758F4AA7CB436BB26750660118C2654294@EDUPTCEXMB02.ed.gov> From: Jobs [mailto:jobs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Maurer, Patricia via Jobs Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2014 8:58 AM To: jobs at nfbnet.org Subject: [Jobs] FW: Job Opening ACLU- Paralegal- Please Post and Forward From: hrintern [mailto:hrintern at aclu.org] Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2014 11:55 AM To: Maurer, Patricia Subject: Job Opening ACLU- Paralegal- Please Post and Forward May 15, 2014 CAREER OPPORTUNITY Paralegal [CJ-03] AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION Center for Justice, Washington, DC For more than 93 years, the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation (ACLU) has been at the forefront of virtually every major battle for civil liberties and equal justice in this country. Principled and nonpartisan, the ACLU has offices in all 50 states, Washington, DC and Puerto Rico, and brings together the country’s largest team of public interest lawyers, lobbyists, communication strategists, and members and activists in the advancement of equality, fairness, and freedom, especially for the most vulnerable in our society. The Center for Justice of the ACLU’s National office in Washington, D.C. is seeking applicants for the full-time position of Paralegal. OVERVIEW Through litigation, public education, and advocacy, the American Civil Liberties Union’s Center for Justice seeks to transform the criminal justice system into one that is fair and free of racial bias, that keeps communities safe and healthy without an overreliance on incarceration, that is evidence-based rather than fear-based, that rejects the death penalty, and that respects the constitutional and human rights of all who come into contact with it. The Paralegal is an integral member of the Center’s staff and plays an essential role in its efforts to reform the criminal justice system. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Collaborate with Center Paralegals to assign work and projects to legal and non-legal interns. Collect, analyze, and organize statistical, social science, and other non-legal research for use in advocacy, litigation and policy presentations. Provide research and drafting support for Center reports; collaborate with attorneys in preparing background memoranda on selected policy issues. Collaborate with Center and affiliate staff on the development of advocacy tools and resources for public education around the Center’s issues. Prepare informational updates on criminal justice issues for ACLU national and affiliate staff. Write and contribute to the production of content for blogs, op-eds, press releases, newsletters, and presentations. Work with attorneys on the preparation, filing, review and organization of litigation documents, including briefs, motions, declarations, deposition summaries, discovery requests and responses, and correspondence with co-counsel. Manage the office of the Center Director and provide support to the Center Director and the Center’s attorneys with client and witness interviews, as needed. Draft, proofread, edit and finalize correspondence, essays and legal documents. Track and maintain overall Center budgets and expense reports; liaise with accounting department on the reconciliation of monthly expenses. Maintain files related to invoices and cost information. Serve as liaison with co-counsel and partner organizations. Handle special projects and other duties as assigned. EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS A Bachelor’s degree is required. A minimum of two years of paralegal or related experience preferred. Commitment to public interest work and to civil liberties in particular is essential. Specific interest or experience in criminal justice reform strongly preferred. Experience providing support to multiple managers and locations preferred. Strong research skills, including internet research, required. Must be well organized, efficient, highly motivated, and able to handle multiple tasks simultaneously and see them through to completion while working under tight deadlines. Must possess strong organizational and administrative skills and be detail oriented. Strong writing and verbal communication skills; strong interpersonal skills. Ability to work independently as well as within a team while demonstrating grace under pressure and maintaining a high level of professionalism. Strong computer skills, including Microsoft Office; proficiency with Excel highly preferred. COMPENSATION The ACLU offers compensation commensurate with experience and within the parameters of the ACLU compensation scale. HOW TO APPLY Please submit a cover letter (include salary requirements), a resume, a non-fiction writing sample (sample will not be returned) and three (3) references to: hrjobsCFJ at aclu.org. Reference [CJ-03/INCL 35] in the subject line. Application materials can also be submitted by mail to: Center for Justice American Civil Liberties Union Foundation RE: [CJ-03/INCL 35] 125 Broad Street, 18th Floor New York, NY 10004 Please indicate where you learned of this career opportunity. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. This job description provides a general but not comprehensive list of the essential responsibilities and qualifications required. It does not represent a contract of employment. The ACLU reserves the right to change the job description and/or posting at any time without advance notice. The ACLU is an equal opportunity employer. We value a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture. The ACLU encourages applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, and veteran status. The ACLU undertakes affirmative action strategies in its recruitment and employment efforts to assure that persons with disabilities have full opportunities for employment in all positions. We encourage applicants with disabilities who may need accommodations in the application process to contact:HRJobsINCLReq at aclu.org. Correspondence sent to this address that is not related to requests for accommodations will not be reviewed. Applicants should follow the instructions above regarding how to apply. The ACLU comprises two separate corporate entities, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation. Both the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation are national organizations with the same overall mission, and share office space and employees. The ACLU has two separate corporate entities in order to do a broad range of work to protect civil liberties. This job posting refers collectively to the two organizations under the name “ACLU.” -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ Jobs mailing list Jobs at nfbnet.org http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/jobs_nfbnet.org To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Jobs: http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/jobs_nfbnet.org/noel.nightingale%40ed.gov From blindlaw at nfbnet.org Fri May 16 19:32:28 2014 From: blindlaw at nfbnet.org (Scott C. LaBarre via blindlaw) Date: Fri, 16 May 2014 13:32:28 -0600 Subject: [blindlaw] FW: Attorney Vacancies at the U.S. Department of Justice In-Reply-To: <98A98D365DA17347B0FA3158D79B489447AE0EEF@DPRC-EXCH-P07.JCONMAIL.doj.gov> References: <5A114E4DF190414C9DEC8CF5D78729BD0BD88E0574@GSD-MBX-RDC06.gsd.doj.gov> <98A98D365DA17347B0FA3158D79B489447AE0EEF@DPRC-EXCH-P07.JCONMAIL.doj.gov> Message-ID: <05c401cf713d$9329fd20$b97df760$@labarrelaw.com> Fyi From: Hunter, Sue (JMD) [mailto:Sue.Hunter at usdoj.gov] Sent: Friday, May 16, 2014 10:58 AM To: Hunter, Sue (JMD) Subject: Attorney Vacancies at the U.S. Department of Justice Below is a list of current attorney vacancies at the United States Department of Justice. We encourage all interested applicants to apply; To learn more about Justice and our legal careers, please visit our website: www.justice.gov/careers/legal/. In addition, every year over 1,800 volunteer legal interns serve in DOJ components and U.S. Attorneys' Offices throughout the country. If you know any law students who may be interested in a DOJ volunteer internship, please encourage them to review the many opportunities featured at www.justice.gov/careers/legal/volunteer-intern.html. Finally, please share this email with interested colleagues and peers. If you wish to update the contact information for you or the organization you represent, or no longer wish to receive these periodic email announcements, please respond to this email address and ask to be removed from our mailing list. Thank you. Trial Attorney / GS-905-14/15 U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section 14-CRM-AFML-076 Closing Date: August 14, 2014. Date posted: 5-14-2014 U.S. Department of Justice Assistant United States Attorney Amended Term Appointment Not To Exceed 14 Months United States Attorney's Office Middle District of Alabama Opening and Closing Date: May 9, 2014 through May 23, 2014 Original Vacancy Announcement Number 12-MDAL-08 AMENDED to Vacancy Announcement 14-MDAL-08 Applications must be received close of business on May 19, 2014. AMENDED DATE FOR APPLICATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY CLOSE OF BUSINESS ON MAY 23, 2014. Date posted: 05-14-2014 U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Appellate Section Trial Attorney, GS-905-12/15 Announcement Number: 14-ATT-013 Applications are being accepted from Tuesday, May 13, 2014 to 11:59 PM (ETZ) on Tuesday, June 03, 2014. Date posted: 05-13-2014 Supervisory Attorney (General Counsel) / GS-905-15 U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division Office of Administration 14-CRM-ADM-086 Closing Date: May 19, 2014 All Application Packages must be received by 11:59 PM, Eastern Time, on the closing date of this announcement. Date posted: 05-13-2014 U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division, Fraud Section Trial Attorneys / GS-905-14/15 14-CRM-FRD-072 Closing Date: August 13, 2014 All Application Packages must be received by 11:59 PM, Eastern Time, on the closing date of this announcement. Date posted: 05-13-2014 U.S. Department of Justice Assistant United States Attorney United States Attorney's Office Eastern District of Texas Plano, Texas Opening Date: May 13, 2014 Closing Date: May 27, 2014 Vacancy Announcement No.: 14-EDTX-1116305-AUSA-05. Date posted: 05-13-2014 U.S. Department of Justice Executive Office for United States Attorneys General Counsel's Office Supervisory Attorney Advisor GS-905-15: $124,995 - $157,100 14-EOUSA-1106197 Applications must be received by May 23, 2014. Date posted: 05-13-2014 U.S. Department of Justice Executive Office for United States Attorneys Office of Legal and Victim Programs White Collar and Civil Litigation Staff Attorney Advisor (e-Discovery) GS-905-15: $124,995 - $157,100 14-EOUSA-1074159 Applications must be received by June 6, 2014. Date posted: 05-13-2014 United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Housing and Civil Enforcement Section Trial Attorney, GS-905-14/15 Announcement Number: 14-ATT-004R Applications are being accepted from Friday, May 09, 2014 to 11:59 PM (ETZ) on Friday, May 16, 2014. Date posted: 05-12-2014 United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section Trial Attorney, GS-905-14/15 Announcement Number: 14-ATT-006 Applications are being accepted from Wednesday, May 07, 2014 to 11:59 PM (ETZ) on Wednesday, May 28, 2014. Date posted: 05-12-2014 United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section Trial Attorney, GS-905-14/15 Announcement Number: 14-ATT-010 Applications are being accepted from Wednesday, May 07, 2014 to 11:59 PM (ETZ) on Wednesday, May 28, 2014. Date posted: 05-12-2014 Trial Attorney Torts Branch Constitutional and Specialized Tort Litigation - Bivens Civil Division Department of Justice Vacancy Announcement: TA-CSTL-BIVENS-2014-01 This announcement closes on Friday, May 30, 2014. Date posted: 05-09-2014 U.S. Department of Justice Assistant United States Attorney United States Attorney's Office Burlington, Vermont May 9, 2014 - May 19, 2014 14-VT-01 Applications must be received by May 19, 2014. Date posted: 05-09-2014 U.S. Department of Justice Assistant United States Attorney Term Appointment Not to Exceed 12 Months United States Attorney's Office Middle Alabama Opening and Closing Date: May 9, 2014 through May 19, 2014 Vacancy Announcement Number 12-MDAL-08. Date posted: 05-09-2014 44 From blindlaw at nfbnet.org Fri May 16 22:55:53 2014 From: blindlaw at nfbnet.org (Nightingale, Noel via blindlaw) Date: Fri, 16 May 2014 17:55:53 -0500 Subject: [blindlaw] DOJ CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION, EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES SECTION, TRIAL ATTORNEY, GS-905-13/15, ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: 14-ATT-014 In-Reply-To: <41370810CEBD1C4DA64C9361CE162341E21C86ADD6@EDUPTCEXMB01.ed.gov> References: <41370810CEBD1C4DA64C9361CE162341E21C86ADD6@EDUPTCEXMB01.ed.gov> Message-ID: <04F1893C93758F4AA7CB436BB26750660118C2654326@EDUPTCEXMB02.ed.gov> Link: http://www.justice.gov/careers/legal/jobs/14-att-014.htm Text: UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION, EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES SECTION TRIAL ATTORNEY, GS-905-13/15 ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: 14-ATT-014 ________________________________ About the Office: The Civil Rights Division (Division) of the Department of Justice, created by the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, works to uphold the civil and constitutional rights of all Americans, particularly some of the most vulnerable members of our society. The Division is primarily responsible for enforcing federal statutes and executive orders that prohibit, among other things, unlawful discrimination in education, employment, housing, police service, public accommodations and facilities, voting, and federally funded and conducted programs. The Division also has jurisdiction to enforce constitutional prohibitions on certain conduct by law enforcement agencies and public residential institutions, such as health care and correctional facilities. The Educational Opportunities Section (EOS or Section) is responsible for enforcing Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, and religion in public schools and institutions of higher learning; the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 which, among other things, requires states and school districts to provide English Language Learner (ELL) students with appropriate services to overcome language barriers; and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Section also plays a significant role in enforcing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin by recipients of federal funds), Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 (prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex by recipients of federal funds), and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability by recipients of federal funds). The Section may intervene in private suits alleging violations of education-related anti-discrimination statutes and the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. The Section also represents the Department of Education in lawsuits. Who May Apply: United States Citizens Number of Opportunities: 4 - Full Time Excepted Service Application Period: Applications are being accepted from Wednesday, May 14, 2014 to 11:59 PM (ETZ) on Wednesday, June 4, 2014. Responsibilities and Opportunity Offered: The candidates selected for these positions will be responsible for investigating complaints of discrimination, including conducting site visits and interviews; conducting legal and factual research; developing legal arguments and drafting memoranda on substantive legal and policy issues; preparing and responding to discovery requests; preparing witnesses and participating in depositions; developing and presenting the government's case in federal court; monitoring and enforcing judgments and agreements to ensure compliance by responding parties; drafting and editing settlement proposals; preparing and participating in settlement negotiations and mediation on behalf of the Division; reviewing and recommending private litigation for amicus participation or intervention; reviewing and contributing to appellate memoranda; analyzing and preparing proposals and recommendations on a variety of legal, policy, regulatory, and legislative documents and guidance; responding to policy inquiries, letters, memoranda, testimony, and other written materials; making public appearances and conducting outreach to educate constituents and stakeholders about the laws that EOS enforces and providing technical assistance on aspects of compliance with those laws. Required Qualifications: Applicants must possess a J.D. or LL.M professional law degree from an American Bar Association accredited law school, be an active member of the bar in good standing (any jurisdiction), and possess the minimum years of post-professional law degree experience commensurate to the grade level of eligibility, as shown below. Applicants must demonstrate superior oral and written communication skills (including strong advocacy skills), possess excellent academic and professional credentials, and outstanding professional references. Applicants must also demonstrate exceptional interpersonal skills and professional judgment, and be able to excel in a highly demanding environment. * At least 1.5 years - GS-13 ($89,924 to $116,901 per annum) * At least 2.5 years - GS-14 ($106,263 to $138,136 per annum) * At least 4 years - GS-15 ($124,995 to $157,100 per annum) Preferred Qualifications: Experience handling discrimination and harassment cases, particularly in the education context, is preferred, including: (1) experience litigating discrimination and harassment cases, including handling discovery, litigation strategy, motion practice, trial preparation, and trial; (2) experience negotiating settlements in discrimination or harassment cases; (3) experience investigating allegations of discrimination and harassment, including interviewing witnesses, reviewing documents, and reviewing applicable case law to assess the merits of a case; (4) experience supervising and mentoring attorneys in the development of and preparation for litigation; (5) experience drafting regulations, guidance documents and other policy directives, including experience working with diverse coalitions on legal and/or policy initiatives, and (6) substantive knowledge of and expertise in education discrimination law. In addition, while not required, preferred candidates will have relevant civil rights experience outside of the core competencies of the Section, but within the critical responsibilities of the Division, such that the candidate could play a supporting role in the Division's initiatives. How You Will Be Evaluated: Applicants will be evaluated relative to the qualifications set forth above and other job-related skills, experience and qualifications set forth in their application materials and consistent with merit system principles applicable to hiring for career positions with the Department of Justice. Salary Information: $89,924.00 to $157,100.00 / Per Year Location: Washington, D.C. Relocation Expenses: Relocation expenses are not authorized. Travel: On average, travel may be required 2-4 nights each month as well as holidays and weekends. If a case is in litigation, additional travel may be required. Submission Process and Deadline Date: You must submit your application so that it will be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Time Zone on the closing date of the announcement. Please refer to the "How To Apply" section at this link: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/PrintPreview/369723800 Question may be directed to Diane Turner at 202-514-3934 or Diane.M.Turner at usdoj.gov. Benefits: The Department of Justice offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacations, sick leave, holidays, telework, life insurance, health benefits, and, participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System. This link provides an overview of the benefits currently offered to eligible federal employees: http://www.usajobs.gov/ResourcesCenter/Index/Interactive/Benefits#icc. Internet Sites: This and other attorney vacancy announcements can be found at: http://www.justice.gov/careers/legal/attvacancies.html. For more information about the Civil Rights Division, visit the Civil Rights Division's web page. Department Policies: Equal Employment Opportunity: The U.S. Department of Justice is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer. Except where otherwise provided by law, there will be no discrimination because of color, race, religion, national origin, political affiliation, marital status, disability (physical or mental), age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, status as a parent, membership or non-membership in an employee organization, on the basis of personal favoritism, or any non merit factor. The Department of Justice welcomes and encourages applications from persons with physical and mental disabilities. The Department is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on the basis of merit within the Department of Justice. Reasonable Accommodations: This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. Outreach and Recruitment for Qualified Applicants with Disabilities: The Department encourages qualified applicants with disabilities, including individuals with targeted/severe disabilities to apply in response to posted vacancy announcements. Applicants with targeted/severe disabilities include those applicants who are deaf or blind, have missing extremities, partial or complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, or psychiatric disability, and little people/applicants with dwarfism. Qualified applicants with targeted/severe disabilities may be eligible for direct hire, non-competitive appointment under Schedule A (5 C.F.R. § 213.3102(u)) hiring authority. Individuals with targeted/severe disabilities are encouraged to register for the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Shared List of People with Disabilities (the Bender Disability Employment Registry) by submitting their resume to resume at benderconsult.com and referencing "Federal Career Opportunities" in the subject line. Additional information about the Bender Registry is available at www.benderconsult.com. Individuals with targeted/severe disabilities are also encouraged to submit their resumes to the Division by emailing them to CRT.Specprogvacancies at usdoj.gov. Applicants with questions about this process may contact the Division's Disability Point of Contact (DPOC) at (202) 514-3934. Suitability and Citizenship: It is the policy of the Department to achieve a drug-free workplace and persons selected for employment will be required to pass a drug test which screens for illegal drug use prior to final appointment. Employment is also contingent upon the completion and satisfactory adjudication of a background investigation. Only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review and the United States Attorneys' Offices. