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<div align="center"><b>Legislative Agenda of Blind Americans:<br>
Priorities for the 113th Congress, SECOND Session<br>
</b> <br>
</div>
<br>
The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) is the oldest and largest
nationwide organization of blind people. As the voice of the nation’s
blind, we represent the collective views of the 1.3 million blind people
throughout the United States. All of our leaders and the vast majority of
our members are blind, but anyone can participate in our movement. <br>
<br>
<br>
<b>The NFB’s three legislative initiatives for 2014 are: <br>
</b> <br>
· <b>The Fair Wages for Workers
with Disabilities Act (HR 831)<br>
</b>Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act allows employers to pay
workers with disabilities less than the minimum wage because of the false
assumption that they are less productive than non-disabled workers. This
antiquated provision breeds low expectations and discourages disabled
Americans from reaching their full potential. HR 831 responsibly phases
out the use of the 14(c) Special Wage Certificates, ending the era of
segregated, subminimum wage work.<br>
· <b>The Technology, Education
and Accessibility in College and Higher Education Act (TEACH) (HR
3505)<br>
</b>Electronic instructional materials have replaced traditional methods
of learning in postsecondary education, but the overwhelming majority of
e-books, courseware, web content, and other technology are inaccessible
to students with print disabilities. The law mandates equal access in the
classroom, but fails to provide a prescription to schools for how that
applies to technology. The TEACH Act creates accessibility guidelines for
electronic instructional materials that will guide the market, give
clarity to schools, and protect blind students’ rights to critical course
material. <br>
· <b>The Air Carrier Technology
Accessibility Act (ACTA)<br>
</b>Passenger interaction with technology is a central component of air
travel. The Air Carrier Access Act prohibits discrimination on the basis
of disability by airlines, but it was written before the emergence of web
sites, kiosks, and mobile apps. These tools are all inaccessible to blind
travelers despite readily-available solutions, resulting in segregation
and substandard service. ACTA calls for all technology-based air travel
services to be accessible to blind passengers. <br>
<br>
<br>
The real problem of blindness is not the loss of eyesight; it is the
misunderstanding and lack of information that exist. Given the proper
training and opportunity, blindness can be reduced to a physical
nuisance. Americans have a strong philosophy of equality, but there are
profound flaws in the application of our doctrine as it applies to people
with disabilities. These bills help close the gaps. We urge Congress to
protect our rights in the workplace, classroom, and air travel by
supporting these legislative initiatives. <br>
<br>
<div align="center"><b> <br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
The Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act of 2013 (HR 831)<br>
<br>
<br>
Current labor laws unjustly prohibit workers with disabilities <br>
from reaching their full vocational and socioeconomic potential.<br>
</div>
<br>
Written in 1938, Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
discriminates against people with disabilities.</b> The provision allows
the Secretary of Labor to grant Special Wage Certificates to employers,
permitting them to pay workers with disabilities less than the minimum
wage. This is based on the false assumption that disabled workers are
less productive than nondisabled workers, but successful employment
models have emerged in the last seventy-five years to assist people with
significant disabilities in acquiring the job skills needed for
competitive work. Section 14(c) sustains segregated subminimum wage
workshops that exploit disabled workers, paying some only pennies an hour
for mundane, repetitive tasks. <br>
<br>
<b>This discriminatory policy is not necessary for the successful
operation of a disability-training program.</b> In reality, the
overwhelming majority of Goodwill Industries Affiliates, and all but one
of the National Industries for the Blind (NIB) affiliates, operates
successfully without paying subminimum wages. Countless entities have
successfully transitioned their subminimum wage business model of low
expectations to an innovative model of competitive integrated training
and employment, meeting the growing needs of mainstream employers with
the proven talents of employees with disabilities. Only outdated
workshops argue they will be unable to manage worthwhile programs without
the use of the Special Wage Certificate. <br>
<br>
<b>The subminimum wage model fails to provide adequate training or
employment to disabled workers. </b>Data shows that less<b> </b>than five
percent of the 400,000 workers with disabilities in segregated subminimum
wage workshops will transition into competitive integrated work.
