[NFBofSC] Justice Department Announces Conclusion of Landmark Agreement Addressing Segregated Work Settings for People with Disabilities - Department of Justice - August 15, 2022

[Steve Cook]

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Justice Department Announces Conclusion of Landmark Agreement Addressing
Segregated Work Settings for People with Disabilities Office of Public
Affairs Department of Justice August 15, 2022

In an order issued on Aug. 12, the U.S. District Court for the District of
Oregon found that the State of Oregon has fulfilled the terms of a
settlement agreement with the Justice Department and people with
disabilities in a landmark case challenging the state's provision of
employment services for people with disabilities in segregated settings. The
case, Lane v. Brown/United States v. Oregon, was dismissed as a result.
The settlement agreement, in effect since 2015, resolved the first lawsuit
in the nation to challenge a state's reliance on segregated employment
settings for individuals with disabilities, including sheltered workshops,
as a violation of the integration mandate of Title II of the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA). Sheltered workshops are segregated facilities that
exclusively or primarily serve individuals with disabilities, in which
people with disabilities have little or no contact with non-disabled persons
besides paid staff. People with intellectual and developmental disabilities
(I/DD) in sheltered workshops often earn wages well below minimum wage,
sometimes pennies per hour. By contrast, supported employment services
assist people with I/DD to prepare for, obtain and succeed in integrated
workplaces at competitive wages.
"This ruling demonstrates once again that people with significant
disabilities are fully capable of working in the community alongside their
nondisabled peers with appropriate services and supports," said Assistant
Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department's Civil Rights
Division. "We are pleased that Oregon has successfully implemented the
reforms called for by our settlement agreement and remain committed to
ensuring that people with disabilities across the country have every
opportunity to access the job market. Simply put, people with disabilities
must have the right to receive employment services in the community, pursue
jobs consistent with their talents and preferences, earn fair wages, achieve
social and economic independence and contribute to our nation's economy."
The lawsuit was filed as a class action in January 2012 by individuals with
I/DD who were receiving services in Oregon sheltered workshops, but instead
preferred to work in jobs in the community for a competitive wage. In March
2013, the Justice Department intervened in the lawsuit. The department
claimed that Oregon was unnecessarily segregating adults with I/DD in
sheltered workshops and placing Oregon youth with I/DD at serious risk of
segregation in sheltered workshops in violation of Title II of the ADA.
In Olmstead v. L.C., the Supreme Court ruled that the ADA prohibits
unnecessary segregation of people with disabilities, who have a right to
live and receive services in the most integrated setting appropriate. The
Lane case was the first lawsuit to address how the ADA's integration mandate
applied to state employment services.
The agreement required Oregon to provide supported employment services and
related employment services so that 1,115 sheltered workshop workers would
newly receive jobs in the community at competitive wages over the
agreement's term. The agreement also required at least 7,000 people -
including more than 4,900 youth exiting school - to receive supported
employment services aimed at enabling them to secure and maintain
integrated, competitive employment opportunities. At least half of the youth
served received individualized employment plans from Oregon's vocational
rehabilitation agency, identifying the services and supports necessary to
achieve competitive employment. The Independent Reviewer who monitored
Oregon's compliance with the agreement found that, according to state data,
Oregon met or exceeded these requirements.
The Civil Rights Division enforces the ADA, which authorizes the Attorney
General to investigate whether a state is serving individuals in the most
integrated settings appropriate to their needs. Please visit
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