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, non-U.S. citizens may apply for employment with other organizations, but should be advised that appointments of non-U.S. citizens are extremely rare; such appointments would be possible only if necessary to accomplish the Department's mission and would be subject to strict security requirements. Applicants who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and another country will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Veterans: There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Justice considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g., the DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and other supporting documentation) to their submissions. Although the "point" system is not used, per se, applicants eligible to claim 10-point preference must submit Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, and submit the supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed (visit the OPM website, www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf for a copy of SF 15, which lists the types of 10-point preferences and the required supporting documents). Applicants should note that SF 15 requires supporting documentation associated with service-connected disabilities or receipt of nonservice-connected disability pensions to be dated 1991 or later except in the case of service members submitting official statements or retirement orders from a branch of the Armed Forces showing that his or her retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that he/she was transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more). * * * The Department of Justice cannot control further dissemination and/or posting of information contained in this vacancy announcement. Such posting and/or dissemination are not an endorsement by the Department of the organization or group disseminating and/or posting the information. From blindlaw at nfbnet.org Fri May 16 22:56:34 2014 From: blindlaw at nfbnet.org (Nightingale, Noel via blindlaw) Date: Fri, 16 May 2014 17:56:34 -0500 Subject: [blindlaw] DOJ CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION, EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES SECTION, TRIAL ATTORNEY, GS-905-12/15, ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: 14-ATT-015 In-Reply-To: <41370810CEBD1C4DA64C9361CE162341E21C86ADD2@EDUPTCEXMB01.ed.gov> References: <41370810CEBD1C4DA64C9361CE162341E21C86ADD2@EDUPTCEXMB01.ed.gov> Message-ID: <04F1893C93758F4AA7CB436BB26750660118C2654328@EDUPTCEXMB02.ed.gov> Link: http://www.justice.gov/careers/legal/jobs/14-att-015.htm Text: UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION, EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES SECTION TRIAL ATTORNEY, GS-905-12/15 ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: 14-ATT-015 ________________________________ About the Office: The Civil Rights Division (Division) of the Department of Justice, created by the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, works to uphold the civil and constitutional rights of all Americans, particularly some of the most vulnerable members of our society. The Division is primarily responsible for enforcing federal statutes and executive orders that prohibit, among other things, unlawful discrimination in education, employment, housing, police service, public accommodations and facilities, voting, and federally funded and conducted programs. The Division also has jurisdiction to enforce constitutional prohibitions on certain conduct by law enforcement agencies and public residential institutions, such as health care and correctional facilities. The Educational Opportunities Section (EOS or Section) is responsible for enforcing Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, and religion in public schools and institutions of higher learning; the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 which, among other things, requires states and school districts to provide English Language Learner (ELL) students with appropriate services to overcome language barriers; and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Section also plays a significant role in enforcing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin by recipients of federal funds), Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 (prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex by recipients of federal funds), and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability by recipients of federal funds). The Section may intervene in private suits alleging violations of education-related anti-discrimination statutes and the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. The Section also represents the Department of Education in lawsuits. Who May Apply: United States Citizens Number of Opportunities: 2 - Full Time Excepted Service Time-Limited NTE 9/30/2016 Subject to future funding, candidates selected under this job announcement may be converted to permanent, excepted service appointments. Application Period: Applications are being accepted from Thursday, May 15, 2014 to 11:59 PM (ETZ) on Thursday, June 5, 2014. Responsibilities and Opportunity Offered: The time-limited EOS trial attorneys will analyze the existing Section docket of desegregation cases and do a review of the docket to recommend appropriate action to Section managers, this includes researching and analyzing litigation records, federal court dockets, and public records in the desegregation lawsuits in which the United States has been a party and in related matters. The attorneys will be asked to develop files and systems to process, analyze, and document the status of federal desegregation litigation and make recommendations about future enforcement action by the United States. In addition, attorneys may be asked to investigate complaints of discrimination, including conducting site visits and interviews; conducting legal and factual research; developing legal arguments and drafting memoranda on substantive legal and policy issues; preparing and responding to discovery requests; preparing witnesses and participating in depositions; developing and presenting the government's case in federal court; monitoring and enforcing judgments and agreements to ensure compliance by responding parties; drafting and editing settlement proposals; preparing and participating in settlement negotiations and mediation on behalf of the Division; reviewing and recommending private litigation for amicus participation or intervention; reviewing and contributing to appellate memoranda; analyzing and preparing proposals and recommendations on a variety of legal, policy, regulatory, and legislative documents and guidance; responding to policy inquiries, letters, memoranda, testimony, and other written materials; making public appearances and conducting outreach to educate constituents and stakeholders about the laws that EOS enforces and providing technical assistance on aspects of compliance with those laws. Required Qualifications: Applicants must possess a J.D. or LL.M professional law degree from an American Bar Association accredited law school, be an active member of the bar in good standing (any jurisdiction), and possess the minimum years of post-professional law degree experience commensurate to the grade level of eligibility, as shown below. Applicants must demonstrate superior oral and written communication skills (including strong advocacy skills), possess excellent academic and professional credentials, and outstanding professional references. Applicants must also demonstrate exceptional interpersonal skills and professional judgment, and be able to excel in a highly demanding environment. * At least 1 year - GS-12 ($75,621 to $98,305 per annum) * At least 1.5 years - GS-13 ($89,924 to $116,901 per annum) * At least 2.5 years - GS-14 ($106,263 to $138,136 per annum) * At least 4 years - GS-15 ($124,995 to $157,100 per annum) Preferred Qualifications: Experience handling discrimination and harassment cases, particularly in the education context, is preferred, including: (1) experience litigating discrimination and harassment cases, including handling discovery, litigation strategy, motion practice, trial preparation, and trial; (2) experience negotiating settlements in discrimination or harassment cases; (3) experience investigating allegations of discrimination and harassment, including interviewing witnesses, reviewing documents, and reviewing applicable case law to assess the merits of a case; (4) experience supervising and mentoring attorneys in the development of and preparation for litigation; (5) experience drafting regulations, guidance documents and other policy directives, including experience working with diverse coalitions on legal and/or policy initiatives, and (6) substantive knowledge of and expertise in education discrimination law. In addition, while not required, preferred candidates will have relevant civil rights experience outside of the core competencies of the Section, but within the critical responsibilities of the Division, such that the candidate could play a supporting role in the Division's initiatives. How You Will Be Evaluated: Applicants will be evaluated relative to the qualifications set forth above and other job-related skills, experience and qualifications set forth in their application materials and consistent with merit system principles applicable to hiring for career positions with the Department of Justice. Salary Information: $75,621.00 to $157,100.00 / Per Year Location: Washington, D.C. Relocation Expenses: Relocation expenses are not authorized. Travel: On average, travel may be required 2-4 nights each month as well as holidays and weekends. If a case is in litigation, additional travel may be required. Submission Process and Deadline Date: You must submit your application so that it will be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Time Zone on the closing date of the announcement. Please refer to the "How To Apply" section at this link: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/PrintPreview/369902000 Question may be directed to Diane Turner at 202-514-3934 or Diane.M.Turner at usdoj.gov. Benefits: The Department of Justice offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacations, sick leave, holidays, telework, life insurance, health benefits, and, participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System. This link provides an overview of the benefits currently offered to eligible federal employees: http://www.usajobs.gov/ResourcesCenter/Index/Interactive/Benefits#icc. Internet Sites: This and other attorney vacancy announcements can be found at: http://www.justice.gov/careers/legal/attvacancies.html. For more information about the Civil Rights Division, visit the Civil Rights Division's web page. Department Policies: Equal Employment Opportunity: The U.S. Department of Justice is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer. Except where otherwise provided by law, there will be no discrimination because of color, race, religion, national origin, political affiliation, marital status, disability (physical or mental), age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, status as a parent, membership or non-membership in an employee organization, on the basis of personal favoritism, or any non merit factor. The Department of Justice welcomes and encourages applications from persons with physical and mental disabilities. The Department is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on the basis of merit within the Department of Justice. Reasonable Accommodations: This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. Outreach and Recruitment for Qualified Applicants with Disabilities: The Department encourages qualified applicants with disabilities, including individuals with targeted/severe disabilities to apply in response to posted vacancy announcements. Applicants with targeted/severe disabilities include those applicants who are deaf or blind, have missing extremities, partial or complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, or psychiatric disability, and little people/applicants with dwarfism. Qualified applicants with targeted/severe disabilities may be eligible for direct hire, non-competitive appointment under Schedule A (5 C.F.R. § 213.3102(u)) hiring authority. Individuals with targeted/severe disabilities are encouraged to register for the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Shared List of People with Disabilities (the Bender Disability Employment Registry) by submitting their resume to resume at benderconsult.com and referencing "Federal Career Opportunities" in the subject line. Additional information about the Bender Registry is available at www.benderconsult.com. Individuals with targeted/severe disabilities are also encouraged to submit their resumes to the Division by emailing them to CRT.Specprogvacancies at usdoj.gov. Applicants with questions about this process may contact the Division's Disability Point of Contact (DPOC) at (202) 514-3934. Suitability and Citizenship: It is the policy of the Department to achieve a drug-free workplace and persons selected for employment will be required to pass a drug test which screens for illegal drug use prior to final appointment. Employment is also contingent upon the completion and satisfactory adjudication of a background investigation. Only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review and the United States Attorneys' Offices. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, non-U.S. citizens may apply for employment with other organizations, but should be advised that appointments of non-U.S. citizens are extremely rare; such appointments would be possible only if necessary to accomplish the Department's mission and would be subject to strict security requirements. Applicants who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and another country will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Veterans: There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Justice considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g., the DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and other supporting documentation) to their submissions. Although the "point" system is not used, per se, applicants eligible to claim 10-point preference must submit Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, and submit the supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed (visit the OPM website, www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf for a copy of SF 15, which lists the types of 10-point preferences and the required supporting documents). Applicants should note that SF 15 requires supporting documentation associated with service-connected disabilities or receipt of nonservice-connected disability pensions to be dated 1991 or later except in the case of service members submitting official statements or retirement orders from a branch of the Armed Forces showing that his or her retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that he/she was transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more). * * * The Department of Justice cannot control further dissemination and/or posting of information contained in this vacancy announcement. Such posting and/or dissemination are not an endorsement by the Department of the organization or group disseminating and/or posting the information. From blindlaw at nfbnet.org Fri May 16 22:57:24 2014 From: blindlaw at nfbnet.org (Nightingale, Noel via blindlaw) Date: Fri, 16 May 2014 17:57:24 -0500 Subject: [blindlaw] DOJ CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION, EMPLOYMENT LITIGATION SECTION, TRIAL ATTORNEY, GS-0905-12/15, ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: 14-ATT-007 In-Reply-To: <41370810CEBD1C4DA64C9361CE162341E21C86ADDA@EDUPTCEXMB01.ed.gov> References: <41370810CEBD1C4DA64C9361CE162341E21C86ADDA@EDUPTCEXMB01.ed.gov> Message-ID: <04F1893C93758F4AA7CB436BB26750660118C2654329@EDUPTCEXMB02.ed.gov> Link: http://www.justice.gov/careers/legal/jobs/14-att-007.htm Text: UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION, EMPLOYMENT LITIGATION SECTION TRIAL ATTORNEY, GS-0905-12/15 ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: 14-ATT-007 ________________________________ About the Office: The Civil Rights Division, (Division) of the Department of Justice, created by the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, works to uphold the civil and constitutional rights of all Americans, particularly some of the most vulnerable members of our society. The Division is primarily responsible for enforcing federal statutes and executive orders that prohibit, among other things, unlawful discrimination in education, employment, housing, police service, public accommodations and facilities, voting, and federally funded and conducted programs. The Division also has jurisdiction to enforce constitutional prohibitions on certain conduct by law enforcement agencies and public residential institutions, such as health care and correctional facilities. The Employment Litigation Section (ELS) enforces federal statutes and executive orders that prohibit, among other things, unlawful discrimination in voting, education, employment, housing, police services, public accommodations and facilities, and federally funded and conducted programs. ELS enforces federal statutes that prohibit employment discrimination. These statutes include Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2000e, which ELS enforces as to state and local government employers, and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, 38 U.S.C. 4312, which ELS enforces as to private, state and local government employers. ELS also defends the United States and/or federal agencies in lawsuits that challenge the constitutionality of the federal government's disadvantaged business enterprise ("DBE") contracting programs, and has responsibility for litigation enforcing Executive Order 11246, which prohibits discrimination by federal contractors and subcontractors. ELS attorneys enjoy a diverse practice before federal district courts throughout the country, often with complex trials and negotiated settlements. One or more positions may be filled from this vacancy announcement. Who May Apply: United States Citizens Number of Opportunities: 1 Application Period: Applications are being accepted from Friday, May 09, 2014 to 11:59 PM (ETZ) on Friday, May 30, 2014. Responsibilities and Opportunity Offered: Trial attorneys are responsible for developing investigations and litigation addressing all aspects of the ELS' enforcement duties including planning and conducting investigations to assess potential violations the laws enforced by ELS; analyzing and evaluating data and evidence, including witness statements, documents, and statistical data for pattern or practice investigations; researching all legal issues, including likely defenses and counter-arguments; drafting written recommendations for further investigation and/or enforcement litigation that include relevant facts, legal authorities, strengths and weaknesses of the case, remedies sought, and analysis to support recommended action(s); drafting complaints and other litigation-related correspondence; developing cases for trial though pre-trial discovery; trial and trial preparation; and negotiating settlements. ELS attorneys enjoy a diverse practice before federal district courts throughout the country, often with complex trials and negotiated settlements. Required Qualifications: Applicants must possess a J.D. or LL.M professional law degree from an American Bar Association accredited law school, be an active member of the bar in good standing (any jurisdiction), and possess the minimum years of post-professional law degree experience commensurate to the grade level of eligibility, as shown below. Applicants also must have demonstrated academic achievement; strong written and oral communication skills; the ability to analyze complex issues; outstanding skill and experience working collaboratively and productively with others; strong organizational skills; solid professional judgment; demonstrated initiative; and the ability to excel in a fast-paced, demanding environment. * At least 1 year - GS-12 ($75,621 to $98,305 per annum) * At least 1.5 years - GS-13 ($89,924 to $116,901 per annum) * At least 2.5 years - GS-14 ($106,263 to $138,136 per annum) * At least 4 years - GS-15 ($124,995 to $157,100 per annum) Preferred Qualifications: Federal employment discrimination litigation experience is preferred and that factor will be considered both in the selection of applicants and the GS grade offered. Such experience includes (1) substantive knowledge and expertise of Title VII law; (2) experience investigating allegations of employment discrimination, including interviewing witnesses, reviewing documents and reviewing applicable case law to assess the merits of a case; (3) experience litigating employment discrimination cases, including handling discovery, litigation strategy, motions practice and trial preparation; and (4) experience negotiating settlements in employment discrimination cases. Judicial clerkships, experience serving as the lead attorney in federal court employment discrimination cases, and experience litigating pattern or practice and/or testing cases are also preferred. How You Will Be Evaluated: Applicants will be evaluated relative to the qualifications set forth above and other job-related skills, experience and qualifications set forth in their application materials and consistent with merit system principles applicable to hiring for career positions with the Department of Justice. Salary Information: $75,621.00 to $157,100.00 / Per Year Location: Washington, D.C. Relocation Expenses: Relocation expenses are not authorized. Travel: Significant travel may be required. Submission Process and Deadline Date: You must submit your application so that it will be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Time Zone on the closing date of the announcement. Please refer to the "How To Apply" section at this link: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/368873000 Question may be directed to Harry Vickers at 202-514-3934 or Harry.Vickers at usdoj.gov. Benefits: The Department of Justice offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacations, sick leave, holidays, telework, life insurance, health benefits, and, participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System. This link provides an overview of the benefits currently offered to eligible federal employees: http://www.usajobs.gov/ResourcesCenter/Index/Interactive/Benefits#icc. Internet Sites: This and other attorney vacancy announcements can be found at: http://www.justice.gov/careers/legal/attvacancies.html. For more information about the Civil Rights Division, visit the Civil Rights Division's web page. Department Policies: Equal Employment Opportunity: The U.S. Department of Justice is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer. Except where otherwise provided by law, there will be no discrimination because of color, race, religion, national origin, political affiliation, marital status, disability (physical or mental), age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, status as a parent, membership or non-membership in an employee organization, on the basis of personal favoritism, or any non merit factor. The Department of Justice welcomes and encourages applications from persons with physical and mental disabilities. The Department is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on the basis of merit within the Department of Justice. Reasonable Accommodations: This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. Outreach and Recruitment for Qualified Applicants with Disabilities: The Department encourages qualified applicants with disabilities, including individuals with targeted/severe disabilities to apply in response to posted vacancy announcements. Applicants with targeted/severe disabilities include those applicants who are deaf or blind, have missing extremities, partial or complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, or psychiatric disability, and little people/applicants with dwarfism. Qualified applicants with targeted/severe disabilities may be eligible for direct hire, non-competitive appointment under Schedule A (5 C.F.R. § 213.3102(u)) hiring authority. Individuals with targeted/severe disabilities are encouraged to register for the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Shared List of People with Disabilities (the Bender Disability Employment Registry) by submitting their resume to resume at benderconsult.com and referencing "Federal Career Opportunities" in the subject line. Additional information about the Bender Registry is available at www.benderconsult.com. Individuals with targeted/severe disabilities are also encouraged to submit their resumes to the Division by emailing them to CRT.Specprogvacancies at usdoj.gov. Applicants with questions about this process may contact the Division's Disability Point of Contact (DPOC) at (202) 514-3934. Suitability and Citizenship: It is the policy of the Department to achieve a drug-free workplace and persons selected for employment will be required to pass a drug test which screens for illegal drug use prior to final appointment. Employment is also contingent upon the completion and satisfactory adjudication of a background investigation. Only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review and the United States Attorneys' Offices. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, non-U.S. citizens may apply for employment with other organizations, but should be advised that appointments of non-U.S. citizens are extremely rare; such appointments would be possible only if necessary to accomplish the Department's mission and would be subject to strict security requirements. Applicants who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and another country will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Veterans: There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Justice considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g., the DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and other supporting documentation) to their submissions. Although the "point" system is not used, per se, applicants eligible to claim 10-point preference must submit Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, and submit the supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed (visit the OPM website, www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf for a copy of SF 15, which lists the types of 10-point preferences and the required supporting documents). Applicants should note that SF 15 requires supporting documentation associated with service-connected disabilities or receipt of nonservice-connected disability pensions to be dated 1991 or later except in the case of service members submitting official statements or retirement orders from a branch of the Armed Forces showing that his or her retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that he/she was transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more). * * * The Department of Justice cannot control further dissemination and/or posting of information contained in this vacancy announcement. Such posting and/or dissemination are not an endorsement by the Department of the organization or group disseminating and/or posting the information.] From blindlaw at nfbnet.org Tue May 20 02:18:27 2014 From: blindlaw at nfbnet.org (Daniel McBride via blindlaw) Date: Mon, 19 May 2014 21:18:27 -0500 Subject: [blindlaw] family law issues Message-ID: <021501cf73d1$c9fc0690$5df413b0$@sbcglobal.net> To Those Who Practice Family Law: I would appreciate any thoughts you might have regarding the following. John and Jane Doe have a Baby. Jane is sighted, John is blind. When Baby Doe is 2 years old, Jane abandons John and Baby, who are then living alone. John has Baby removed from his custody by Child Protective Services and an Attorney Ad Litem is appointed to represent the best interests of Baby Doe. John's income is less than $20,000 annually and he has a bit of a drinking issue. After removal, by agreement between John and CPS, Baby is placed with John's mother. John's mother offers to let John live with her to help raise Baby to point that John is better able to raise Baby on his own, but mother says John must give up the drinking. John does not wish to accept his mother's offer if it means giving up his drinking. If you are the attorney for John, what arguments would you put forth to justify John having custody of Baby? If you were the Ad Litem for Baby, would position might you take to protect the physical, mental and emotional welfare of Baby? Is there any provision of the American With Disabilities Act that would apply here? Thanking you in advance, I am Respectfully, Daniel McBride Attorney at Law Fort Worth, Texas, From blindlaw at nfbnet.org Tue May 20 03:26:02 2014 From: blindlaw at nfbnet.org (Sy Hoekstra via blindlaw) Date: Mon, 19 May 2014 23:26:02 -0400 Subject: [blindlaw] family law issues In-Reply-To: <021501cf73d1$c9fc0690$5df413b0$@sbcglobal.net> References: <021501cf73d1$c9fc0690$5df413b0$@sbcglobal.net> Message-ID: <003a01cf73db$3ae60960$b0b21c20$@gmail.com> Not sure about ADA provisions. It's mostly state law I think in this area, but here are some cases to look at: The mother of all the don't discriminate against disabled parents cases is In re Marriage of Carney, 598 P.2d 36 (Cal. 1979). And a few others Potentially Helpful: Bednarski v. Bednarski, 366 N.W.2d 69 (Mich. Ct.App. 1985) Clark v. Madden, 725 N.E.2d 100 (Ind. Ct. App. 2000). Potentially not helpful, note the parent's drug issue Gill v. Dufrene, 706 So. 2d 518 (La. Ct. App. 1997) Sy -----Original Message----- From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Daniel McBride via blindlaw Sent: Monday, May 19, 2014 10:18 PM To: Blind Law Mailing List Subject: [blindlaw] family law issues To Those Who Practice Family Law: I would appreciate any thoughts you might have regarding the following. John and Jane Doe have a Baby. Jane is sighted, John is blind. When Baby Doe is 2 years old, Jane abandons John and Baby, who are then living alone. John has Baby removed from his custody by Child Protective Services and an Attorney Ad Litem is appointed to represent the best interests of Baby Doe. John's income is less than $20,000 annually and he has a bit of a drinking issue. After removal, by agreement between John and CPS, Baby is placed with John's mother. John's mother offers to let John live with her to help raise Baby to point that John is better able to raise Baby on his own, but mother says John must give up the drinking. John does not wish to accept his mother's offer if it means giving up his drinking. If you are the attorney for John, what arguments would you put forth to justify John having custody of Baby? If you were the Ad Litem for Baby, would position might you take to protect the physical, mental and emotional welfare of Baby? Is there any provision of the American With Disabilities Act that would apply here? Thanking you in advance, I am Respectfully, Daniel McBride Attorney at Law Fort Worth, Texas, _______________________________________________ blindlaw mailing list blindlaw at nfbnet.org http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for blindlaw: http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/sy.hoekstra%40gmail.co m From blindlaw at nfbnet.org Tue May 20 17:25:02 2014 From: blindlaw at nfbnet.org (Nightingale, Noel via blindlaw) Date: Tue, 20 May 2014 12:25:02 -0500 Subject: [blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination Lawsuit In-Reply-To: <17029001.1031@public.govdelivery.com> References: <17029001.1031@public.govdelivery.com> Message-ID: <04F1893C93758F4AA7CB436BB26750660118C2654606@EDUPTCEXMB02.ed.gov> From: U.S. Department of Justice [mailto:usdoj at public.govdelivery.com] Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2014 10:07 AM To: Nightingale, Noel Subject: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination Lawsuit The Justice Department filed a joint motion today for entry of a landmark consent decree to resolve allegations that the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) engaged in widespread and systemic discrimination in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Under the proposed consent decree, LSAC will pay $7.73 million in penalties and damages to compensate well over 6,000 individuals nationwide who applied for testing accommodations on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) over the past five years. The decree also requires comprehensive reforms to LSAC’s policies and ends its practice of “flagging,” or annotating, LSAT score reports for test takers with disabilities who receive extended time as an accommodation. These reforms will impact tens of thousands of test takers with disabilities for years to come. For more information or for a copy of the consent decree, please visit our ADA website at www.ada.gov. Those interested in finding out more about the ADA may also call the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TDD). ________________________________ [cid:image001.jpg at 01CF7415.C25F8990] Follow The Department of Justice on Twitter. | [cid:image001.jpg at 01CF7415.C25F8990] Like The Department of Justice on Facebook. ________________________________ You have received this e-mail because you have asked to be notified of changes to the U.S. Department of Justice website. GovDelivery is providing this service on behalf of the Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW · Washington, DC 20530 · 202-514-2000 and may not use your subscription information for any other purposes. Manage your Subscriptions | Department of Justice Privacy Policy | GovDelivery Privacy Policy -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 335 bytes Desc: image001.jpg URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image002.