Moreover, research shows that the subminimum wage model costs more but
actually produces less! In fact, workers must unlearn the useless skills
they acquire in order to obtain meaningful employment. It is poor policy
to reward such failed programs with wage exemptions, preferential federal
contracts, and public and charitable contributions.<br>
<br>
<b>After 75 years of demonstrated failure, it is time to invest in
proven, effective models for employment. </b>This discriminatory model
sustains the same segregated subminimum wage environments that existed in
1938. Section 14(c) has proven to be extremely ineffective and offers no
incentive for mainstream employers to hire people with disabilities. The
Employment First Movement promotes new concepts such as “supported” or
“customized” employment that are successful at producing competitive
integrated employment outcomes for individuals with significant
disabilities that were previously thought to be unemployable.<br>
<b>The Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act of 2013: <br>
</b> <br>
<b>Discontinues the issuance of new Special Wage Certificates.</b> The
Secretary of Labor will no longer issue Special Wage Certificates to new
applicants. <br>
<br>
<b>Phases out the use of Special Wage Certificates over a three-year
period.</b> Using the following schedule, entities will be able to
transition to the proven-model of competitive integrated employment:
<br>
<a name="OLE_LINK6"></a>·
Private for-profit entities will have one year <a name="OLE_LINK5"></a>to
transition; <br>
· Public or governmental
entities will have two years to transition; and <br>
· Nonprofit entities will have
three years to transition. (These entities make up ninety-five percent of
the Special Wage Certificate holders.)<br>
<br>
<b>Repeals Section 14(c) of the FLSA. </b>Three years after the law is
enacted, this practice of paying disabled workers subminimum wages will
be officially abolished. This will result in the elimination of
segregated, subminimum wage workshops and in the development of
integrated environments that encourage people with disabilities to reach
their full vocational and socioeconomic potential. <br>
<br>
<br>
<b> <br>
<div align="center">PROTECT EQUALITY IN THE WORKPLACE<br>
<br>
Cosponsor HR 831: Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act.<br>
</b> <br>
<b> <br>
For more information contact:<br>
<br>
</b>National Federation of the Blind<br>
Anil Lewis, Director of Advocacy and Policy <br>
Phone: (410) 659-9314, Extension 2374. Email:
<a href="mailto:alewis@nfb.org">alewis@nfb.org</a><br>
Rose Sloan, Government Affairs Specialist<br>
Phone: (410) 659-9314, Extension 2441. Email:
<a href="mailto:rsloan@nfb.org">rsloan@nfb.org</a> <br>
<br>
<b>To co-sponsor contact:<br><br>
</b>Scot Malvaney, Legislative Director<br>
Congressman Gregg Harper (R-MS)<br>
Phone: (202)-225-5031. Email:
<a href="mailto:scot.malvaney@mail.house.gov">
scot.malvaney@mail.house.gov</a> <br>
<br>
<br>
<i><a name="_GoBack"></a>HR831 is supported by over sixty organizations
of people with disabilities and employers of workers with disabilities.
For more information visit:
<a name="_GoBack"></a>
<a href="http://www.nfb.org/fair-wages" eudora="autourl">www.nfb.or</a>
<a href="http://www.nfb.org/fair-wages" eudora="autourl">g/fair-wages</a>
<br><br>
</i></div>
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<div align="center"><b>Technology, Education, and Accessibility in
College and Higher Education Act (TEACH Act) H.R. 3505<br>
<br>
<br>
Colleges and universities need an education about accessibility.<br>
Students with disabilities need accessibility to get an education.<br>
</div>
<br>
Technology has fundamentally changed the education system. </b>The scope
of instructional materials used to facilitate the teaching and learning
process at institutions of higher education has expanded. Curricular
content comes in the form of digital books, PDFs, webpages, etc.; and
most of this content is delivered through digital databases, learning
management systems, and applications. Traditional print materials are
inherently inaccessible to disabled students, but technology creates
opportunities to expand the circle of participation. These opportunities
are missed when the majority of these materials are inaccessible to
students with disabilities. <br>
<b> <br>
The use of inaccessible technology by institutions of higher education is
a violation of law. </b>Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Titles
II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibit discrimination
on the basis of disability, but these laws were written before technology
permeated the classroom. In 2010, the U.S. Departments of Justice and
Education issued guidance to institutions of higher education clarifying
that the use of inaccessible technology is a form of discrimination. In
the four years since, several of the country’s leading institutions have
faced legal action for continuing to use inaccessible technology. <br>
<b> <br>
Accessibility solutions are widely available, but schools and
manufacturers are resisting. </b>A 2009 Congressionally-authorized study
found that, despite innovations in text-to-speech, refreshable Braille,
and other accessibility features that create promise for equal access,
there is still persistent unmet need. Developers claim there is not
enough demand to justify making accessible products, and schools claim to
have limited options and a lack of knowledge about accessibility to
properly guide procurement. Because of this blame-game, developers are
moving too slowly and schools are openly violating the law.<br>
<b> <br>
Guidelines are sorely needed to guide the market and lift burdens off of
disabled students. </b>While schools and manufacturers are waiting for
the other to take action,<b> </b>blind students are facing insurmountable
barriers to their education. No student can be expected to succeed in
college if he or she is denied access to course material, and yet the
solutions available to remedy this discrimination are ignored!