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 332 bytes Desc: image002.jpg URL: From blindlaw at nfbnet.org Wed May 21 14:37:15 2014 From: blindlaw at nfbnet.org (Scott C. LaBarre via blindlaw) Date: Wed, 21 May 2014 08:37:15 -0600 Subject: [blindlaw] 2014 NFB National Convention Message-ID: <025601cf7502$29ba3fd0$7d2ebf70$@labarrelaw.com> Greetings BlindLaw: Below is a message from John Pare, Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives for NFB, regarding our national convention. I echo his remarks. Additionally, I wanted to point out that the National Association of Blind Lawyers will be conducting a couple of events at the Convention. Our Mock Trial, where we reenact some form of discrimination case against the blind will take place on July 2nd and the NABL annualmeeting will happen on July 3rd in the afternoon with a reception to follow. Many of our members use our annual meeting as a source of CLE credit. More information will be coming soon. Best, Scott Dear Fellow Federationists: The 2014 National Federation of the Blind National Convention, to be held at the Rosen Centre July 1-6, is rapidly approaching. If you have not yet preregistered or reserved your room at the Rosen Centre, we encourage you to do so as soon as possible. You won't want to miss what is always the largest and most exciting gathering of blind people in the country! Rooms at the Rosen Centre are available on a first-come, first-served basis until our block is filled or until May 28, whichever comes first. After our block is filled and/or after May 28, the hotel has no obligation to accept any further reservations. The room block often fills up before the deadline, which is less than two weeks away! To make a reservation now and ensure you don't miss out on the special room rates associated with our block, please call the Rosen Centre at (800) 204-7234. The deadline for preregistration for the national convention is also quickly approaching - preregistration ends at midnight on May 31. As always, we encourage you to preregister online ( http://lx-web.nfb.org/convention) and avoid waiting in the long lines at convention. You will also save some money by preregistering -the preregistration fee for convention is $25 ($30 on site) and the cost of a banquet ticket is $55 ($60 on site). Looking forward to seeing you at the Rosen Centre in July From blindlaw at nfbnet.org Fri May 23 18:37:55 2014 From: blindlaw at nfbnet.org (Nightingale, Noel via blindlaw) Date: Fri, 23 May 2014 13:37:55 -0500 Subject: [blindlaw] FW: Attorney Vacancies at the U.S. Department of Justice In-Reply-To: References: <5A114E4DF190414C9DEC8CF5D78729BD0BD88E0574@GSD-MBX-RDC06.gsd.doj.gov> <98A98D365DA17347B0FA3158D79B489447BB94BA@DPRC-EXCH-P07.JCONMAIL.doj.gov> Message-ID: <04F1893C93758F4AA7CB436BB26750660118C26F2130@EDUPTCEXMB02.ed.gov> From: Jobs [mailto:jobs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Maurer, Patricia via Jobs Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2014 11:01 AM To: jobs at nfbnet.org Subject: [Jobs] FW: Attorney Vacancies at the U.S. Department of Justice From: Hunter, Sue (JMD) [mailto:Sue.Hunter at usdoj.gov] Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2014 1:03 PM To: Hunter, Sue (JMD) Subject: Attorney Vacancies at the U.S. Department of Justice Below is a list of current attorney vacancies at the United States Department of Justice. We encourage all interested applicants to apply; To learn more about Justice and our legal careers, please visit our website: www.justice.gov/careers/legal/. In addition, every year over 1,800 volunteer legal interns serve in DOJ components and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices throughout the country. If you know any law students who may be interested in a DOJ volunteer internship, please encourage them to review the many opportunities featured at www.justice.gov/careers/legal/volunteer-intern.html. Finally, please share this email with interested colleagues and peers. If you wish to update the contact information for you or the organization you represent, or no longer wish to receive these periodic email announcements, please respond to this email address and ask to be removed from our mailing list. Thank you. Attorney Advisor GS-905-15: $124,995 - $157, 100 14-EOUSA-1120657 Applications must be received by May 28, 2014. Date posted: 5-21-2014 U.S. Department of Justice Assistant United States Attorney United States Attorney's Office District of Oregon Eugene, Oregon Closing Date: 5/29/2014 or until filled Vacancy Announcement: 14-OR-03 Interested persons must mail or email no later than May 29, 2014. Date posted: 5-21-2014 U.S. Department of Justice Assistant United States Attorney United States Attorney's Office Southern District of Iowa Location: Davenport, Iowa Salary: $45,027 to $132,849 Opening Date: 5/21/14 Closing Date: 6/6/14 14-SDIA-04 Applications must be received by 4:00 p.m. CST on the closing date of June 6, 2014. Date posted: 5-21-2014 United States Attorney's Office Eastern District of California Assistant United States Attorney Civil Division, Affirmative Unit Fresno, California May 20, 2014 14-EDCA-15A This position is open until filled but no later than Tuesday, May 19, 2015. Date posted: 5-20-2014 U.S. Department of Justice Assistant United States Attorney United States Attorney's Office Middle District of Louisiana Vacancy Announcement NO: 14-MDLA-03 Applications must be postmarked no later than Tuesday, May 27th, 2014 to be considered. Date posted: 5-20-2014 U.S. Department of Justice Assistant United States Attorney United States Attorney's Office Eastern District of Wisconsin Opening and Closing date: Monday May 19, 2014 ظ€ô Tuesday June 10, 2014 Vacancy Announcement Number: 14-EDWI-1123088-AUSA-01. Date posted: 5-20-2014 U.S. Department of Justice Assistant United States Attorney United States Attorney's Office Northern District of Alabama Opening and Closing Date: May 20, 2014 - June 18, 2014 14-NDAL-04. Date posted: 5-20-2014 Experienced Attorney / GS-905-15 U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division Office of Enforcement Operations 14-CRM-OEO-054 Closing Date: June 2, 2014 The Application Package must be received by 11:59 PM, Eastern Time, on the closing date of this announcement. Date posted: 5-19-2014 Pardon Attorney, ES-905 Office of the Pardon Attorney U.S. Department of Justice Washington, D.C. Announcement #: 14-SES-ODAG-02 All applications (including mailed applications) MUST BE RECEIVED BY 11:59 PM EST on Friday, May 30, 2014. Date posted: 5-16-2014 U.S. Department of Justice Assistant United States Attorney United States Attorney's Office Eastern District of Texas Plano, Texas Opening Date: May 16, 2014 Closing Date: May 30, 2014 Vacancy Announcement No.: 14-EDTX-1123279-AUSA-06 Applications must be received by Friday, May 30, 2014. Date posted: 5-16-2014 United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Educational Opportunities Section Trial Attorney, GS-905-12/15 Announcement Number: 14-ATT-015 Applications are being accepted from Thursday, May 15, 2014 to 11:59 PM (ETZ) on Thursday, June 5, 2014. Date posted: 5-16-2014 United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Educational Opportunities Section Trial Attorney, GS-905-13/15 Announcement Number: 14-ATT-014 Applications are being accepted from Wednesday, May 14, 2014 to 11:59 PM (ETZ) on Wednesday, June 4, 2014. Date posted: 5-16-2014 United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Employment Litigation Section Trial Attorney, GS-0905-12/15 Announcement Number: 14-ATT-007 Applications are being accepted from Friday, May 09, 2014 to 11:59 PM (ETZ) on Friday, May 30, 2014. Date posted: 5-16-2014 U.S. Department of Justice Assistant United States Attorney United States Attorney's Office Western District of Arkansas Vacancy Announcement: 14-WDAR-05t Interested applicants should send a cover letter, detailed resume, and writing sample, postmarked no later than June 7, 2014. Date posted: 5-16-2014 Assistant United States Attorney United States Attorney's Office District of Connecticut Vacancy Announcement No. 14-CT-03 Applications must be received by May 23, 2014. Date posted: 5-16-2014 -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ Jobs mailing list Jobs at nfbnet.org http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/jobs_nfbnet.org To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Jobs: http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/jobs_nfbnet.org/noel.nightingale%40ed.gov From blindlaw at nfbnet.org Sat May 24 03:10:54 2014 From: blindlaw at nfbnet.org (via blindlaw) Date: Fri, 23 May 2014 23:10:54 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [blindlaw] need advice Message-ID: <2cc43.610ac36a.40b167be@aol.com> Hi, I am not one to put messages on the list very often but I am looking for some advice from others though…to get an idea of what others might do in my situation. I apologize for the length. Just some quick background information first. I am legally blind. I am finishing my 12th year of teaching in an inner city public school system as a special education teacher. I have taught in the same school district for my entire career. They hired me knowing that I was legally blind and might need a couple reasonable accommodations. For 10 years or so, the district’s administration was very helpful and very willing to provide any reasonable accommodations to me I requested. I certainly wasn’t pushy and only asked for things that were essential. They were always more than willing to comply with my requests and never questioned anything. Even during those 10 years, I had several different principals, 2 different Special Education directors, and a couple different Superintendents that I worked under. For the most part, with the exception of one principal that caused problems for everyone, I had no issues with any administration and any requests I made. The one issue I did have with the principal, the Superintendent at the time quickly corrected the issue. In the last couple years, we have acquired a new Superintendent, a new Special Education director, and new principals. The response I have received from the current administration has been very different. At the beginning of December of last year, I made a request for a reasonable accommodation to my principals. They ignored my request. I again asked a couple more times, getting more specific and more direct each time… .while still being professional and respectful. I was still ignored. Then at the beginning of January, I contacted the Superintendent in an attempt to resolve the issue, which had worked the one other time I had had issues with a principal. The Superintendent also ignored my attempt to contact him and never responded. After discussing it with our union’s attorney (who also happens to practice disability law), it was decided that I would file an internal ADA complaint within the district. I filed the complaint and chose to have our union’s attorney act as my representation. The district contacted their attorney who then contacted my attorney. After some discussion and despite my anger, I agreed to mediate the issue without the district having to go through the investigation process first. Although I was angry because I felt that the district’s actions were totally out of line and unnecessary, I was not going into this with an attitude of “I’m out to get them”. I just wanted to continue to be treated in the same manner I had been for 10 years and be provided reasonable accommodations when I requested them, nothing more. We held a meeting where it was myself, my attorney, the district’s attorney, and administration. We came to a written and signed agreement between the district and myself as to the reasonable accommodations that I needed and the district was willing to provide. I thought with the signed agreement and my dismissal of the complaint, that we’d all be able to move on and I’d get what I needed. The agreement was supposed to be distributed to all administrators that I work with or under so that they were aware of the agreement and its contents. About 2 weeks later, I was speaking to one of the administrators and I mentioned the agreement….and they seemed to be unaware of the agreement or its contents. This concerned me. I asked a couple other administrators and received the same response. So I called my attorney and told her my concerns. I said “How can I expect these people to follow an agreement that they don’t even seem to be aware of? I mean, that doesn’t seem very fair to them.” She then contacted the district’s attorney and we ended up on a three-way conference call. I explained my concerns. She did have documentation that all the administration had been informed of it but stated that she would make contact again with the Superintendent’s office and tell them that they needed to check again with their administrators to ensure they were well aware of the agreement and expectations. Again, I wasn’t out to “get them”…I was simply just trying to prevent another issue. This was like 2 months ago. So, now comes today. I was at a district level professional development meeting in which I was to be provided a reasonable accommodation that would allow me gain the information I needed and fully participate in the professional development. Mind you, this professional development is information and training on our new state level teacher evaluation system….which in turn, directly correlates to my evaluation and ultimately, my job. So, yes, it is extremely important stuff. The accommodation I was to be provided today was on the signed agreement we made months ago. The two administrators who ran the professional development were both people who were provided the information….one of which was ironically, the Special Education director. Despite the agreement, I was not provided the accommodation. I had to go through the training without it. Needless to say, I am angry and frustrated. I had 10 great years with no issues. I’ve tried very hard to work with the current administration and have tried to understanding and forgiving. I’ve given them chances to make things right and do the right thing. They just don’t seem to care!!! So, my question is……..what avenue would you do next? Would you try and mediate yet again, even though they are obviously refusing to follow the agreement that is already made? Would you file a complaint outside the district? What direction would you take from here? What suggestions do you have? Any thoughts are appreciated! Thanks in advance, Nicole From blindlaw at nfbnet.org Sat May 24 09:43:52 2014 From: blindlaw at nfbnet.org (Rod Alcidonis, Esquire via blindlaw) Date: Sat, 24 May 2014 05:43:52 -0400 Subject: [blindlaw] need advice In-Reply-To: <2cc43.610ac36a.40b167be@aol.com> References: <2cc43.610ac36a.40b167be@aol.com> Message-ID: <8EBCA4407BFF45E08532048CBF56B490@RodTHINK> To Nicole and everybody else: Folks, this is not legal but commonsense advice. Please remember that this listserv is a public listserv. In other words, within a few weeks, the content of your post can be found on the internet with a simple google search. I always cringe when I see such detailed posts regarding a private matter on a public forum. My 2cents. Rod -----Original Message----- From: via blindlaw Sent: Friday, May 23, 2014 11:10 PM To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org Subject: [blindlaw] need advice Hi, I am not one to put messages on the list very often but I am looking for some advice from others though…to get an idea of what others might do in my situation. I apologize for the length. Just some quick background information first. I am legally blind. I am finishing my 12th year of teaching in an inner city public school system as a special education teacher. I have taught in the same school district for my entire career. They hired me knowing that I was legally blind and might need a couple reasonable accommodations. For 10 years or so, the district’s administration was very helpful and very willing to provide any reasonable accommodations to me I requested. I certainly wasn’t pushy and only asked for things that were essential. They were always more than willing to comply with my requests and never questioned anything. Even during those 10 years, I had several different principals, 2 different Special Education directors, and a couple different Superintendents that I worked under. For the most part, with the exception of one principal that caused problems for everyone, I had no issues with any administration and any requests I made. The one issue I did have with the principal, the Superintendent at the time quickly corrected the issue. In the last couple years, we have acquired a new Superintendent, a new Special Education director, and new principals. The response I have received from the current administration has been very different. At the beginning of December of last year, I made a request for a reasonable accommodation to my principals. They ignored my request. I again asked a couple more times, getting more specific and more direct each time… .while still being professional and respectful. I was still ignored. Then at the beginning of January, I contacted the Superintendent in an attempt to resolve the issue, which had worked the one other time I had had issues with a principal. The Superintendent also ignored my attempt to contact him and never responded. After discussing it with our union’s attorney (who also happens to practice disability law), it was decided that I would file an internal ADA complaint within the district. I filed the complaint and chose to have our union’s attorney act as my representation. The district contacted their attorney who then contacted my attorney. After some discussion and despite my anger, I agreed to mediate the issue without the district having to go through the investigation process first. Although I was angry because I felt that the district’s actions were totally out of line and unnecessary, I was not going into this with an attitude of “I’m out to get them”. I just wanted to continue to be treated in the same manner I had been for 10 years and be provided reasonable accommodations when I requested them, nothing more. We held a meeting where it was myself, my attorney, the district’s attorney, and administration. We came to a written and signed agreement between the district and myself as to the reasonable accommodations that I needed and the district was willing to provide. I thought with the signed agreement and my dismissal of the complaint, that we’d all be able to move on and I’d get what I needed. The agreement was supposed to be distributed to all administrators that I work with or under so that they were aware of the agreement and its contents. About 2 weeks later, I was speaking to one of the administrators and I mentioned the agreement….and they seemed to be unaware of the agreement or its contents. This concerned me. I asked a couple other administrators and received the same response. So I called my attorney and told her my concerns. I said “How can I expect these people to follow an agreement that they don’t even seem to be aware of? I mean, that doesn’t seem very fair to them.” She then contacted the district’s attorney and we ended up on a three-way conference call. I explained my concerns. She did have documentation that all the administration had been informed of it but stated that she would make contact again with the Superintendent’s office and tell them that they needed to check again with their administrators to ensure they were well aware of the agreement and expectations. Again, I wasn’t out to “get them”…I was simply just trying to prevent another issue. This was like 2 months ago. So, now comes today. I was at a district level professional development meeting in which I was to be provided a reasonable accommodation that would allow me gain the information I needed and fully participate in the professional development. Mind you, this professional development is information and training on our new state level teacher evaluation system….which in turn, directly correlates to my evaluation and ultimately, my job. So, yes, it is extremely important stuff. The accommodation I was to be provided today was on the signed agreement we made months ago. The two administrators who ran the professional development were both people who were provided the information….one of which was ironically, the Special Education director. Despite the agreement, I was not provided the accommodation. I had to go through the training without it. Needless to say, I am angry and frustrated. I had 10 great years with no issues. I’ve tried very hard to work with the current administration and have tried to understanding and forgiving. I’ve given them chances to make things right and do the right thing. They just don’t seem to care!!! So, my question is……..what avenue would you do next? Would you try and mediate yet again, even though they are obviously refusing to follow the agreement that is already made? Would you file a complaint outside the district? What direction would you take from here? What suggestions do you have? Any thoughts are appreciated! Thanks in advance, Nicole _______________________________________________ blindlaw mailing list blindlaw at nfbnet.org http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for blindlaw: http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/attorney%40alcidonislaw.com From blindlaw at nfbnet.org Sat May 24 12:45:11 2014 From: blindlaw at nfbnet.org (Kathryn Carroll via blindlaw) Date: Sat, 24 May 2014 12:45:11 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [blindlaw] response to Nicole In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <2016577155.537.1400935513335.JavaMail.tomcat@domU-12-31-39-05-28-E1> What did the blind educators division have to say?   Kathryn Carroll, J.D.  Ph: (631) 521-3018/ Fax: (347) 630-0529     From: via blindlaw (blindlaw at nfbnet.org) Sent: Saturday, May 24, 2014 08:00 AM To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org Subject: blindlaw Digest, Vol 120, Issue 16   Send blindlaw mailing list submissions to blindlaw at nfbnet.org To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to blindlaw-request at nfbnet.org You can reach the person managing the list at blindlaw-owner at nfbnet.org When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of blindlaw digest..." Today's Topics: 1. FW: Attorney Vacancies at the U.S. Department of Justice (Nightingale, Noel via blindlaw) 2. need advice (via blindlaw) 3. Re: need advice (Rod Alcidonis, Esquire via blindlaw) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Fri, 23 May 2014 13:37:55 -0500 From: "Nightingale, Noel via blindlaw" To: "blindlaw at nfbnet.org" Subject: [blindlaw] FW: Attorney Vacancies at the U.S. Department of Justice Message-ID: <04F1893C93758F4AA7CB436BB26750660118C26F2130 at EDUPTCEXMB02.ed.gov> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" From: Jobs [mailto:jobs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Maurer, Patricia via Jobs Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2014 11:01 AM To: jobs at nfbnet.org Subject: [Jobs] FW: Attorney Vacancies at the U.S. Department of Justice From: Hunter, Sue (JMD) [mailto:Sue.Hunter at usdoj.gov] Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2014 1:03 PM To: Hunter, Sue (JMD) Subject: Attorney Vacancies at the U.S. Department of Justice Below is a list of current attorney vacancies at the United States Department of Justice. We encourage all interested applicants to apply; To learn more about Justice and our legal careers, please visit our website: www.justice.gov/careers/legal/. In addition, every year over 1,800 volunteer legal interns serve in DOJ components and U.S. Attorneys? Offices throughout the country. If you know any law students who may be interested in a DOJ volunteer internship, please encourage them to review the many opportunities featured at www.justice.gov/careers/legal/volunteer-intern.html. Finally, please share this email with interested colleagues and peers. If you wish to update the contact information for you or the organization you represent, or no longer wish to receive these periodic email announcements, please respond to this email address and ask to be removed from our mailing list. Thank you. Attorney Advisor GS-905-15: $124,995 - $157, 100 14-EOUSA-1120657 Applications must be received by May 28, 2014. Date posted: 5-21-2014 U.S. Department of Justice Assistant United States Attorney United States Attorney's Office District of Oregon Eugene, Oregon Closing Date: 5/29/2014 or until filled Vacancy Announcement: 14-OR-03 Interested persons must mail or email no later than May 29, 2014. Date posted: 5-21-2014 U.S. Department of Justice Assistant United States Attorney United States Attorney's Office Southern District of Iowa Location: Davenport, Iowa Salary: $45,027 to $132,849 Opening Date: 5/21/14 Closing Date: 6/6/14 14-SDIA-04 Applications must be received by 4:00 p.m. CST on the closing date of June 6, 2014. Date posted: 5-21-2014 United States Attorney's Office Eastern District of California Assistant United States Attorney Civil Division, Affirmative Unit Fresno, California May 20, 2014 14-EDCA-15A This position is open until filled but no later than Tuesday, May 19, 2015. Date posted: 5-20-2014 U.S. Department of Justice Assistant United States Attorney United States Attorney's Office Middle District of Louisiana Vacancy Announcement NO: 14-MDLA-03 Applications must be postmarked no later than Tuesday, May 27th, 2014 to be considered. Date posted: 5-20-2014 U.S. Department of Justice Assistant United States Attorney United States Attorney's Office Eastern District of Wisconsin Opening and Closing date: Monday May 19, 2014 ??? Tuesday June 10, 2014 Vacancy Announcement Number: 14-EDWI-1123088-AUSA-01. Date posted: 5-20-2014 U.S. Department of Justice Assistant United States Attorney United States Attorney's Office Northern District of Alabama Opening and Closing Date: May 20, 2014 - June 18, 2014 14-NDAL-04. Date posted: 5-20-2014 Experienced Attorney / GS-905-15 U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division Office of Enforcement Operations 14-CRM-OEO-054 Closing Date: June 2, 2014 The Application Package must be received by 11:59 PM, Eastern Time, on the closing date of this announcement. Date posted: 5-19-2014 Pardon Attorney, ES-905 Office of the Pardon Attorney U.S. Department of Justice Washington, D.C. Announcement #: 14-SES-ODAG-02 All applications (including mailed applications) MUST BE RECEIVED BY 11:59 PM EST on Friday, May 30, 2014. Date posted: 5-16-2014 U.S. Department of Justice Assistant United States Attorney United States Attorney's Office Eastern District of Texas Plano, Texas Opening Date: May 16, 2014 Closing Date: May 30, 2014 Vacancy Announcement No.: 14-EDTX-1123279-AUSA-06 Applications must be received by Friday, May 30, 2014. Date posted: 5-16-2014 United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Educational Opportunities Section Trial Attorney, GS-905-12/15 Announcement Number: 14-ATT-015 Applications are being accepted from Thursday, May 15, 2014 to 11:59 PM (ETZ) on Thursday, June 5, 2014. Date posted: 5-16-2014 United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Educational Opportunities Section Trial Attorney, GS-905-13/15 Announcement Number: 14-ATT-014 Applications are being accepted from Wednesday, May 14, 2014 to 11:59 PM (ETZ) on Wednesday, June 4, 2014. Date posted: 5-16-2014 United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Employment Litigation Section Trial Attorney, GS-0905-12/15 Announcement Number: 14-ATT-007 Applications are being accepted from Friday, May 09, 2014 to 11:59 PM (ETZ) on Friday, May 30, 2014. Date posted: 5-16-2014 U.S. Department of Justice Assistant United States Attorney United States Attorney's Office Western District of Arkansas Vacancy Announcement: 14-WDAR-05t Interested applicants should send a cover letter, detailed resume, and writing sample, postmarked no later than June 7, 2014. Date posted: 5-16-2014 Assistant United States Attorney United States Attorney's Office District of Connecticut Vacancy Announcement No. 14-CT-03 Applications must be received by May 23, 2014. Date posted: 5-16-2014 -------------- next part -------------- An embedded and charset-unspecified text was scrubbed... Name: ATT00001.txt URL: ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Fri, 23 May 2014 23:10:54 -0400 (EDT) From: via blindlaw To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org Subject: [blindlaw] need advice Message-ID: <2cc43.610ac36a.40b167be at aol.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Hi, I am not one to put messages on the list very often but I am looking for some advice from others though?to get an idea of what others might do in my situation. I apologize for the length. Just some quick background information first. I am legally blind. I am finishing my 12th year of teaching in an inner city public school system as a special education teacher. I have taught in the same school district for my entire career. They hired me knowing that I was legally blind and might need a couple reasonable accommodations. For 10 years or so, the district?s administration was very helpful and very willing to provide any reasonable accommodations to me I requested. I certainly wasn?t pushy and only asked for things that were essential. They were always more than willing to comply with my requests and never questioned anything. Even during those 10 years, I had several different principals, 2 different Special Education directors, and a couple different Superintendents that I worked under. For the most part, with the exception of one principal that caused problems for everyone, I had no issues with any administration and any requests I made. The one issue I did have with the principal, the Superintendent at the time quickly corrected the issue. In the last couple years, we have acquired a new Superintendent, a new Special Education director, and new principals. The response I have received from the current administration has been very different. At the beginning of December of last year, I made a request for a reasonable accommodation to my principals. They ignored my request. I again asked a couple more times, getting more specific and more direct each time? .while still being professional and respectful. I was still ignored. Then at the beginning of January, I contacted the Superintendent in an attempt to resolve the issue, which had worked the one other time I had had issues with a principal. The Superintendent also ignored my attempt to contact him and never responded. After discussing it with our union?s attorney (who also happens to practice disability law), it was decided that I would file an internal ADA complaint within the district. I filed the complaint and chose to have our union?s attorney act as my representation. The district contacted their attorney who then contacted my attorney. After some discussion and despite my anger, I agreed to mediate the issue without the district having to go through the investigation process first. Although I was angry because I felt that the district?s actions were totally out of line and unnecessary, I was not going into this with an attitude of ?I?m out to get them?. I just wanted to continue to be treated in the same manner I had been for 10 years and be provided reasonable accommodations when I requested them, nothing more. We held a meeting where it was myself, my attorney, the district?s attorney, and administration. We came to a written and signed agreement between the district and myself as to the reasonable accommodations that I needed and the district was willing to provide. I thought with the signed agreement and my dismissal of the complaint, that we?d all be able to move on and I?d get what I needed. The agreement was supposed to be distributed to all administrators that I work with or under so that they were aware of the agreement and its contents. About 2 weeks later, I was speaking to one of the administrators and I mentioned the agreement?.and they seemed to be unaware of the agreement or its contents. This concerned me. I asked a couple other administrators and received the same response. So I called my attorney and told her my concerns. I said ?How can I expect these people to follow an agreement that they don?t even seem to be aware of? I mean, that doesn?t seem very fair to them.? She then contacted the district?s attorney and we ended up on a three-way conference call. I explained my concerns. She did have documentation that all the administration had been informed of it but stated that she would make contact again with the Superintendent?s office and tell them that they needed to check again with their administrators to ensure they were well aware of the agreement and expectations. Again, I wasn?t out to ?get them??I was simply just trying to prevent another issue. This was like 2 months ago. So, now comes today. I was at a district level professional development meeting in which I was to be provided a reasonable accommodation that would allow me gain the information I needed and fully participate in the professional development. Mind you, this professional development is information and training on our new state level teacher evaluation system?.which in turn, directly correlates to my evaluation and ultimately, my job. So, yes, it is extremely important stuff. The accommodation I was to be provided today was on the signed agreement we made months ago. The two administrators who ran the professional development were both people who were provided the information?.one of which was ironically, the Special Education director. Despite the agreement, I was not provided the accommodation. I had to go through the training without it. Needless to say, I am angry and frustrated. I had 10 great years with no issues. I?ve tried very hard to work with the current administration and have tried to understanding and forgiving. I?ve given them chances to make things right and do the right thing. They just don?t seem to care!!! So, my question is??..what avenue would you do next? Would you try and mediate yet again, even though they are obviously refusing to follow the agreement that is already made? Would you file a complaint outside the district? What direction would you take from here? What suggestions do you have? Any thoughts are appreciated! Thanks in advance, Nicole ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Sat, 24 May 2014 05:43:52 -0400 From: "Rod Alcidonis, Esquire via blindlaw" To: , "Blind Law Mailing List" Subject: Re: [blindlaw] need advice Message-ID: <8EBCA4407BFF45E08532048CBF56B490 at RodTHINK> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="UTF-8"; reply-type=original To Nicole and everybody else: Folks, this is not legal but commonsense advice. Please remember that this listserv is a public listserv. In other words, within a few weeks, the content of your post can be found on the internet with a simple google search. I always cringe when I see such detailed posts regarding a private matter on a public forum. My 2cents. Rod -----Original Message----- From: via blindlaw Sent: Friday, May 23, 2014 11:10 PM To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org Subject: [blindlaw] need advice Hi, I am not one to put messages on the list very often but I am looking for some advice from others though?to get an idea of what others might do in my situation. I apologize for the length. Just some quick background information first. I am legally blind. I am finishing my 12th year of teaching in an inner city public school system as a special education teacher. I have taught in the same school district for my entire career. They hired me knowing that I was legally blind and might need a couple reasonable accommodations. For 10 years or so, the district?s administration was very helpful and very willing to provide any reasonable accommodations to me I requested. I certainly wasn?t pushy and only asked for things that were essential. They were always more than willing to comply with my requests and never questioned anything. Even during those 10 years, I had several different principals, 2 different Special Education directors, and a couple different Superintendents that I worked under. For the most part, with the exception of one principal that caused problems for everyone, I had no issues with any administration and any requests I made. The one issue I did have with the principal, the Superintendent at the time quickly corrected the issue. In the last couple years, we have acquired a new Superintendent, a new Special Education director, and new principals. The response I have received from the current administration has been very different. At the beginning of December of last year, I made a request for a reasonable accommodation to my principals. They ignored my request. I again asked a couple more times, getting more specific and more direct each time? .while still being professional and respectful. I was still ignored. Then at the beginning of January, I contacted the Superintendent in an attempt to resolve the issue, which had worked the one other time I had had issues with a principal. The Superintendent also ignored my attempt to contact him and never responded. After discussing it with our union?s attorney (who also happens to practice disability law), it was decided that I would file an internal ADA complaint within the district. I filed the complaint and chose to have our union?s attorney act as my representation. The district contacted their attorney who then contacted my attorney. After some discussion and despite my anger, I agreed to mediate the issue without the district having to go through the investigation process first. Although I was angry because I felt that the district?s actions were totally out of line and unnecessary, I was not going into this with an attitude of ?I?m out to get them?. I just wanted to continue to be treated in the same manner I had been for 10 years and be provided reasonable accommodations when I requested them, nothing more. We held a meeting where it was myself, my attorney, the district?s attorney, and administration. We came to a written and signed agreement between the district and myself as to the reasonable accommodations that I needed and the district was willing to provide. I thought with the signed agreement and my dismissal of the complaint, that we?d all be able to move on and I?d get what I needed. The agreement was supposed to be distributed to all administrators that I work with or under so that they were aware of the agreement and its contents. About 2 weeks later, I was speaking to one of the administrators and I mentioned the agreement?.and they seemed to be unaware of the agreement or its contents. This concerned me. I asked a couple other administrators and received the same response. So I called my attorney and told her my concerns. I said ?How can I expect these people to follow an agreement that they don?t even seem to be aware of? I mean, that doesn?t seem very fair to them.? She then contacted the district?s attorney and we ended up on a three-way conference call. I explained my concerns. She did have documentation that all the administration had been informed of it but stated that she would make contact again with the Superintendent?s office and tell them that they needed to check again with their administrators to ensure they were well aware of the agreement and expectations. Again, I wasn?t out to ?get them??I was simply just trying to prevent another issue. This was like 2 months ago. So, now comes today. I was at a district level professional development meeting in which I was to be provided a reasonable accommodation that would allow me gain the information I needed and fully participate in the professional development. Mind you, this professional development is information and training on our new state level teacher evaluation system?.which in turn, directly correlates to my evaluation and ultimately, my job. So, yes, it is extremely important stuff. The accommodation I was to be provided today was on the signed agreement we made months ago. The two administrators who ran the professional development were both people who were provided the information?.one of which was ironically, the Special Education director. Despite the agreement, I was not provided the accommodation. I had to go through the training without it. Needless to say, I am angry and frustrated. I had 10 great years with no issues. I?ve tried very hard to work with the current administration and have tried to understanding and forgiving. I?ve given them chances to make things right and do the right thing. They just don?t seem to care!!! So, my question is??..what avenue would you do next? Would you try and mediate yet again, even though they are obviously refusing to follow the agreement that is already made? Would you file a complaint outside the district? What direction would you take from here? What suggestions do you have? Any thoughts are appreciated! Thanks in advance, Nicole _______________________________________________ blindlaw mailing list blindlaw at nfbnet.org http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for blindlaw: http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/attorney%40alcidonislaw.com ------------------------------ Subject: Digest Footer _______________________________________________ blindlaw mailing list blindlaw at nfbnet.org http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org ------------------------------ End of blindlaw Digest, Vol 120, Issue 16 ***************************************** From blindlaw at nfbnet.org Sat May 24 19:07:22 2014 From: blindlaw at nfbnet.org (via blindlaw) Date: Sat, 24 May 2014 15:07:22 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [blindlaw] need advice Message-ID: Rod, I appreciate your advice and will keep it in mind with any future messages. Thank you, Nicole In a message dated 5/24/2014 5:42:11 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, Attorney at alcidonislaw.com writes: To Nicole and everybody else: Folks, this is not legal but commonsense advice. Please remember that this listserv is a public listserv. In other words, within a few weeks, the content of your post can be found on the internet with a simple google search. I always cringe when I see such detailed posts regarding a private matter on a public forum. My 2cents. Rod -----Original Message----- From: via blindlaw Sent: Friday, May 23, 2014 11:10 PM To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org Subject: [blindlaw] need advice Hi, I am not one to put messages on the list very often but I am looking for some advice from others though…to get an idea of what others might do in my situation. I apologize for the length. Just some quick background information first. I am legally blind. I am finishing my 12th year of teaching in an inner city public school system as a special education teacher. I have taught in the same school district for my entire career. They hired me knowing that I was legally blind and might need a couple reasonable accommodations. For 10 years or so, the district’s administration was very helpful and very willing to provide any reasonable accommodations to me I requested. I certainly wasn’t pushy and only asked for things that were essential. They were always more than willing to comply with my requests and never questioned anything. Even during those 10 years, I had several different principals, 2 different Special Education directors, and a couple different Superintendents that I worked under. For the most part, with the exception of one principal that caused problems for everyone, I had no issues with any administration and any requests I made. The one issue I did have with the principal, the Superintendent at the time quickly corrected the issue. In the last couple years, we have acquired a new Superintendent, a new Special Education director, and new principals. The response I have received from the current administration has been very different. At the beginning of December of last year, I made a request for a reasonable accommodation to my principals. They ignored my request. I again asked a couple more times, getting more specific and more direct each time… .while still being professional and respectful. I was still ignored. Then at the beginning of January, I contacted the Superintendent in an attempt to resolve the issue, which had worked the one other time I had had issues with a principal. The Superintendent also ignored my attempt to contact him and never responded. After discussing it with our union’s attorney (who also happens to practice disability law), it was decided that I would file an internal ADA complaint within the district. I filed the complaint and chose to have our union’s attorney act as my representation. The district contacted their attorney who then contacted my attorney. After some discussion and despite my anger, I agreed to mediate the issue without the district having to go through the investigation process first. Although I was angry because I felt that the district’s actions were totally out of line and unnecessary, I was not going into this with an attitude of “I’m out to get them”. I just wanted to continue to be treated in the same manner I had been for 10 years and be provided reasonable accommodations when I requested them, nothing more. We held a meeting where it was myself, my attorney, the district’s attorney, and administration. We came to a written and signed agreement between the district and myself as to the reasonable accommodations that I needed and the district was willing to provide. I thought with the signed agreement and my dismissal of the complaint, that we’d all be able to move on and I’d get what I needed. The agreement was supposed to be distributed to all administrators that I work with or under so that they were aware of the agreement and its contents. About 2 weeks later, I was speaking to one of the administrators and I mentioned the agreement….and they seemed to be unaware of the agreement or its contents. This concerned me. I asked a couple other administrators and received the same response. So I called my attorney and told her my concerns. I said “How can I expect these people to follow an agreement that they don’t even seem to be aware of? I mean, that doesn’t seem very fair to them.” She then contacted the district’s attorney and we ended up on a three-way conference call. I explained my concerns. She did have documentation that all the administration had been informed of it but stated that she would make contact again with the Superintendent’s office and tell them that they needed to check again with their administrators to ensure they were well aware of the agreement and expectations. Again, I wasn’t out to “get them”…I was simply just trying to prevent another issue. This was like 2 months ago. So, now comes today. I was at a district level professional development meeting in which I was to be provided a reasonable accommodation that would allow me gain the information I needed and fully participate in the professional development. Mind you, this professional development is information and training on our new state level teacher evaluation system….which in turn, directly correlates to my evaluation and ultimately, my job. So, yes, it is extremely important stuff. The accommodation I was to be provided today was on the signed agreement we made months ago. The two administrators who ran the professional development were both people who were provided the information….one of which was ironically, the Special Education director. Despite the agreement, I was not provided the accommodation. I had to go through the training without it. Needless to say, I am angry and frustrated. I had 10 great years with no issues. I’ve tried very hard to work with the current administration and have tried to understanding and forgiving. I’ve given them chances to make things right and do the right thing. They just don’t seem to care!!! So, my question is……..what avenue would you do next? Would you try and mediate yet again, even though they are obviously refusing to follow the agreement that is already made? Would you file a complaint outside the district? What direction would you take from here? What suggestions do you have? Any thoughts are appreciated! Thanks in advance, Nicole _______________________________________________ blindlaw mailing list blindlaw at nfbnet.org http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for blindlaw: http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/attorney%40alcidonisla w.com From blindlaw at nfbnet.org Sat May 24 19:09:00 2014 From: blindlaw at nfbnet.org (via blindlaw) Date: Sat, 24 May 2014 15:09:00 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [blindlaw] response to Nicole Message-ID: So far, those who have responded have stated to take it outside the district. In a message dated 5/24/2014 8:45:48 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, blindlaw at nfbnet.org writes: What did the blind educators division have to say? Kathryn Carroll, J.D. Ph: (631) 521-3018/ Fax: (347) 630-0529 From: via blindlaw (blindlaw at nfbnet.org) Sent: Saturday, May 24, 2014 08:00 AM To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org Subject: blindlaw Digest, Vol 120, Issue 16 Send blindlaw mailing list submissions to blindlaw at nfbnet.org To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to blindlaw-request at nfbnet.org You can reach the person managing the list at blindlaw-owner at nfbnet.org When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of blindlaw digest..." Today's Topics: 1. FW: Attorney Vacancies at the U.S. Department of Justice (Nightingale, Noel via blindlaw) 2. need advice (via blindlaw) 3. Re: need advice (Rod Alcidonis, Esquire via blindlaw) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Fri, 23 May 2014 13:37:55 -0500 From: "Nightingale, Noel via blindlaw" To: "blindlaw at nfbnet.org" Subject: [blindlaw] FW: Attorney Vacancies at the U.S. Department of Justice Message-ID: <04F1893C93758F4AA7CB436BB26750660118C26F2130 at EDUPTCEXMB02.ed.gov> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" From: Jobs [mailto:jobs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Maurer, Patricia via Jobs Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2014 11:01 AM To: jobs at nfbnet.org Subject: [Jobs] FW: Attorney Vacancies at the U.S. Department of Justice From: Hunter, Sue (JMD) [mailto:Sue.Hunter at usdoj.gov] Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2014 1:03 PM To: Hunter, Sue (JMD) Subject: Attorney Vacancies at the U.S. Department of Justice Below is a list of current attorney vacancies at the United States Department of Justice. We encourage all interested applicants to apply; To learn more about Justice and our legal careers, please visit our website: www.justice.gov/careers/legal/. In addition, every year over 1,800 volunteer legal interns serve in DOJ components and U.S. Attorneys? Offices throughout the country. If you know any law students who may be interested in a DOJ volunteer internship, please encourage them to review the many opportunities featured at www.justice.gov/careers/legal/volunteer-intern.html. Finally, please share this email with interested colleagues and peers. If you wish to update the contact information for you or the organization you represent, or no longer wish to receive these periodic email announcements, please respond to this email address and ask to be removed from our mailing list. Thank you. Attorney Advisor GS-905-15: $124,995 - $157, 100 14-EOUSA-1120657 