Universally-accepted accessibility guidelines will give direction to
manufacturers, clarity to schools about how to meet their legal
obligations regarding technology, and long-overdue equal access for
disabled students.<br>
<b>Technology, Education, and Accessibility in College and Higher
Education Act: <br>
</b> <br>
<b>Develops accessibility guidelines for instructional materials and
related information technology.</b> The Access Board will consult experts
and stakeholders to develop functional performance criteria for
electronic instructional materials and related information technologies
so that those materials are usable by individuals with disabilities. The
guidelines will serve as a flexible prescription for accessibility for
both developers and institutions of higher education.<br>
<br>
<b>Provides incentive for institutions of higher education to follow the
guidelines. </b>Institutions of higher education that use technology that
conforms with the guidelines will be deemed in compliance with the
provisions of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Titles II and III
of the Americans with Disabilities Act that pertain to schools’ use of
technology.<br>
<b>Establishes a minimum usability standard for all technology in the
classroom. </b>Institutions of higher education may only use materials
that do not conform to the guidelines if that material allows disabled
students to enjoy the same educational benefits in an equally integrated
and equally effective manner, with substantially equivalent ease of use
as nondisabled students. <br>
<b> <br>
</b> <br>
<div align="center"> <br>
<b>PROTECT EQUALITY IN THE CLASSROOM.<br>
<br>
Cosponsor the Technology, Education, and Accessibility<br>
in College and Higher Education Act (TEACH Act) HR 3505.<br>
</div>
<br>
</b><div align="center"> <br>
<b> <br>
For more information contact:<br>
</b>Lauren McLarney, Government Affairs Specialist, National Federation
of the Blind<br>
Phone: (410) 659-9314, Extension 2207. Email:
<a href="mailto:lmclarney@nfb.org">lmclarney@nfb.org</a><br>
<br>
<b>To cosponsor contact:<br>
</b> <br>
Kevin James, Legislative Assistant, Congressman Tom Petri (R-WI)<br>
Phone: (202) 225-2476. Email:
<a href="mailto:kevin.james@mail.house.gov">kevin.james@mail.house.gov</a>
<br>
<br>
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<br>
<br>
<i>The TEACH Act is the result of collaboration between the NFB and the
Association of American Publishers, the leading trade association of the
U.S. publishing industry. <br><br>
</i></div>
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<br>
<div align="center"><b>Air Carrier Technology Accessibility Act<br>
<br>
<br>
To allow blind and low vision individuals equal access <br>
to technology used in all phases of air travel.<br>
</div>
<br>
<br>
Despite anti-discrimination laws, airlines continue to deny access to
blind passengers. </b> In 1986 Congress passed the Air Carrier Access Act
(ACAA) to prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability during all
phases of air travel, including purchasing a ticket, checking-in,
boarding and deplaning, receiving in-flight services, and assistance
getting around the airport. Air travel has changed significantly since
1986, and most services now require interaction with technology; however
airlines have failed to honor the ACAA by ensuring that those services
are usable by blind travelers. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
also prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in public
transportation, but because of unique security issues in air travel,
airlines were explicitly excluded from the law, compounding the problems
facing blind air travelers. Technology creates opportunity to expand the
circle of participation, so the law needs to be updated to capture the
prospect and ensure equal access.<br>
<b> <br>
Passenger interaction with technology is a fundamental requirement of air
travel. </b>Passengers have multiple options of accessing flight
information that replace endless phone calls and check-in lines. For
booking and accessing boarding passes, flyers use web sites, mobile apps,
or kiosks. Mobile apps provide real-time updates on departure and arrival
information, and even make it possible to scan a digital boarding pass at
security check points. On board, passengers can make in-flight purchases
of movies, drinks, or Wi-Fi by using consoles on the seatback in front of
them. Technology enhances the flying experience, and who knows what
innovative tools might emerge in the future? Blind passengers pay the
same price to fly the friendly skies as everyone else, and yet cannot use
any of these services. <br>
<br>
<b>Airlines should stop this discrimination by embracing readily
available solutions. </b>Technical criteria for accessible web content
and best practices for mobile apps were released back in 2008, and
accessibility standards for ATMs and usable kiosks have been on the
market for years. Rather than utilize these options and deploy accessible
technology, airlines “meet the needs” of their disabled passengers by
offering internet rates over the phone to those who self-identify as
blind and giving priority access to blind flyers in line. Technology can
meet the unfulfilled promise of equal access, yet airlines choose to use
an ineffective method of “access” that relegates blind passengers to
antiquated methods of service. <br>
<b> <br>
<br>
The Air Carrier Technology Accessibility Act:<br>
<br>
Provides equal access throughout the air travel process by requiring that
all methods of booking flights, checking-in, obtaining boarding passes
and making in-flight purchases are accessible to blind passengers.</b>
All newly-created or purchased web content, airport kiosks, mobile apps
and other technology-based services operated by air carriers will be
usable by the blind. <br>
<b>Establishes a complaint mechanism to resolve issues of non-compliance
with the Air Carrier Technology Accessibility Act.<br>
</b> <br>
<div align="center"> <br>
<b>PROTECT EQUALITY IN AIR TRAVEL <br>
<br>
Sponsor the Air Carrier Technology Accessibility Act <br>
</div>
<br>
</b><div align="center"> <br>
<b> <br>
For more information contact:<br>
</b>Jesse Hartle<br>
Government Affairs Specialist<br>
National Federation of the Blind<br>
Phone: (410) 659-9314, Extension 2233. E-mail:
<a href="mailto:jhartle@nfb.org">jhartle@nfb.org</a> <br>
<br>
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