Applications must be received by May 28, 2014. Date posted: 5-21-2014 U.S. Department of Justice Assistant United States Attorney United States Attorney's Office District of Oregon Eugene, Oregon Closing Date: 5/29/2014 or until filled Vacancy Announcement: 14-OR-03 Interested persons must mail or email no later than May 29, 2014. Date posted: 5-21-2014 U.S. Department of Justice Assistant United States Attorney United States Attorney's Office Southern District of Iowa Location: Davenport, Iowa Salary: $45,027 to $132,849 Opening Date: 5/21/14 Closing Date: 6/6/14 14-SDIA-04 Applications must be received by 4:00 p.m. CST on the closing date of June 6, 2014. Date posted: 5-21-2014 United States Attorney's Office Eastern District of California Assistant United States Attorney Civil Division, Affirmative Unit Fresno, California May 20, 2014 14-EDCA-15A This position is open until filled but no later than Tuesday, May 19, 2015. Date posted: 5-20-2014 U.S. Department of Justice Assistant United States Attorney United States Attorney's Office Middle District of Louisiana Vacancy Announcement NO: 14-MDLA-03 Applications must be postmarked no later than Tuesday, May 27th, 2014 to be considered. Date posted: 5-20-2014 U.S. Department of Justice Assistant United States Attorney United States Attorney's Office Eastern District of Wisconsin Opening and Closing date: Monday May 19, 2014 ??? Tuesday June 10, 2014 Vacancy Announcement Number: 14-EDWI-1123088-AUSA-01. Date posted: 5-20-2014 U.S. Department of Justice Assistant United States Attorney United States Attorney's Office Northern District of Alabama Opening and Closing Date: May 20, 2014 - June 18, 2014 14-NDAL-04. Date posted: 5-20-2014 Experienced Attorney / GS-905-15 U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division Office of Enforcement Operations 14-CRM-OEO-054 Closing Date: June 2, 2014 The Application Package must be received by 11:59 PM, Eastern Time, on the closing date of this announcement. Date posted: 5-19-2014 Pardon Attorney, ES-905 Office of the Pardon Attorney U.S. Department of Justice Washington, D.C. Announcement #: 14-SES-ODAG-02 All applications (including mailed applications) MUST BE RECEIVED BY 11:59 PM EST on Friday, May 30, 2014. Date posted: 5-16-2014 U.S. Department of Justice Assistant United States Attorney United States Attorney's Office Eastern District of Texas Plano, Texas Opening Date: May 16, 2014 Closing Date: May 30, 2014 Vacancy Announcement No.: 14-EDTX-1123279-AUSA-06 Applications must be received by Friday, May 30, 2014. Date posted: 5-16-2014 United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Educational Opportunities Section Trial Attorney, GS-905-12/15 Announcement Number: 14-ATT-015 Applications are being accepted from Thursday, May 15, 2014 to 11:59 PM (ETZ) on Thursday, June 5, 2014. Date posted: 5-16-2014 United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Educational Opportunities Section Trial Attorney, GS-905-13/15 Announcement Number: 14-ATT-014 Applications are being accepted from Wednesday, May 14, 2014 to 11:59 PM (ETZ) on Wednesday, June 4, 2014. Date posted: 5-16-2014 United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Employment Litigation Section Trial Attorney, GS-0905-12/15 Announcement Number: 14-ATT-007 Applications are being accepted from Friday, May 09, 2014 to 11:59 PM (ETZ) on Friday, May 30, 2014. Date posted: 5-16-2014 U.S. Department of Justice Assistant United States Attorney United States Attorney's Office Western District of Arkansas Vacancy Announcement: 14-WDAR-05t Interested applicants should send a cover letter, detailed resume, and writing sample, postmarked no later than June 7, 2014. Date posted: 5-16-2014 Assistant United States Attorney United States Attorney's Office District of Connecticut Vacancy Announcement No. 14-CT-03 Applications must be received by May 23, 2014. Date posted: 5-16-2014 -------------- next part -------------- An embedded and charset-unspecified text was scrubbed... Name: ATT00001.txt URL: ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Fri, 23 May 2014 23:10:54 -0400 (EDT) From: via blindlaw To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org Subject: [blindlaw] need advice Message-ID: <2cc43.610ac36a.40b167be at aol.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Hi, I am not one to put messages on the list very often but I am looking for some advice from others though?to get an idea of what others might do in my situation. I apologize for the length. Just some quick background information first. I am legally blind. I am finishing my 12th year of teaching in an inner city public school system as a special education teacher. I have taught in the same school district for my entire career. They hired me knowing that I was legally blind and might need a couple reasonable accommodations. For 10 years or so, the district?s administration was very helpful and very willing to provide any reasonable accommodations to me I requested. I certainly wasn?t pushy and only asked for things that were essential. They were always more than willing to comply with my requests and never questioned anything. Even during those 10 years, I had several different principals, 2 different Special Education directors, and a couple different Superintendents that I worked under. For the most part, with the exception of one principal that caused problems for everyone, I had no issues with any administration and any requests I made. The one issue I did have with the principal, the Superintendent at the time quickly corrected the issue. In the last couple years, we have acquired a new Superintendent, a new Special Education director, and new principals. The response I have received from the current administration has been very different. At the beginning of December of last year, I made a request for a reasonable accommodation to my principals. They ignored my request. I again asked a couple more times, getting more specific and more direct each time? .while still being professional and respectful. I was still ignored. Then at the beginning of January, I contacted the Superintendent in an attempt to resolve the issue, which had worked the one other time I had had issues with a principal. The Superintendent also ignored my attempt to contact him and never responded. After discussing it with our union?s attorney (who also happens to practice disability law), it was decided that I would file an internal ADA complaint within the district. I filed the complaint and chose to have our union?s attorney act as my representation. The district contacted their attorney who then contacted my attorney. After some discussion and despite my anger, I agreed to mediate the issue without the district having to go through the investigation process first. Although I was angry because I felt that the district?s actions were totally out of line and unnecessary, I was not going into this with an attitude of ?I?m out to get them?. I just wanted to continue to be treated in the same manner I had been for 10 years and be provided reasonable accommodations when I requested them, nothing more. We held a meeting where it was myself, my attorney, the district?s attorney, and administration. We came to a written and signed agreement between the district and myself as to the reasonable accommodations that I needed and the district was willing to provide. I thought with the signed agreement and my dismissal of the complaint, that we?d all be able to move on and I?d get what I needed. The agreement was supposed to be distributed to all administrators that I work with or under so that they were aware of the agreement and its contents. About 2 weeks later, I was speaking to one of the administrators and I mentioned the agreement?.and they seemed to be unaware of the agreement or its contents. This concerned me. I asked a couple other administrators and received the same response. So I called my attorney and told her my concerns. I said ?How can I expect these people to follow an agreement that they don?t even seem to be aware of? I mean, that doesn?t seem very fair to them.? She then contacted the district?s attorney and we ended up on a three-way conference call. I explained my concerns. She did have documentation that all the administration had been informed of it but stated that she would make contact again with the Superintendent?s office and tell them that they needed to check again with their administrators to ensure they were well aware of the agreement and expectations. Again, I wasn?t out to ?get them??I was simply just trying to prevent another issue. This was like 2 months ago. So, now comes today. I was at a district level professional development meeting in which I was to be provided a reasonable accommodation that would allow me gain the information I needed and fully participate in the professional development. Mind you, this professional development is information and training on our new state level teacher evaluation system?.which in turn, directly correlates to my evaluation and ultimately, my job. So, yes, it is extremely important stuff. The accommodation I was to be provided today was on the signed agreement we made months ago. The two administrators who ran the professional development were both people who were provided the information?.one of which was ironically, the Special Education director. Despite the agreement, I was not provided the accommodation. I had to go through the training without it. Needless to say, I am angry and frustrated. I had 10 great years with no issues. I?ve tried very hard to work with the current administration and have tried to understanding and forgiving. I?ve given them chances to make things right and do the right thing. They just don?t seem to care!!! So, my question is??..what avenue would you do next? Would you try and mediate yet again, even though they are obviously refusing to follow the agreement that is already made? Would you file a complaint outside the district? What direction would you take from here? What suggestions do you have? Any thoughts are appreciated! Thanks in advance, Nicole ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Sat, 24 May 2014 05:43:52 -0400 From: "Rod Alcidonis, Esquire via blindlaw" To: , "Blind Law Mailing List" Subject: Re: [blindlaw] need advice Message-ID: <8EBCA4407BFF45E08532048CBF56B490 at RodTHINK> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="UTF-8"; reply-type=original To Nicole and everybody else: Folks, this is not legal but commonsense advice. Please remember that this listserv is a public listserv. In other words, within a few weeks, the content of your post can be found on the internet with a simple google search. I always cringe when I see such detailed posts regarding a private matter on a public forum. My 2cents. Rod -----Original Message----- From: via blindlaw Sent: Friday, May 23, 2014 11:10 PM To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org Subject: [blindlaw] need advice Hi, I am not one to put messages on the list very often but I am looking for some advice from others though?to get an idea of what others might do in my situation. I apologize for the length. Just some quick background information first. I am legally blind. I am finishing my 12th year of teaching in an inner city public school system as a special education teacher. I have taught in the same school district for my entire career. They hired me knowing that I was legally blind and might need a couple reasonable accommodations. For 10 years or so, the district?s administration was very helpful and very willing to provide any reasonable accommodations to me I requested. I certainly wasn?t pushy and only asked for things that were essential. They were always more than willing to comply with my requests and never questioned anything. Even during those 10 years, I had several different principals, 2 different Special Education directors, and a couple different Superintendents that I worked under. For the most part, with the exception of one principal that caused problems for everyone, I had no issues with any administration and any requests I made. The one issue I did have with the principal, the Superintendent at the time quickly corrected the issue. In the last couple years, we have acquired a new Superintendent, a new Special Education director, and new principals. The response I have received from the current administration has been very different. At the beginning of December of last year, I made a request for a reasonable accommodation to my principals. They ignored my request. I again asked a couple more times, getting more specific and more direct each time? .while still being professional and respectful. I was still ignored. Then at the beginning of January, I contacted the Superintendent in an attempt to resolve the issue, which had worked the one other time I had had issues with a principal. The Superintendent also ignored my attempt to contact him and never responded. After discussing it with our union?s attorney (who also happens to practice disability law), it was decided that I would file an internal ADA complaint within the district. I filed the complaint and chose to have our union?s attorney act as my representation. The district contacted their attorney who then contacted my attorney. After some discussion and despite my anger, I agreed to mediate the issue without the district having to go through the investigation process first. Although I was angry because I felt that the district?s actions were totally out of line and unnecessary, I was not going into this with an attitude of ?I?m out to get them?. I just wanted to continue to be treated in the same manner I had been for 10 years and be provided reasonable accommodations when I requested them, nothing more. We held a meeting where it was myself, my attorney, the district?s attorney, and administration. We came to a written and signed agreement between the district and myself as to the reasonable accommodations that I needed and the district was willing to provide. I thought with the signed agreement and my dismissal of the complaint, that we?d all be able to move on and I?d get what I needed. The agreement was supposed to be distributed to all administrators that I work with or under so that they were aware of the agreement and its contents. About 2 weeks later, I was speaking to one of the administrators and I mentioned the agreement?.and they seemed to be unaware of the agreement or its contents. This concerned me. I asked a couple other administrators and received the same response. So I called my attorney and told her my concerns. I said ?How can I expect these people to follow an agreement that they don?t even seem to be aware of? I mean, that doesn?t seem very fair to them.? She then contacted the district?s attorney and we ended up on a three-way conference call. I explained my concerns. She did have documentation that all the administration had been informed of it but stated that she would make contact again with the Superintendent?s office and tell them that they needed to check again with their administrators to ensure they were well aware of the agreement and expectations. Again, I wasn?t out to ?get them??I was simply just trying to prevent another issue. This was like 2 months ago. So, now comes today. I was at a district level professional development meeting in which I was to be provided a reasonable accommodation that would allow me gain the information I needed and fully participate in the professional development. Mind you, this professional development is information and training on our new state level teacher evaluation system?.which in turn, directly correlates to my evaluation and ultimately, my job. So, yes, it is extremely important stuff. The accommodation I was to be provided today was on the signed agreement we made months ago. The two administrators who ran the professional development were both people who were provided the information?.one of which was ironically, the Special Education director. Despite the agreement, I was not provided the accommodation. I had to go through the training without it. Needless to say, I am angry and frustrated. I had 10 great years with no issues. I?ve tried very hard to work with the current administration and have tried to understanding and forgiving. I?ve given them chances to make things right and do the right thing. They just don?t seem to care!!! So, my question is??..what avenue would you do next? Would you try and mediate yet again, even though they are obviously refusing to follow the agreement that is already made? Would you file a complaint outside the district? What direction would you take from here? What suggestions do you have? Any thoughts are appreciated! Thanks in advance, Nicole _______________________________________________ blindlaw mailing list blindlaw at nfbnet.org http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for blindlaw: http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/attorney%40alcidonisla w.com ------------------------------ Subject: Digest Footer _______________________________________________ blindlaw mailing list blindlaw at nfbnet.org http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org ------------------------------ End of blindlaw Digest, Vol 120, Issue 16 ***************************************** _______________________________________________ blindlaw mailing list blindlaw at nfbnet.org http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for blindlaw: http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/nmpbrat%40aol.com From blindlaw at nfbnet.org Sun May 25 07:41:46 2014 From: blindlaw at nfbnet.org (Nicholas Parsons via blindlaw) Date: Sun, 25 May 2014 07:41:46 +0000 Subject: [blindlaw] need advice In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <937B4E8C-1780-4F97-9CB6-2EE1C71774B2@gmail.com> Dear Nicole, You might find that you don't get the response you're looking for on this list. That is because this list is not for providing legal advice to blind people, but is for blind lawyers to share tips and experiences regarding practicing law with a vision impairment. So while many blind lawyers might have similar experiences regarding reasonable accommodations as you, advising you what you should do next, particularly regarding mediation and formal complaints, would come very close to being legal advice and would probably even cross the line. On the other hand, if you wanted to discuss ways of accessing the information in your professional development or alternative reasonable accommodations etcetera, I'm sure many of us would be happy to share our experiences. All the best and good luck, Nic From blindlaw at nfbnet.org Sun May 25 14:39:51 2014 From: blindlaw at nfbnet.org (via blindlaw) Date: Sun, 25 May 2014 10:39:51 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [blindlaw] need advice Message-ID: <44cfe.7fc63a0d.40b35ab7@aol.com> Nic, I appreciate your comments and after further thought, realize that it was probably not the best idea to post it to this list. At the time, I was riding the emotional rollercoaster though and wasn't thinking in those terms. I did post to a couple other lists also and have received some very helpful responses. To be honest, I don't know that a conversation about alternative reasonable accommodations or something of that nature is going to be of benefit to me at this time. I feel I have a pretty good "bag of tricks" that works for me and there were options even in this particular scenario in which the district could have chosen from, some of which would have put almost no responsibility on the district at all. They are simply flat out refusing to do anything. So, thank you again for your response...and I respect the reason for individuals on this list wanting to refrain from responding to my specific questions. Nicole In a message dated 5/25/2014 3:41:51 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, mr.nicholas.parsons at gmail.com writes: Dear Nicole, You might find that you don't get the response you're looking for on this list. That is because this list is not for providing legal advice to blind people, but is for blind lawyers to share tips and experiences regarding practicing law with a vision impairment. So while many blind lawyers might have similar experiences regarding reasonable accommodations as you, advising you what you should do next, particularly regarding mediation and formal complaints, would come very close to being legal advice and would probably even cross the line. On the other hand, if you wanted to discuss ways of accessing the information in your professional development or alternative reasonable accommodations etcetera, I'm sure many of us would be happy to share our experiences. All the best and good luck, Nic= From blindlaw at nfbnet.org Wed May 28 18:25:33 2014 From: blindlaw at nfbnet.org (Nightingale, Noel via blindlaw) Date: Wed, 28 May 2014 13:25:33 -0500 Subject: [blindlaw] DOJ CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION, SPECIAL LITIGATION SECTION TRIAL ATTORNEY, GS-905-14/15, ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: 14-ATT-016 In-Reply-To: <41370810CEBD1C4DA64C9361CE162341E21C8E4C18@EDUPTCEXMB01.ed.gov> References: <41370810CEBD1C4DA64C9361CE162341E21C8E4C18@EDUPTCEXMB01.ed.gov> Message-ID: <04F1893C93758F4AA7CB436BB26750660118C26F24D0@EDUPTCEXMB02.ed.gov> Link: http://www.justice.gov/careers/legal/jobs/14-att-016.htm Text: [cid:image003.jpg at 01CF7A66.9E806060] UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION, SPECIAL LITIGATION SECTION TRIAL ATTORNEY, GS-905-14/15 ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: 14-ATT-016 ________________________________ About the Office: The Civil Rights Division (Division) of the Department of Justice, created by the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, works to uphold the civil and constitutional rights of all Americans, particularly some of the most vulnerable members of our society. The Division is primarily responsible for enforcing federal statutes and executive orders that prohibit, among other things, unlawful discrimination in education, employment, housing, police service, public accommodations and facilities, voting, and federally funded and conducted programs. The Division also has jurisdiction to enforce constitutional prohibitions on certain conduct by law enforcement agencies and public residential institutions, such as health care and correctional facilities. The Special Litigation Section (SPL or Section) is one of several Sections in the Civil Rights Division. We work to protect civil rights in the following areas: 1) the rights of people in state or local institutions, including: jails, prisons, juvenile detention facilities, and health care facilities for persons with disabilities; 2) the rights of individuals with disabilities to receive services in their communities, rather than in institutions; 3) the rights of people who interact with state or local police or sheriffs' departments; 4) the rights of youth involved in the juvenile justice system; 5) the rights of people to have safe access to reproductive health care clinics; and 6) the rights of people to practice their religion while confined to state and local institutions. We can also act on behalf of people at risk of harm in these areas. Who May Apply: United States Citizens Number of Opportunities: 1 - Full Time Excepted Service Time-Limited NTE 9/30/2016. Subject to future funding, candidates selected under this job announcement may be converted to permanent, excepted service appointments. Application Period: Applications are being accepted from Tuesday, May 20, 2014 to 11:59 PM (ETZ) on Tuesday, June 10, 2014. Responsibilities and Opportunity Offered: The incumbent will be responsible for duties such as, but not limited to: identifying compliance issues in existing consent decrees and other agreements; pursuing aggressive remedial strategies; reforming agreements as appropriate; and assessing the cost and benefits of further resource commitments to these cases. The incumbent will thoroughly review the state of compliance and enforcement efforts to date, assess the cost of enforcement against the benefit to the community to achieve any remaining reforms, work with jurisdictions and the community to focus on the remaining necessary changes, pursue modification of agreements or litigation where necessary, develop tools to assess when an agreement has achieved its goals, and draw learning from the enforcement efforts that can be applied to make new agreements more effective. Required Qualifications: Applicants must possess a J.D. or LL.M professional law degree from an American Bar Association accredited law school, be an active member of the bar in good standing (any jurisdiction), and possess the minimum years of post-professional law degree experience commensurate to the grade level of eligibility, as shown below. Applicants must demonstrate superior oral and written communication skills (including strong advocacy skills), possess excellent academic and professional credentials, and outstanding professional references. Applicants must also demonstrate exceptional interpersonal skills and professional judgment, and be able to excel in a highly demanding environment. * At least 2.5 years - GS-14 ($106,263 to $138,136 per annum) * At least 4 years - GS-15 ($124,995 to $157,100 per annum) Preferred Qualifications: Given the nature and volume of this work, the Section generally seeks candidates with significant litigation experience and a demonstrated commitment to public service and/or civil rights. Applicants with one or more of the following qualifications are preferred: (1) civil or criminal trial experience; (2) federal civil or criminal litigation experience; (3) experience with complex investigations; (4) experience enforcing complex consent decrees or other agreements; (5) demonstrated commitment to public service through employment or volunteering; (6) demonstrated commitment to civil rights and/or human rights issues; (7) substantive knowledge of the kinds of work done pursuant to the Section's statutes; or (8) judicial clerkship experience. How You Will Be Evaluated: Applicants will be evaluated relative to the qualifications set forth above and other job-related skills, experience and qualifications set forth in their application materials and consistent with merit system principles applicable to hiring for career positions with the Department of Justice. Salary Information: $106,263.00 to $157,100.00 / Per Year Location: Washington, D.C. Relocation Expenses: Relocation expenses are not authorized. Travel: Travel is anticipated 2-3 nights per month. In the event that a compliance issue has to be litigated, significantly more travel would be anticipated. Submission Process and Deadline Date: You must submit your application so that it will be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Time Zone on the closing date of the announcement. Please refer to the "How To Apply" section at this link: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/PrintPreview/370239700 Question may be directed to Diane Turner at 202-514-3934 or Diane.M.Turner at usdoj.gov. Benefits: The Department of Justice offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacations, sick leave, holidays, telework, life insurance, health benefits, and, participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System. This link provides an overview of the benefits currently offered to eligible federal employees: http://www.usajobs.gov/ResourcesCenter/Index/Interactive/Benefits#icc. Internet Sites: This and other attorney vacancy announcements can be found at: http://www.justice.gov/careers/legal/attvacancies.html For more information about the Civil Rights Division, visit the Civil Rights Division's web page. Department Policies: Equal Employment Opportunity: The U.S. Department of Justice is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer. Except where otherwise provided by law, there will be no discrimination because of color, race, religion, national origin, political affiliation, marital status, disability (physical or mental), age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, status as a parent, membership or non-membership in an employee organization, on the basis of personal favoritism, or any non merit factor. The Department of Justice welcomes and encourages applications from persons with physical and mental disabilities. The Department is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on the basis of merit within the Department of Justice. Reasonable Accommodations: This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. Outreach and Recruitment for Qualified Applicants with Disabilities: The Department encourages qualified applicants with disabilities, including individuals with targeted/severe disabilities to apply in response to posted vacancy announcements. Applicants with targeted/severe disabilities include those applicants who are deaf or blind, have missing extremities, partial or complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, or psychiatric disability, and little people/applicants with dwarfism. Qualified applicants with targeted/severe disabilities may be eligible for direct hire, non-competitive appointment under Schedule A (5 C.F.R. § 213.3102(u)) hiring authority. Individuals with targeted/severe disabilities are encouraged to register for the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Shared List of People with Disabilities (the Bender Disability Employment Registry) by submitting their resume to resume at benderconsult.com and referencing "Federal Career Opportunities" in the subject line. Additional information about the Bender Registry is available at www.benderconsult.com. Individuals with targeted/severe disabilities are also encouraged to submit their resumes to the Division by emailing them to CRT.Specprogvacancies at usdoj.gov. Applicants with questions about this process may contact the Division's Disability Point of Contact (DPOC) at (202) 514-3934. Suitability and Citizenship: It is the policy of the Department to achieve a drug-free workplace and persons selected for employment will be required to pass a drug test which screens for illegal drug use prior to final appointment. Employment is also contingent upon the completion and satisfactory adjudication of a background investigation. Only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review and the United States Attorneys' Offices. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, non-U.S. citizens may apply for employment with other organizations, but should be advised that appointments of non-U.S. citizens are extremely rare; such appointments would be possible only if necessary to accomplish the Department's mission and would be subject to strict security requirements. Applicants who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and another country will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Veterans: There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Justice considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g., the DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and other supporting documentation) to their submissions. Although the "point" system is not used, per se, applicants eligible to claim 10-point preference must submit Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, and submit the supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed (visit the OPM website, www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf for a copy of SF 15, which lists the types of 10-point preferences and the required supporting documents). Applicants should note that SF 15 requires supporting documentation associated with service-connected disabilities or receipt of nonservice-connected disability pensions to be dated 1991 or later except in the case of service members submitting official statements or retirement orders from a branch of the Armed Forces showing that his or her retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that he/she was transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more). * * * The Department of Justice cannot control further dissemination and/or posting of information contained in this vacancy announcement. Such posting and/or dissemination are not an endorsement by the Department of the organization or group disseminating and/or posting the information. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image003.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 4807 bytes Desc: image003.jpg URL: From blindlaw at nfbnet.org Wed May 28 18:34:21 2014 From: blindlaw at nfbnet.org (Gerard Sadlier via blindlaw) Date: Wed, 28 May 2014 19:34:21 +0100 Subject: [blindlaw] Using E Discovery Software Sucsfully Message-ID: All, Access to E Discovery products is something I've raised on this list a few times. I'd be very grateful if anyone who has used one of these products successfully could email me (either on or off list, as you choose). I'm anxious to find out information such as: 1. What product you used; 2. Any strategies you employed that worked (or didn't) for that matter in making it accessible. As I've said before, I think these products represent a significant opportunity for blind lawyers because the material in question has already been scanned. In that context, I wonder if there is any scope for exploring avenues through which to dialogue with the makers of such programmes? I have emailed Access Data (maker of Summation persistantly) on an individual basis and have achieved precisely nothing. Ger From blindlaw at nfbnet.org Wed May 28 19:12:29 2014 From: blindlaw at nfbnet.org (Nightingale, Noel via blindlaw) Date: Wed, 28 May 2014 14:12:29 -0500 Subject: [blindlaw] SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT UNDER THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND ALTAGRACIA ROUMOU, DJ No. 202-90-32 In-Reply-To: <41370810CEBD1C4DA64C9361CE162341E21C8E4C08@EDUPTCEXMB01.ed.gov> References: <41370810CEBD1C4DA64C9361CE162341E21C8E4C08@EDUPTCEXMB01.ed.gov> Message-ID: <04F1893C93758F4AA7CB436BB26750660118C26F24FF@EDUPTCEXMB02.ed.gov> Thought this list might find this of interest. It's a settlement agreement involving failure of a taxi driver to pick up a blind guy and his dog guide. Link: http://www.ada.gov/roumou-taxi-sa.htm Text: SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT UNDER THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND ALTAGRACIA ROUMOU DJ No. 202-90-32 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. INTRODUCTION 1.The parties to this Settlement Agreement ("Agreement") are the United States of America ("United States") and Altagracia Roumou ("Roumou"), located on St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. 2.The parties agree that it is in their best interests, and the United States believes that it is in the public interest, to resolve this dispute without engaging in protracted litigation. The parties have therefore voluntarily entered into this Agreement, as follows: II. THE PARTIES 3.The United States Department of Justice (the "Department") is responsible for enforcing title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12181-12189, as amended, and the relevant regulations implementing title III, 28 C.F.R. pt. 36 and 49 C.F.R. pts. 37 and 38. 4. Ms. Roumou is a private individual, who resides on St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. She is licensed to and engaged in the business of providing taxi services to members of the general public on a regular and continuing basis on St. Thomas. Ms. Roumou is the registered owner of a "safari" taxi, designated by St. Thomas Taxi Medallion # 0307. As such, Ms. Roumou's taxi business is a private entity which provides public transportation services within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. § 12181(10) and 49 C.F.R. § 37.29. III. BACKGROUND 5.This matter was initiated by a complaint filed under title III of the ADA, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12181-12189, with the Department by Zane Birnie ("Birnie"). 6.Mr. Birnie is an individual who is blind and utilizes a service animal. Mr. Birnie alleges that on May 4, 2012, on St. Thomas, he was denied taxi service by Ms. Roumou because she refused to transport his service animal. 7. Mr. Birnie is an individual with a disability within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. § 12102, 42 C.F.R. § 37.3, and 28 C.F.R. § 36.104. 8.Title III of the ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of a disability in the full and equal enjoyment of specified public transportation services provided by an entity that is primarily engaged in the business of transporting people and whose operations affect commerce. 42 U.S.C. § 12184(a); 49 C.F.R. § 37.29(c). Section 37.167(d) of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations provides that such an entity shall permit service animals to accompany individuals with disabilities in vehicles. 9. Ms. Roumou admits that she did not permit Mr. Birnie to ride in her taxi on May 4, 2012, but claims that she did not know that he was blind or that his dog was a service animal. 10.In order to resolve this matter without engaging in protracted litigation, the parties have agreed to settle this matter according to the terms in this Agreement. This Agreement shall not be construed as an admission of liability by Ms. Roumou. 11.In consideration of the terms of this Agreement, the United States agrees to refrain from undertaking further investigation or filing a civil suit pertaining to the allegations made in this matter, except as provided in the Enforcement and Implementation sections of the Agreement. IV. REMEDIAL ACTION 12.Consistent with title III of the ADA, Ms. Roumou shall not discriminate against any individual on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of the taxicab services she provides by excluding or providing unequal treatment to persons with disabilities, including those who use service animals. 42 U.S.C § 12184; 28 C.F.R. §§ 36.201, 36.202; 49 C.F.R. §§ 37.5, 37.21, 37.29. Specifically, Ms. Roumou will make reasonable modifications to policies, practices, and procedures that are necessary to afford goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations to individuals with disabilities, including those who use service animals. 42 U.S.C. §12184(b)(2)(A); 28 C.F.R. §§ 36.302(a), (c); 49 C.F.R. §§ 37.5, 37.21, 37.29, 37.167(d). 13.Service Animal Policy: Ms. Roumou agrees that, henceforth, all persons with disabilities, including those accompanied by service animals, will be welcome in all taxicabs that she operates. Ms. Roumou agrees to adopt and abide by the Service Animal Policy (Exhibit A) attached to this Agreement. Ms. Roumou agrees that she shall not refuse to transport a person with a disability because that person is accompanied by a service animal. She also agrees that she shall not charge a person with a disability any extra fee or ask a person with a disability to comply with any additional condition of service because they are accompanied by a service animal even if an extra fee or charge or condition of service is required for the transportation of a pet. 14.Training: Ms. Roumou shall attend the next available training offered by the Virgin Islands Taxi Cab Commission regarding service to persons with disabilities by taxicab operators. Ms. Roumou shall inform the Department when she has completed this training. 15.15. Ms. Roumou shall not retaliate against the complainant for filing a complaint with the Department or otherwise exercising rights protected by the ADA. 42 U.S.C. § 12203(a). V. MONETARY RELIEF FOR COMPLAINANT 16. The ADA authorizes the Attorney General to seek a court award of compensatory damages on behalf of individuals aggrieved as the result of violations of the ADA. 42 U.S.C. § 12188(b)(2)(B); 28 C.F.R. § 36.504(a)(2). Within ten (10) days of the effective date of this Agreement, Ms. Roumou shall compensate the complainant in this matter by providing him a certified check in the amount of one thousand dollars ($1000.00), via certified mail to the address provided by the United States. Ms. Roumou will simultaneously send a copy of the check and the accompanying letter to counsel for the United States. 17. In consideration for the compensatory damages set forth above, the United States agrees that within ten (10) days of its receipt of the Agreement signed by Ms. Roumou, it will obtain the complainant's signature on the Waiver and Release of Claim form attached hereto as Attachment B. The Department will mail the original of the signed Waiver and Release of Claim form to Ms. Roumou within fifteen (15) days of the Department's receipt of same. 18.The ADA also authorizes the United States Attorney General to seek a civil penalty as a result of violations of the ADA. 42 U.S.C. § 12188(b)(2)(C); 28 C.F.R.§ 36.504(a)(3). Ms. Roumou shall make a payment to the United States in the amount of one thousand dollars ($1,000) as a civil penalty in the public interest. This payment shall be made in two installments of five hundred dollars ($500) by certified check or money order payable to the United States Treasury. The first installment is due within sixty (60) days of the effective date of this Agreement. The second installment is due within ninety (90) days of the effective date of this Agreement. The installments shall be delivered to counsel for the United States. VI. ENFORCEMENT 19.This Settlement Agreement cannot be modified or amended except by an instrument in writing, agreed to and signed by the Parties. 20.The United States may review compliance with this Agreement at any time. If the United States believes that this Agreement or any of its requirements have been violated, it may institute a civil action in Federal District Court to enforce this Agreement or the requirements of title III, following written notice to Ms. Roumou of possible violations and a period of 30 days in which Ms. Roumou has the opportunity to cure the alleged violations. 21. For purposes of the immediately preceding paragraph, it is a violation of this Agreement for Ms. Roumou to fail to comply in a timely manner with any of its requirements without obtaining sufficient advance written Agreement with the United States for an extension of the relevant time frame imposed by the Agreement. 22.Failure by the United States to enforce this entire Agreement or any of its provisions or deadlines shall not be construed as a waiver of the United States' right to enforce other deadlines and provisions of this Agreement. VII. IMPLEMENTATION 23.The Agreement, including Attachments A, and B, constitute the entire agreement between the parties on the matters raised herein, and no other statement, promise, or agreement, either written or oral, made by either party or agents of either party, that is not contained in this written Agreement, will be enforceable under its provisions. 24.This Agreement is limited to the facts set forth above and does not purport to remedy or resolve any other existing or potential violations of the ADA or any other local or Federal law. 25.This Agreement does not affect Ms. Roumou's continuing responsibility to comply with all applicable aspects of title III of the ADA. In particular, title III imposes an obligation to make reasonable modifications in policies, practices, or procedures, when the modifications are necessary to afford goods, services, and facilities to individuals with disabilities. 26.A copy of this document or any information contained in it will be made available to any person by Ms. Roumou or the United States on request. 27.The effective date of this Agreement is the date of the last signature below. This Agreement will remain in effect for three (3) years from the effective date of this Agreement 28.The provisions of this Settlement Agreement shall be deemed severable, and any invalidity or unenforceability of any one or more of its provisions shall not affect the validity or enforceability of the other provisions herein. RONALD W. SHARPE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY DATED: May 15, 2014 By:/s/ Noah Sacks Noah D. Sacks Assistant United States Attorney U.S. Attorney's Office 5500 Veteran's Drive, Suite 260 St. Thomas, VI 00802 Ph: (340) 774-5757 noah.sacks at usdoj.gov Attorney for the United States DATED: May 15, 2014 /s/ Clive Rivers Clive Rivers 800 Nisky Center Suite 233 St. Thomas, VI 00802 Ph: (340) 776-4666 crivers64 at earthlink.net Attorney for Ms. Roumou DATED: May 15, 2014 /s/ Altagracia Roumou Altagracia Roumou St. Thomas, VI 00802 TERRITORY OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS ) DISTRICT OF ST. THOMAS/ST. JOHN ) SS: On this 15 day of May, 2014, before me personally appeared, Altagracia Roumou, known to me to be the individual who executed the foregoing instrument, and acknowledged that she, having the requisite authority to do so, executed the same freely and voluntarily, for the purposes therein stated. WITNESS my hand and official seal. ___________________ NOTARY PUBLIC ATTACHMENT A POLICY REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS FOR CUSTOMERS WITH DISABILITIES In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Altagracia Roumou is committed to providing taxi transportation services for customers with disabilities, including those individuals with disabilities who are accompanied by service animals. Service animals play an important role in ensuring the independence of people with disabilities. It is, therefore, my policy to welcome any animal that is individually trained to assist a person with a disability in my taxicab. What is a Service Animal? Service animal means any dog individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of persons with disabilities. Service animals come in all breeds and sizes. They may be trained either by an organization or by an individual with a disability, need not be certified or licensed, and provide a wide range of services that may or may not be identifiable, including but not limited to: (1) assisting individuals who are blind or have low vision with navigation and other tasks; (2) alerting individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to the presence of people or sounds; (3) pulling a wheelchair; (4) assisting an individual during a seizure or alerting individuals to the presence of allergens; (5) providing physical support and assistance with balance and stability to individuals with mobility disabilities; and (6) helping persons with psychiatric and neurological disabilities by preventing or interrupting impulsive or destructive behaviors. Requirements with Regard to Service Animals If you are not certain that an animal is a service animal, you may ask the person who has the animal if it is a service animal required because of a disability and what service the animal is trained to perform. However, you must not ask a customer with a disability for proof of his or her disability or for any information about his or her disability, nor may you require proof or certification of the animal's training or vaccination. Service animals do not always have a sign or symbol indicating they are service animals. It is Altagracia Roumou's policy that she: 1) must not refuse to provide transportation services to a customer or potential customer with a disability because that individual is accompanied by a service animal; 2) must not ask or require a customer or potential customer accompanied by a service animal to pay any surcharge or deposit not imposed on customers generally because that individual has a service animal. Surcharges or deposits applied to customers or potential customers because they are accompanied by pets must not be applied to customers or potential customers accompanied by service animals; and 3) must not require a customer or potential customer accompanied by a service animal to comply with any additional conditions of service not imposed on customers generally. Prohibited conditions of service include policies or practices suggesting that customers or potential customers with disabilities accompanied by service animals are not as welcome as other customers. Examples of such conditions include asking a customer to disclose at the time transportation service is requested that he or she will be accompanied by a service animal, advising drivers that a customer or potential customer will be accompanied by a service animal before a driver accepts a trip, asking or requiring customers or potential customers accompanied by service animals to muzzle the animals, refusing to transport more than one customer or potential customer accompanied by a service animal together in the same vehicle, placing restrictions on the taxicabs in which customers or potential customers accompanied by service animals are or will be transported, making customers or potential customers accompanied by service animals wait longer than people without service animals before providing transportation services, and making hostile, angry, or insulting comments about a person's service animal or disability. In addition, taxicab drivers must not refuse to stop and transport one or more individuals with disabilities accompanied by service animal(s) who are signaling passing taxicabs if the taxi is on duty and available to provide transportation services. For customers or potential customers who are blind or have low vision, drivers must orally alert such individuals that the taxi has arrived if asked to do so or if it is apparent that the individual does not see that the taxi has arrived. Limited Exceptions A taxicab driver has the right to exclude the service animal from the taxicab only if the animal is out of control and the animal's handler does not take effective action to control it or the animal is not housebroken. A taxicab driver may not refuse service to that individual with a disability when he or she is not accompanied by a service animal. Moreover, Ms. Roumou will not deny transportation to a person with a disability accompanied by a service animal based on fear of animals or of dogs even if such fear is based on past experience with other animals. Each situation will be considered individually. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cases & Matters by ADA Title Coverage | Legal Documents by Type & Date | ADA Home Page May 22, 2014 From blindlaw at nfbnet.org Wed May 28 20:02:52 2014 From: blindlaw at nfbnet.org (Kerri Regan via blindlaw) Date: Wed, 28 May 2014 16:02:52 -0400 Subject: [blindlaw] Software Question Message-ID: Hi everyone. I'm a paralegal student preparing for a summer internship at a small local law firm. The firm deals primarily with Social Security and Workers Compensation-related cases, and managing and compiling client data will be a big part of my job. I use System Access from Serotek as my primary screenreader and had intended to use it on the job as well. Unfortunately, it seems SA and two of the programs I'll be learning to use aren't compatible. The programs are Complementer (produced by FileMaker) and Prevail. Are any of you familiar with either or both of these programs and if so, is there an accessible way to use them? Though SA is my primary screenreader I also have access to NVDA and WindowEyes, though I'm very new to the latter. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. I want to make the most of this internship and contribute to the firm as much as possible. Thanks, Kerri From blindlaw at nfbnet.org Wed May 28 20:09:50 2014 From: blindlaw at nfbnet.org (Hernandez, Yared, CFB via blindlaw) Date: Wed, 28 May 2014 20:09:50 +0000 Subject: [blindlaw] Need Information Message-ID: <6714D3D7202CEB4BA1DF7E3234A4434E62B1D4D1@CEXMB001.nmes.lcl> Hello everyone, My name is Yared and I am a vocational rehabilitation counselor for the NM Commission for the Blind. I am not visually impaired myself but I have joined several forums to learn more about blindness. My goal is to understand my consumers as best as I can and learn so I can help them. I am looking for a practicing lawyer willing to be interviewed by one of my consumers. I have a young lady interested in becoming a lawyer and she is required to interview two people in the field before she starts college training. It will be greatly appreciated if you could help. Thank you for your time. Yared Hernandez Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor NM Commission for the Blind - Las Cruces 575-524-6450 (work) 575-524-6455 (fax) From blindlaw at nfbnet.org Wed May 28 20:31:28 2014 From: blindlaw at nfbnet.org (Russell J. Thomas via blindlaw) Date: Wed, 28 May 2014 13:31:28 -0700 Subject: [blindlaw] Need Information In-Reply-To: <6714D3D7202CEB4BA1DF7E3234A4434E62B1D4D1@CEXMB001.nmes.lcl> References: <6714D3D7202CEB4BA1DF7E3234A4434E62B1D4D1@CEXMB001.nmes.lcl> Message-ID: <000301cf7ab3$ce05b950$6a112bf0$@com> I have done these interviews previously and would be more than happy to do another. My contact information appears below: Respectfully, RUSSELL J. THOMAS, JR. Principal Attorney Law Office of Russell J. Thomas, Jr. Newport Beach Office 4121 Westerly Place, Suite 101 Newport Beach, California 92660 T: 949-752-0101 F: 949-257-4756 Law Office of Russell J. Thomas, Jr. Beverly Hills Office 486 North Camden Drive Suite 200 Beverly Hills, California 90210 T: 310-601-3012 The information contained in this e-mail message is intended only for the personal and confidential use of the recipient(s) named above.  This message may be an attorney-client communication and/or work product and as such is privileged and confidential.  If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient or agent responsible for delivering it to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you have received this document in error and that any review, dissemination, distribution, or copying of this message is strictly prohibited.  If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by e-mail, and delete the original message. -----Original Message----- From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Hernandez, Yared, CFB via blindlaw Sent: Wednesday, May 28, 2014 1:10 PM To: 'blindlaw at nfbnet.org' Subject: [blindlaw] Need Information Hello everyone, My name is Yared and I am a vocational rehabilitation counselor for the NM Commission for the Blind. I am not visually impaired myself but I have joined several forums to learn more about blindness. My goal is to understand my consumers as best as I can and learn so I can help them. I am looking for a practicing lawyer willing to be interviewed by one of my consumers. I have a young lady interested in becoming a lawyer and she is required to interview two people in the field before she starts college training. It will be greatly appreciated if you could help. Thank you for your time. Yared Hernandez Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor NM Commission for the Blind - Las Cruces 575-524-6450 (work) 575-524-6455 (fax) _______________________________________________ blindlaw mailing list blindlaw at nfbnet.org http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for blindlaw: http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/rthomas%40emplmntattor ney.com --- This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active. http://www.avast.com From blindlaw at nfbnet.org Wed May 28 21:20:31 2014 From: blindlaw at nfbnet.org (David Andrews via blindlaw) Date: Wed, 28 May 2014 16:20:31 -0500 Subject: [blindlaw] Software Question In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: At some point, you or somebody else will just have to try different screen readers with the programs in question. Ultimately it is the only way. Dave At 03:02 PM 5/28/2014, you wrote: >Hi everyone. I'm a paralegal student preparing for a summer internship >at a small local law firm. The firm deals primarily with Social >Security and Workers Compensation-related cases, and managing and >compiling client data will be a big part of my job. I use System >Access from Serotek as my primary screenreader and had intended to use >it on the job as well. Unfortunately, it seems SA and two of the >programs I'll be learning to use aren't compatible. The programs are >Complementer (produced by FileMaker) and Prevail. Are any of you >familiar with either or both of these programs and if so, is there an >accessible way to use them? Though SA is my primary screenreader I >also have access to NVDA and WindowEyes, though I'm very new to the >latter. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. I want to make >the most of this internship and contribute to the firm as much as >possible. Thanks, Kerri From blindlaw at nfbnet.org Thu May 29 20:22:48 2014 From: blindlaw at nfbnet.org (Michael Nowicki via blindlaw) Date: Thu, 29 May 2014 15:22:48 -0500 Subject: [blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination Lawsuit In-Reply-To: <04F1893C93758F4AA7CB436BB26750660118C2654606@EDUPTCEXMB02.ed.gov> References: <17029001.1031@public.govdelivery.com> <04F1893C93758F4AA7CB436BB26750660118C2654606@EDUPTCEXMB02.ed.gov> Message-ID: <003c01cf7b7b$c3cf99b0$4b6ecd10$@icloud.com> Dear List Members, I am concerned that this settlement, if accepted and adopted, will end up hurting more than helping prospective blind lawyers. After all, based on what I know, standardized test scores of persons with disabilities often don't reflect their ability to succeed in the relevant educational program. Consequently, doesn't the flagging of LSAT scores actually increase a qualified blind applicant's chances of law school acceptance? I know that flagging could also have potentially negative consequences, but don't the positive ones tend to outweigh the negatives? I look forward to your opinions on this matter. Sincerely, Michal Nowicki -----Original Message----- From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Nightingale, Noel via blindlaw Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2014 12:25 PM To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org Subject: [blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination Lawsuit From: U.S. Department of Justice [mailto:usdoj at public.govdelivery.com] Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2014 10:07 AM To: Nightingale, Noel Subject: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination Lawsuit The Justice Department filed a joint motion today for entry of a landmark consent decree to resolve allegations that the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) engaged in widespread and systemic discrimination in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Under the proposed consent decree, LSAC will pay $7.73 million in penalties and damages to compensate well over 6,000 individuals nationwide who applied for testing accommodations on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) over the past five years. The decree also requires comprehensive reforms to LSAC’s policies and ends its practice of “flagging,” or annotating, LSAT score reports for test takers with disabilities who receive extended time as an accommodation. These reforms will impact tens of thousands of test takers with disabilities for years to come. For more information or for a copy of the consent decree, please visit our ADA website at www.ada.gov. Those interested in finding out more about the ADA may also call the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TDD). ________________________________ [cid:image001.jpg at 01CF7415.C25F8990] Follow The Department of Justice on Twitter. | [cid:image001.jpg at 01CF7415.C25F8990] Like The Department of Justice on Facebook. ________________________________ You have received this e-mail because you have asked to be notified of changes to the U.S. Department of Justice website. GovDelivery is providing this service on behalf of the Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW · Washington, DC 20530 · 202-514-2000 and may not use your subscription information for any other purposes. Manage your Subscriptions | Department of Justice Privacy Policy | GovDelivery Privacy Policy From blindlaw at nfbnet.org Thu May 29 20:27:24 2014 From: blindlaw at nfbnet.org (Dan Beitz via blindlaw) Date: Thu, 29 May 2014 20:27:24 +0000 Subject: [blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination Lawsuit In-Reply-To: <003c01cf7b7b$c3cf99b0$4b6ecd10$@icloud.com> References: <17029001.1031@public.govdelivery.com> <04F1893C93758F4AA7CB436BB26750660118C2654606@EDUPTCEXMB02.ed.gov> <003c01cf7b7b$c3cf99b0$4b6ecd10$@icloud.com> Message-ID: The flagging of test scores almost always means that the results are considered not statistically valid, and allegedly invalid scores are disregarded. Daniel K. Beitz Wienner & Gould, P.C. 950 University Dr., Ste. 350 Rochester, MI 48307 Phone: (248) 841-9405 Fax: (248) 652-2729 dbeitz at wiennergould.com www.wiennergould.com This email transmission and any documents, files or previous email messages attached to it may contain confidential information that is legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient or the individual responsible for delivering this email to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, or distribution or use of any of the information contained herein or attached to this email is strictly prohibited. Should you receive this communication in error, please notify us immediately by replying to the sender of this email or by telephoning us at (248) 841-9400. -----Original Message----- From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Michael Nowicki via blindlaw Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2014 4:23 PM To: 'Nightingale, Noel'; 'Blind Law Mailing List' Subject: Re: [blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination Lawsuit Dear List Members, I am concerned that this settlement, if accepted and adopted, will end up hurting more than helping prospective blind lawyers. After all, based on what I know, standardized test scores of persons with disabilities often don't reflect their ability to succeed in the relevant educational program. Consequently, doesn't the flagging of LSAT scores actually increase a qualified blind applicant's chances of law school acceptance? I know that flagging could also have potentially negative consequences, but don't the positive ones tend to outweigh the negatives? I look forward to your opinions on this matter. Sincerely, Michal Nowicki -----Original Message----- From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Nightingale, Noel via blindlaw Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2014 12:25 PM To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org Subject: [blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination Lawsuit From: U.S. Department of Justice [mailto:usdoj at public.govdelivery.com] Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2014 10:07 AM To: Nightingale, Noel Subject: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination Lawsuit The Justice Department filed a joint motion today for entry of a landmark consent decree to resolve allegations that the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) engaged in widespread and systemic discrimination in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Under the proposed consent decree, LSAC will pay $7.73 million in penalties and damages to compensate well over 6,000 individuals nationwide who applied for testing accommodations on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) over the past five years. The decree also requires comprehensive reforms to LSAC’s policies and ends its practice of “flagging,” or annotating, LSAT score reports for test takers with disabilities who receive extended time as an accommodation. These reforms will impact tens of thousands of test takers with disabilities for years to come. For more information or for a copy of the consent decree, please visit our ADA website at www.ada.gov. Those interested in finding out more about the ADA may also call the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TDD). ________________________________ [cid:image001.jpg at 01CF7415.C25F8990] Follow The Department of Justice on Twitter. | [cid:image001.jpg at 01CF7415.C25F8990] Like The Department of Justice on Facebook. ________________________________ You have received this e-mail because you have asked to be notified of changes to the U.S. Department of Justice website. GovDelivery is providing this service on behalf of the Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW · Washington, DC 20530 · 202-514-2000 and may not use your subscription information for any other purposes. Manage your Subscriptions | Department of Justice Privacy Policy | GovDelivery Privacy Policy _______________________________________________ blindlaw mailing list blindlaw at nfbnet.org http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for blindlaw: http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/dbeitz%40wiennergould.com From blindlaw at nfbnet.org Thu May 29 20:47:39 2014 From: blindlaw at nfbnet.org (Sy Hoekstra via blindlaw) Date: Thu, 29 May 2014 16:47:39 -0400 Subject: [blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination Lawsuit In-Reply-To: References: <17029001.1031@public.govdelivery.com> <04F1893C93758F4AA7CB436BB26750660118C2654606@EDUPTCEXMB02.ed.gov> <003c01cf7b7b$c3cf99b0$4b6ecd10$@icloud.com> Message-ID: <001d01cf7b7f$3f5e4740$be1ad5c0$@gmail.com> And the tests would reflect a disabled person's ability to succeed, at least in law school, if they had proper accommodations. The LSAC also has to engage in some sort of review of their accommoodations policy as part of the settlement, though I don't know the details. But I know if I had had jaws and a laptop for the multiple choice, I would have done better than I did with a reader, and it would have been an actual sample of my testing ability, which is largely the determinate for success in law school. Plus, part of their flagging policy was not to factor in extra time exam scores into their calculation of percentile scores or give examinees who used extra time their personal percentile score. That is essentially a message to the world, and law school admissions officers, that people who use extra time aren't taking the real exam. -----Original Message----- From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Dan Beitz via blindlaw Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2014 4:27 PM To: Michael Nowicki; Blind Law Mailing List; 'Nightingale, Noel' Subject: Re: [blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination Lawsuit The flagging of test scores almost always means that the results are considered not statistically valid, and allegedly invalid scores are disregarded. Daniel K. Beitz Wienner & Gould, P.C. 950 University Dr., Ste. 350 Rochester, MI 48307 Phone: (248) 841-9405 Fax: (248) 652-2729 dbeitz at wiennergould.com www.wiennergould.com This email transmission and any documents, files or previous email messages attached to it may contain confidential information that is legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient or the individual responsible for delivering this email to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, or distribution or use of any of the information contained herein or attached to this email is strictly prohibited. Should you receive this communication in error, please notify us immediately by replying to the sender of this email or by telephoning us at (248) 841-9400. -----Original Message----- From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Michael Nowicki via blindlaw Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2014 4:23 PM To: 'Nightingale, Noel'; 'Blind Law Mailing List' Subject: Re: [blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination Lawsuit Dear List Members, I am concerned that this settlement, if accepted and adopted, will end up hurting more than helping prospective blind lawyers. After all, based on what I know, standardized test scores of persons with disabilities often don't reflect their ability to succeed in the relevant educational program. Consequently, doesn't the flagging of LSAT scores actually increase a qualified blind applicant's chances of law school acceptance? I know that flagging could also have potentially negative consequences, but don't the positive ones tend to outweigh the negatives? I look forward to your opinions on this matter. Sincerely, Michal Nowicki -----Original Message----- From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Nightingale, Noel via blindlaw Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2014 12:25 PM To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org Subject: [blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination Lawsuit From: U.S. Department of Justice [mailto:usdoj at public.govdelivery.com] Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2014 10:07 AM To: Nightingale, Noel Subject: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination Lawsuit The Justice Department filed a joint motion today for entry of a landmark consent decree to resolve allegations that the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) engaged in widespread and systemic discrimination in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Under the proposed consent decree, LSAC will pay $7.73 million in penalties and damages to compensate well over 6,000 individuals nationwide who applied for testing accommodations on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) over the past five years. The decree also requires comprehensive reforms to LSAC’s policies and ends its practice of “flagging,” or annotating, LSAT score reports for test takers with disabilities who receive extended time as an accommodation. These reforms will impact tens of thousands of test takers with disabilities for years to come. For more information or for a copy of the consent decree, please visit our ADA website at www.ada.gov. Those interested in finding out more about the ADA may also call the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TDD). ________________________________ [cid:image001.jpg at 01CF7415.C25F8990] Follow The Department of Justice on Twitter. | [cid:image001.jpg at 01CF7415.C25F8990] Like The Department of Justice on Facebook. ________________________________ You have received this e-mail because you have asked to be notified of changes to the U.S. Department of Justice website. GovDelivery is providing this service on behalf of the Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW · Washington, DC 20530 · 202-514-2000 and may not use your subscription information for any other purposes. Manage your Subscriptions | Department of Justice Privacy Policy | GovDelivery Privacy Policy _______________________________________________ blindlaw mailing list blindlaw at nfbnet.org http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for blindlaw: http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/dbeitz%40wiennergould.com _______________________________________________ blindlaw mailing list blindlaw at nfbnet.org http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for blindlaw: http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/sy.hoekstra%40gmail.com From blindlaw at nfbnet.org Thu May 29 21:02:48 2014 From: blindlaw at nfbnet.org (Michael Nowicki via blindlaw) Date: Thu, 29 May 2014 16:02:48 -0500 Subject: [blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination Lawsuit In-Reply-To: <001d01cf7b7f$3f5e4740$be1ad5c0$@gmail.com> References: <17029001.1031@public.govdelivery.com> <04F1893C93758F4AA7CB436BB26750660118C2654606@EDUPTCEXMB02.ed.gov> <003c01cf7b7b$c3cf99b0$4b6ecd10$@icloud.com> <001d01cf7b7f$3f5e4740$be1ad5c0$@gmail.com> Message-ID: <000101cf7b81$598ca1a0$0ca5e4e0$@icloud.com> Dear Mr. Hoekstra and mr. Beitz, Thank you for explaining the issue. I understand that our LSAT scores are currently considered practically invalid, but what are the actual implications of this policy? Specifically, when a law school admissions officer sees a flagged score, how does he/she typically react? Best, Michal -----Original Message----- From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Sy Hoekstra via blindlaw Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2014 3:48 PM To: 'Dan Beitz'; 'Blind Law Mailing List' Subject: Re: [blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination Lawsuit And the tests would reflect a disabled person's ability to succeed, at least in law school, if they had proper accommodations. The LSAC also has to engage in some sort of review of their accommoodations policy as part of the settlement, though I don't know the details. But I know if I had had jaws and a laptop for the multiple choice, I would have done better than I did with a reader, and it would have been an actual sample of my testing ability, which is largely the determinate for success in law school. Plus, part of their flagging policy was not to factor in extra time exam scores into their calculation of percentile scores or give examinees who used extra time their personal percentile score. That is essentially a message to the world, and law school admissions officers, that people who use extra time aren't taking the real exam. -----Original Message----- From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Dan Beitz via blindlaw Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2014 4:27 PM To: Michael Nowicki; Blind Law Mailing List; 'Nightingale, Noel' Subject: Re: [blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination Lawsuit The flagging of test scores almost always means that the results are considered not statistically valid, and allegedly invalid scores are disregarded. Daniel K. Beitz Wienner & Gould, P.C. 950 University Dr., Ste. 350 Rochester, MI 48307 Phone: (248) 841-9405 Fax: (248) 652-2729 dbeitz at wiennergould.com www.wiennergould.com This email transmission and any documents, files or previous email messages attached to it may contain confidential information that is legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient or the individual responsible for delivering this email to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, or distribution or use of any of the information contained herein or attached to this email is strictly prohibited. Should you receive this communication in error, please notify us immediately by replying to the sender of this email or by telephoning us at (248) 841-9400. -----Original Message----- From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Michael Nowicki via blindlaw Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2014 4:23 PM To: 'Nightingale, Noel'; 'Blind Law Mailing List' Subject: Re: [blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination Lawsuit Dear List Members, I am concerned that this settlement, if accepted and adopted, will end up hurting more than helping prospective blind lawyers. After all, based on what I know, standardized test scores of persons with disabilities often don't reflect their ability to succeed in the relevant educational program. Consequently, doesn't the flagging of LSAT scores actually increase a qualified blind applicant's chances of law school acceptance? I know that flagging could also have potentially negative consequences, but don't the positive ones tend to outweigh the negatives? I look forward to your opinions on this matter. Sincerely, Michal Nowicki -----Original Message----- From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Nightingale, Noel via blindlaw Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2014 12:25 PM To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org Subject: [blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination Lawsuit From: U.S. Department of Justice [mailto:usdoj at public.govdelivery.com] Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2014 10:07 AM To: Nightingale, Noel Subject: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination Lawsuit The Justice Department filed a joint motion today for entry of a landmark consent decree to resolve allegations that the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) engaged in widespread and systemic discrimination in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Under the proposed consent decree, LSAC will pay $7.73 million in penalties and damages to compensate well over 6,000 individuals nationwide who applied for testing accommodations on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) over the past five years. The decree also requires comprehensive reforms to LSAC’s policies and ends its practice of “flagging,” or annotating, LSAT score reports for test takers with disabilities who receive extended time as an accommodation. These reforms will impact tens of thousands of test takers with disabilities for years to come. For more information or for a copy of the consent decree, please visit our ADA website at www.ada.gov. Those interested in finding out more about the ADA may also call the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TDD). ________________________________ [cid:image001.jpg at 01CF7415.C25F8990] Follow The Department of Justice on Twitter. | [cid:image001.jpg at 01CF7415.C25F8990] Like The Department of Justice on Facebook. ________________________________ You have received this e-mail because you have asked to be notified of changes to the U.S. Department of Justice website. GovDelivery is providing this service on behalf of the Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW · Washington, DC 20530 · 202-514-2000 and may not use your subscription information for any other purposes. Manage your Subscriptions | Department of Justice Privacy Policy | GovDelivery Privacy Policy _______________________________________________ blindlaw mailing list blindlaw at nfbnet.org http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for blindlaw: http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/dbeitz%40wiennergould.com _______________________________________________ blindlaw mailing list blindlaw at nfbnet.org http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for blindlaw: http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/sy.hoekstra%40gmail.com _______________________________________________ blindlaw mailing list blindlaw at nfbnet.org http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for blindlaw: http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/mnowicki4%40icloud.com From blindlaw at nfbnet.org Thu May 29 21:34:08 2014 From: blindlaw at nfbnet.org (Angie Matney via blindlaw) Date: Thu, 29 May 2014 17:34:08 -0400 Subject: [blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination Lawsuit In-Reply-To: <000101cf7b81$598ca1a0$0ca5e4e0$@icloud.com> References: <17029001.1031@public.govdelivery.com> <04F1893C93758F4AA7CB436BB26750660118C2654606@EDUPTCEXMB02.ed.gov> <003c01cf7b7b$c3cf99b0$4b6ecd10$@icloud.com> <001d01cf7b7f$3f5e4740$be1ad5c0$@gmail.com> <000101cf7b81$598ca1a0$0ca5e4e0$@icloud.com> Message-ID: A person with a disability needs to have the right to apply to law school without referencing their disability if they choose to do so. While many people might choose to make this known during the application process--and perhaps for the very reason that they wish to argue that the test does not reflect their true ability, others might forgo any potential advantages under the theory that they, not some third party, should control when and how their disability is disclosed to admissions officers. On 5/29/14, Michael Nowicki via blindlaw wrote: > Dear Mr. Hoekstra and mr. Beitz, > > Thank you for explaining the issue. I understand that our LSAT scores are > currently considered practically invalid, but what are the actual > implications of this policy? Specifically, when a law school admissions > officer sees a flagged score, how does he/she typically react? > > Best, > > Michal > > -----Original Message----- > From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Sy Hoekstra > via blindlaw > Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2014 3:48 PM > To: 'Dan Beitz'; 'Blind Law Mailing List' > Subject: Re: [blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission > Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination > Lawsuit > > And the tests would reflect a disabled person's ability to succeed, at least > in law school, if they had proper accommodations. The LSAC also has to > engage in some sort of review of their accommoodations policy as part of the > settlement, though I don't know the details. But I know if I had had jaws > and a laptop for the multiple choice, I would have done better than I did > with a reader, and it would have been an actual sample of my testing > ability, which is largely the determinate for success in law school. > > Plus, part of their flagging policy was not to factor in extra time exam > scores into their calculation of percentile scores or give examinees who > used extra time their personal percentile score. That is essentially a > message to the world, and law school admissions officers, that people who > use extra time aren't taking the real exam. > > -----Original Message----- > From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Dan Beitz > via blindlaw > Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2014 4:27 PM > To: Michael Nowicki; Blind Law Mailing List; 'Nightingale, Noel' > Subject: Re: [blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission > Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination > Lawsuit > > The flagging of test scores almost always means that the results are > considered not statistically valid, and allegedly invalid scores are > disregarded. > > > > > Daniel K. Beitz > Wienner & Gould, P.C. > 950 University Dr., Ste. 350 > Rochester, MI 48307 > Phone: (248) 841-9405 > Fax: (248) 652-2729 > dbeitz at wiennergould.com > > www.wiennergould.com > > This email transmission and any documents, files or previous email messages > attached > to it may contain confidential information that is legally privileged. If > you are > not the intended recipient or the individual responsible for delivering this > email > to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, > copying, > or distribution or use of any of the information contained herein or > attached to > this email is strictly prohibited. Should you receive this communication in > error, > please notify us immediately by replying to the sender of this email or by > telephoning > us at (248) 841-9400. > > -----Original Message----- > From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Michael > Nowicki via blindlaw > Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2014 4:23 PM > To: 'Nightingale, Noel'; 'Blind Law Mailing List' > Subject: Re: [blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission > Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination > Lawsuit > > Dear List Members, > > I am concerned that this settlement, if accepted and adopted, will end up > hurting more than helping prospective blind lawyers. After all, based on > what I know, standardized test scores of persons with disabilities often > don't reflect their ability to succeed in the relevant educational program. > Consequently, doesn't the flagging of LSAT scores actually increase a > qualified blind applicant's chances of law school acceptance? I know that > flagging could also have potentially negative consequences, but don't the > positive ones tend to outweigh the negatives? I look forward to your > opinions on this matter. > > Sincerely, > > Michal Nowicki > > -----Original Message----- > From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of > Nightingale, Noel via blindlaw > Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2014 12:25 PM > To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org > Subject: [blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission Council > to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination Lawsuit > > > > From: U.S. Department of Justice [mailto:usdoj at public.govdelivery.com] > Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2014 10:07 AM > To: Nightingale, Noel > Subject: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission Council to Settle > Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination Lawsuit > > > The Justice Department filed a joint motion today for entry of a landmark > consent decree > > to resolve allegations that the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) engaged > in widespread and systemic discrimination in violation of the Americans with > Disabilities Act (ADA). Under the proposed consent decree, LSAC will pay > $7.73 million in penalties and damages to compensate well over 6,000 > individuals nationwide who applied for testing accommodations on the Law > School Admission Test (LSAT) over the past five years. The decree also > requires comprehensive reforms to LSAC's policies and ends its practice of > "flagging," or annotating, LSAT score reports for test takers with > disabilities who receive extended time as an accommodation. These reforms > will impact tens of thousands of test takers with disabilities for years to > come. > > For more information or for a copy of the consent decree, please visit our > ADA website at > www.ada.gov. > Those interested in finding out more about the ADA may also call the > Justice Department's toll-free ADA Information Line > > at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TDD). > > ________________________________ > [cid:image001.jpg at 01CF7415.C25F8990] > Follow > The Department of Justice on Twitter. | > [cid:image001.jpg at 01CF7415.C25F8990] > > > Like > The Department of Justice on Facebook. > ________________________________ > You have received this e-mail because you have asked to be notified of > changes to the U.S. Department of > Justice > website. GovDelivery is providing this service on behalf of the Department > of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW · Washington, DC 20530 · 202-514-2000 > and may not use your subscription information for any other purposes. > > Manage your > Subscriptions > | Department of Justice Privacy Policy > > | GovDelivery Privacy Policy > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > blindlaw mailing list > blindlaw at nfbnet.org > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org > To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for > blindlaw: > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/dbeitz%40wiennergould.com > _______________________________________________ > blindlaw mailing list > blindlaw at nfbnet.org > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org > To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for > blindlaw: > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/sy.hoekstra%40gmail.com > > > _______________________________________________ > blindlaw mailing list > blindlaw at nfbnet.org > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org > To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for > blindlaw: > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/mnowicki4%40icloud.com > > > _______________________________________________ > blindlaw mailing list > blindlaw at nfbnet.org > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org > To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for > blindlaw: > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/angie.matney%40gmail.com > From blindlaw at nfbnet.org Thu May 29 23:56:33 2014 From: blindlaw at nfbnet.org (Daniel McBride via blindlaw) Date: Thu, 29 May 2014 18:56:33 -0500 Subject: [blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law School Admission Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination Lawsuit Message-ID: <00dc01cf7b99$9ebec970$dc3c5c50$@sbcglobal.net> And just as well Michael, for all of us who were flagged on the LSAt, how did we manage to gain entry into law school? I know for certain that I didn't ace the exam. Statistically, the number of blind/visually impaired persons who get into law school, compared to the number that take the exam, must be incredibly high. There aren't many of us who take it yet most of us got into law school. Daniel McBride Fort Worth, Texas -----Original Message----- From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Michael Nowicki via blindlaw Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2014 4:03 PM To: 'Sy Hoekstra'; 'Blind Law Mailing List' Subject: Re: [blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination Lawsuit Dear Mr. Hoekstra and mr. Beitz, Thank you for explaining the issue. I understand that our LSAT scores are currently considered practically invalid, but what are the actual implications of this policy? Specifically, when a law school admissions officer sees a flagged score, how does he/she typically react? Best, Michal -----Original Message----- From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Sy Hoekstra via blindlaw Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2014 3:48 PM To: 'Dan Beitz'; 'Blind Law Mailing List' Subject: Re: [blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination Lawsuit And the tests would reflect a disabled person's ability to succeed, at least in law school, if they had proper accommodations. The LSAC also has to engage in some sort of review of their accommoodations policy as part of the settlement, though I don't know the details. But I know if I had had jaws and a laptop for the multiple choice, I would have done better than I did with a reader, and it would have been an actual sample of my testing ability, which is largely the determinate for success in law school. Plus, part of their flagging policy was not to factor in extra time exam scores into their calculation of percentile scores or give examinees who used extra time their personal percentile score. That is essentially a message to the world, and law school admissions officers, that people who use extra time aren't taking the real exam. -----Original Message----- From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Dan Beitz via blindlaw Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2014 4:27 PM To: Michael Nowicki; Blind Law Mailing List; 'Nightingale, Noel' Subject: Re: [blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination Lawsuit The flagging of test scores almost always means that the results are considered not statistically valid, and allegedly invalid scores are disregarded. Daniel K. Beitz Wienner & Gould, P.C. 950 University Dr., Ste. 350 Rochester, MI 48307 Phone: (248) 841-9405 Fax: (248) 652-2729 dbeitz at wiennergould.com www.wiennergould.com This email transmission and any documents, files or previous email messages attached to it may contain confidential information that is legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient or the individual responsible for delivering this email to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, or distribution or use of any of the information contained herein or attached to this email is strictly prohibited. Should you receive this communication in error, please notify us immediately by replying to the sender of this email or by telephoning us at (248) 841-9400. -----Original Message----- From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Michael Nowicki via blindlaw Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2014 4:23 PM To: 'Nightingale, Noel'; 'Blind Law Mailing List' Subject: Re: [blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination Lawsuit Dear List Members, I am concerned that this settlement, if accepted and adopted, will end up hurting more than helping prospective blind lawyers. After all, based on what I know, standardized test scores of persons with disabilities often don't reflect their ability to succeed in the relevant educational program. Consequently, doesn't the flagging of LSAT scores actually increase a qualified blind applicant's chances of law school acceptance? I know that flagging could also have potentially negative consequences, but don't the positive ones tend to outweigh the negatives? I look forward to your opinions on this matter. Sincerely, Michal Nowicki -----Original Message----- From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Nightingale, Noel via blindlaw Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2014 12:25 PM To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org Subject: [blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination Lawsuit From: U.S. Department of Justice [mailto:usdoj at public.govdelivery.com] Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2014 10:07 AM To: Nightingale, Noel Subject: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination Lawsuit The Justice Department filed a joint motion today for entry of a landmark consent decree to resolve allegations that the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) engaged in widespread and systemic discrimination in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Under the proposed consent decree, LSAC will pay $7.73 million in penalties and damages to compensate well over 6,000 individuals nationwide who applied for testing accommodations on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) over the past five years. The decree also requires comprehensive reforms to LSAC’s policies and ends its practice of “flagging,” or annotating, LSAT score reports for test takers with disabilities who receive extended time as an accommodation. These reforms will impact tens of thousands of test takers with disabilities for years to come. For more information or for a copy of the consent decree, please visit our ADA website at www.ada.gov. Those interested in finding out more about the ADA may also call the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TDD). ________________________________ [cid:image001.jpg at 01CF7415.C25F8990] Follow The Department of Justice on Twitter. | [cid:image001.jpg at 01CF7415.C25F8990] Like The Department of Justice on Facebook. ________________________________ You have received this e-mail because you have asked to be notified of changes to the U.S. Department of Justice website. GovDelivery is providing this service on behalf of the Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW · Washington, DC 20530 · 202-514-2000 and may not use your subscription information for any other purposes. Manage your Subscriptions | Department of Justice Privacy Policy | GovDelivery Privacy Policy _______________________________________________ blindlaw mailing list blindlaw at nfbnet.org http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for blindlaw: http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/dbeitz%40wiennergould.com _______________________________________________ blindlaw mailing list blindlaw at nfbnet.org http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for blindlaw: http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/sy.hoekstra%40gmail.com _______________________________________________ blindlaw mailing list blindlaw at nfbnet.org http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for blindlaw: http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/mnowicki4%40icloud.com _______________________________________________ blindlaw mailing list blindlaw at nfbnet.org http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for blindlaw: http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/dlmlaw%40sbcglobal.net From blindlaw at nfbnet.org Fri May 30 15:46:30 2014 From: blindlaw at nfbnet.org (Scott C. LaBarre via blindlaw) Date: Fri, 30 May 2014 09:46:30 -0600 Subject: [blindlaw] FW: Attorney Vacancies at the U.S. Department of Justice References: <5A114E4DF190414C9DEC8CF5D78729BD0BD88E0574@GSD-MBX-RDC06.gsd.doj.gov> <98A98D365DA17347B0FA3158D79B489447BBAFC3@DPRC-EXCH-P07.JCONMAIL.doj.gov> Message-ID: <022a01cf7c1e$53f08b10$fbd1a130$@labarrelaw.com> From: Scott C. LaBarre [mailto:slabarre at labarrelaw.com] Sent: Friday, May 30, 2014 9:43 AM To: 'blindlaw at nfb.org' Subject: FW: Attorney Vacancies at the U.S. Department of Justice fyi From: Hunter, Sue (JMD) [mailto:Sue.Hunter at usdoj.gov] Sent: Friday, May 30, 2014 9:34 AM To: Hunter, Sue (JMD) Subject: Attorney Vacancies at the U.S. Department of Justice Below is a list of current attorney vacancies at the United States Department of Justice. We encourage all interested applicants to apply; To learn more about Justice and our legal careers, please visit our website: www.justice.gov/careers/legal/. In addition, every year over 1,800 volunteer legal interns serve in DOJ components and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices throughout the country. If you know any law students who may be interested in a DOJ volunteer internship, please encourage them to review the many opportunities featured at www.justice.gov/careers/legal/volunteer-intern.html. Finally, please share this email with interested colleagues and peers. If you wish to update the contact information for you or the organization you represent, or no longer wish to receive these periodic email announcements, please respond to this email address and ask to be removed from our mailing list. Thank you. Criminal Division (CRM) Supervisory General Attorney (Deputy Chief) / GS-905-15 DC 05/30/2014 Criminal Division (CRM) Resident Legal Advisor / GS-905-15 05/29/2014 USAO Eastern District of Wisconsin Assistant United States Attorney WI 05/29/2014 USAO District of Maryland Special Assistant United States Attorney (Uncompensated) MD 05/29/2014 USAO District of Maryland Assistant United States Attorney (Criminal) MD 05/29/2014 USAO District of Alaska Assistant United States Attorney AK 05/29/2014 Civil Rights Division (CRT) Trial Attorney, GS-905-14/15 DC 05/28/2014 USAO Eastern District of Texas Assistant United States Attorney TX 05/27/2014 Office of the Deputy Attorney General (ODAG) Director, Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Associate Deputy Attorney General DC 05/27/2014 Criminal Division (CRM) Supervisory Attorney (General Counsel) / GS-905-15 DC 05/22/2014 Criminal Division (CRM) Supervisory Trial Attorney (Deputy Chief) GS-905 DC 05/22/2014 From blindlaw at nfbnet.org Fri May 30 18:21:54 2014 From: blindlaw at nfbnet.org (Tim Elder via blindlaw) Date: Fri, 30 May 2014 11:21:54 -0700 Subject: [blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination Lawsuit In-Reply-To: References: <17029001.1031@public.govdelivery.com> <04F1893C93758F4AA7CB436BB26750660118C2654606@EDUPTCEXMB02.ed.gov> <003c01cf7b7b$c3cf99b0$4b6ecd10$@icloud.com> <001d01cf7b7f$3f5e4740$be1ad5c0$@gmail.com> <000101cf7b81$598ca1a0$0ca5e4e0$@icloud.com> Message-ID: <009b01cf7c34$099f6b60$1cde4220$@timeldermusic.com> I concur with Angie. Many schools have voluntary disclosure procedures in the application to allow a student to explain extenuating circumstances that should be considered when creating a diverse class. My school used this process to promote affirmative action based on disadvantaged students without having quotas for specific catagories of minority groups. -----Original Message----- From: Angie Matney via blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw at nfbnet.org] Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2014 2:34 PM To: Michael Nowicki; Blind Law Mailing List Subject: Re: [blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination Lawsuit A person with a disability needs to have the right to apply to law school without referencing their disability if they choose to do so. While many people might choose to make this known during the application process--and perhaps for the very reason that they wish to argue that the test does not reflect their true ability, others might forgo any potential advantages under the theory that they, not some third party, should control when and how their disability is disclosed to admissions officers. On 5/29/14, Michael Nowicki via blindlaw wrote: > Dear Mr. Hoekstra and mr. Beitz, > > Thank you for explaining the issue. I understand that our LSAT scores > are currently considered practically invalid, but what are the actual > implications of this policy? Specifically, when a law school > admissions officer sees a flagged score, how does he/she typically react? > > Best, > > Michal > > -----Original Message----- > From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Sy > Hoekstra via blindlaw > Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2014 3:48 PM > To: 'Dan Beitz'; 'Blind Law Mailing List' > Subject: Re: [blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol > Admission Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability > Discrimination Lawsuit > > And the tests would reflect a disabled person's ability to succeed, at > least in law school, if they had proper accommodations. The LSAC also > has to engage in some sort of review of their accommoodations policy > as part of the settlement, though I don't know the details. But I know > if I had had jaws and a laptop for the multiple choice, I would have > done better than I did with a reader, and it would have been an actual > sample of my testing ability, which is largely the determinate for success in law school. > > Plus, part of their flagging policy was not to factor in extra time > exam scores into their calculation of percentile scores or give > examinees who used extra time their personal percentile score. That is > essentially a message to the world, and law school admissions > officers, that people who use extra time aren't taking the real exam. > > -----Original Message----- > From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Dan > Beitz via blindlaw > Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2014 4:27 PM > To: Michael Nowicki; Blind Law Mailing List; 'Nightingale, Noel' > Subject: Re: [blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol > Admission Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability > Discrimination Lawsuit > > The flagging of test scores almost always means that the results are > considered not statistically valid, and allegedly invalid scores are > disregarded. > > > > > Daniel K. Beitz > Wienner & Gould, P.C. > 950 University Dr., Ste. 350 > Rochester, MI 48307 > Phone: (248) 841-9405 > Fax: (248) 652-2729 > dbeitz at wiennergould.com > > www.wiennergould.com > > This email transmission and any documents, files or previous email > messages attached to it may contain confidential information that is > legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient or the > individual responsible for delivering this email to the intended > recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, or > distribution or use of any of the information contained herein or > attached to this email is strictly prohibited. Should you receive > this communication in error, please notify us immediately by replying > to the sender of this email or by telephoning us at (248) 841-9400. > > -----Original Message----- > From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of > Michael Nowicki via blindlaw > Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2014 4:23 PM > To: 'Nightingale, Noel'; 'Blind Law Mailing List' > Subject: Re: [blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol > Admission Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability > Discrimination Lawsuit > > Dear List Members, > > I am concerned that this settlement, if accepted and adopted, will end > up hurting more than helping prospective blind lawyers. After all, > based on what I know, standardized test scores of persons with > disabilities often don't reflect their ability to succeed in the relevant educational program. > Consequently, doesn't the flagging of LSAT scores actually increase a > qualified blind applicant's chances of law school acceptance? I know > that flagging could also have potentially negative consequences, but > don't the positive ones tend to outweigh the negatives? I look > forward to your opinions on this matter. > > Sincerely, > > Michal Nowicki > > -----Original Message----- > From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of > Nightingale, Noel via blindlaw > Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2014 12:25 PM > To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org > Subject: [blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission > Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability > Discrimination Lawsuit > > > > From: U.S. Department of Justice [mailto:usdoj at public.govdelivery.com] > Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2014 10:07 AM > To: Nightingale, Noel > Subject: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission Council to Settle > Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination Lawsuit > > > The Justice Department filed a joint motion today for entry of a > landmark consent decree > uZ2lkPTIwMTQwNTIwLjMyMzUzMTcxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE0MDUyM > C4zMjM1MzE3MSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE3MDI5MDAxJmVtYWlsaWQ9bm9 > lbC5uaWdodGluZ2FsZUBlZC5nb3YmdXNlcmlkPW5vZWwubmlnaHRpbmdhbGVAZWQuZ292J > mZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY=&&&100&&&http://www.ada.gov/def > h_v_lsac/lsac_consentdecree.htm> to resolve allegations that the Law > School Admission Council (LSAC) engaged in widespread and systemic > discrimination in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act > (ADA). Under the proposed consent decree, LSAC will pay > $7.73 million in penalties and damages to compensate well over 6,000 > individuals nationwide who applied for testing accommodations on the > Law School Admission Test (LSAT) over the past five years. The decree > also requires comprehensive reforms to LSAC's policies and ends its > practice of "flagging," or annotating, LSAT score reports for test > takers with disabilities who receive extended time as an > accommodation. These reforms will impact tens of thousands of test > takers with disabilities for years to come. > > For more information or for a copy of the consent decree, please visit > our ADA website at > www.ada.gov. > Those interested in finding out more about the ADA may also call the > Justice Department's toll-free ADA Information Line > uZ2lkPTIwMTQwNTIwLjMyMzUzMTcxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE0MDUyM > C4zMjM1MzE3MSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE3MDI5MDAxJmVtYWlsaWQ9bm9 > lbC5uaWdodGluZ2FsZUBlZC5nb3YmdXNlcmlkPW5vZWwubmlnaHRpbmdhbGVAZWQuZ292J > mZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY=&&&102&&&http://www.ada.gov/inf > oline.htm> at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TDD). > > ________________________________ > [cid:image001.jpg at 01CF7415.C25F8990] rack?type=click&enid=ZWFzPTEmbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTQwNTIwLjMyMzUzMTcxJm1lc > 3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE0MDUyMC4zMjM1MzE3MSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDE > mc2VyaWFsPTE3MDI5MDAxJmVtYWlsaWQ9bm9lbC5uaWdodGluZ2FsZUBlZC5nb3YmdXNlc > mlkPW5vZWwubmlnaHRpbmdhbGVAZWQuZ292JmZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0 > mJiY=&&&103&&&http://www.google.com> > Follow WFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTQwNTIwLjMyMzUzMTcxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE > 0MDUyMC4zMjM1MzE3MSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE3MDI5MDAxJmVtYWlsa > WQ9bm9lbC5uaWdodGluZ2FsZUBlZC5nb3YmdXNlcmlkPW5vZWwubmlnaHRpbmdhbGVAZWQ > uZ292JmZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY=&&&104&&&http://twitter.c > om/TheJusticeDept> The Department of Justice on Twitter. | > [cid:image001.jpg at 01CF7415.C25F8990] > uZ2lkPTIwMTQwNTIwLjMyMzUzMTcxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE0MDUyM > C4zMjM1MzE3MSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE3MDI5MDAxJmVtYWlsaWQ9bm9 > lbC5uaWdodGluZ2FsZUBlZC5nb3YmdXNlcmlkPW5vZWwubmlnaHRpbmdhbGVAZWQuZ292J > mZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY=&&&105&&&http://facebook.com/DO > J> > > Like pbGluZ2lkPTIwMTQwNTIwLjMyMzUzMTcxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE0M > DUyMC4zMjM1MzE3MSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE3MDI5MDAxJmVtYWlsaWQ > 9bm9lbC5uaWdodGluZ2FsZUBlZC5nb3YmdXNlcmlkPW5vZWwubmlnaHRpbmdhbGVAZWQuZ > 292JmZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY=&&&106&&&http://facebook.co > m/DOJ> The Department of Justice on Facebook. > ________________________________ > You have received this e-mail because you have asked to be notified of > changes to the U.S. Department of > Justice bWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTQwNTIwLjMyMzUzMTcxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMD > E0MDUyMC4zMjM1MzE3MSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE3MDI5MDAxJmVtYWls > aWQ9bm9lbC5uaWdodGluZ2FsZUBlZC5nb3YmdXNlcmlkPW5vZWwubmlnaHRpbmdhbGVAZW > QuZ292JmZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY=&&&107&&&http://justice. > gov> website. 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Along similar lines, are there any esign services that should be avoided. TIA and best regards, Rob Tabor and Long White Cane Raúl Junior