[NFBOH-Cleveland] Here is the text for, Screening out Blind Applicants because Software is Deemed Inaccessible

Sat Jan 25 19:05:28 UTC 2020

Screening out Blind Applicants because Software is Deemed Inaccessible

by Valerie Yingling

om the Editor: Valerie Yingling works for us as our legal program
coordinator. She has good name recognition within the National Federation of
the Blind because reports given at state conventions strongly encourage
contacting her about legal matters in which we are involved or those in
which a member believes we should be. Here is what Valerie writes about a
most troubling trend that is emerging as an impediment to blind people
finding employment:

Last summer, with support from the National Federation of the Blind, Ronit
Mazzoni filed a disability discrimination suit against her prospective
employer Myriad Genetics. In her lawsuit, Ronit asserted that Myriad refused
to hire her because she is blind and requires the use of screen access
software. Myriad had determined that its proprietary software was
inaccessible with JAWS screen reading software and based its decision to not
hire Ronit on this factor alone.

Too often, the National Federation of the Blind receives reports from
members regarding employers who make job offers contingent on whether their
software is compatible with JAWS or other screen access software. As in
Ronit's experience, blind applicants must often unfairly wait for a job
offer or assigned start date while the employer purports to evaluate its
software for accessibility. 

Employers that require applicants with disabilities to be able to use
designated workplace software without any accommodations do so in violation
of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and many other laws. The ADA
prohibits employers from denying employment opportunities to individuals
with disabilities when the denial is based on the need to provide reasonable
accommodations.
<https://www.nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm20/bm2001/bm200103.htm#_ft
n1> 1 The ADA similarly prohibits employers from applying selection criteria
that screens out individuals with disabilities unless such criteria are
job-related.
<https://www.nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm20/bm2001/bm200103.htm#_ft
n2> 2 As Ronit's complaint notes, though "software may be job-related, the
inaccessibility of such software certainly is not job-related, nor can it be
consistent with business necessity."
<https://www.nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm20/bm2001/bm200103.htm#_ft
n3> 3 

CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software and other prevalent
workplace software can be built to be accessible. In situations where it is
not accessible, the software can almost always be scripted so that it is
compatible with JAWS or other screen access software. The US Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) provides guidance regarding the
interactive dialogue that should occur between an employer and job applicant
when accommodations are needed. Ronit knew all of this when she applied for
the TeleGenetics counselor position with Myriad Genetics in May 2017. 

As a TeleGenetics counselor, Ronit would provide remote genetic counseling
services for clients. Ronit was excited about the position with Myriad
because it would offer her the opportunity to work from home and allow her
to spend more time with her husband and young children. Ronit is a qualified
and experienced genetics counselor, having obtained her master of science in
Genetic Counseling and having already worked for nine years in the field. 

Ronit had previously encountered accessibility barriers in her field and was
undeterred. When she was first expected to draw a pedigree, a visual
representation of her patients' family medical history, she asked her
husband, a software developer, to write a program that she could use instead
of the traditional paper version. In her current job, when she encounters a
patient's hand-written family health history, she asks a reader to provide
her with the inaccessible information. Ronit has long believed that the most
difficult part of being a blind genetics counselor is not performing the job
itself, instead it is convincing others that she is capable.
<https://www.nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm20/bm2001/bm200103.htm#_ft
n4> 4 

Ronit approached her interview with Myriad confidently. She disclosed her
blindness and participated in subsequent videoconference with the
interviewers to discuss accommodations and demonstrate how she uses JAWS.
Myriad expressed concerns about Ronit's ability to perform the TeleGenetics
counselor position, given her need for screen access software. Ronit said
she was willing to be flexible about her work methods, but Myriad said it
would not be as flexible. 

Though Myriad's hiring staff repeatedly told Ronit that she was qualified
for the position and would be great at the job she sought, Myriad was
resolute that it would not hire her without first ensuring that there would
be no technology barriers that could affect her work. Ronit encouraged
Myriad to engage an accessibility expert to evaluate the software's
interoperability, and Myriad did, though the individual was not familiar
with Java software and in the end was unable to determine whether anything
could be done to resolve the access barriers. 

Ronit persisted and offered to pay for a consultant who was qualified to
evaluate Myriad's software with JAWS. Myriad agreed, and this consultant
determined that with the correct configurations, the CRM software was
generally accessible with JAWS. Only a few features would require
remediation. Myriad, however, decided that it was unwilling to remediate its
CRM software and unwilling to provide JAWS scripting or other
accommodations, even though Myriad's software was designed and built
in-house, and Myriad has on staff a robust IT team that makes regular
updates to the software. Myriad's hiring manager told Ronit that Myriad
would have loved to hire her but was unwilling to change policies and
procedures to accommodate her. But for her blindness, Myriad would have
hired Ronit. 

Ronit's case is ongoing. She and her attorney, Tim Elder, continue to fight,
knowing that a successful resolution could help to improve employment
opportunities for other members of the National Federation of the Blind.
With this lawsuit, Ronit is hoping to effect systemic change. Among other
things, she has asked the court to rule that Myriad:

*	Must make its software accessible to the blind 
*	Must implement policies, practices, and programs that provide equal
access for qualified individuals with disabilities 
*	Must pay Ronit back pay, including wages, salary, and employment
benefits, and must pay Ronit damages for emotional pain, suffering,
inconvenience, loss of enjoyment of life, and humiliation, and 
*	Must reimburse all of Ronit's attorney's fees 

Ronit is not alone in her experience. If you, like Ronit, encounter an
employer who makes a job offer contingent upon whether your screen access
software is compatible with the employer's software, please consider taking
the following actions:

*	Alert the NFB-contact Valerie Yingling, legal program coordinator,
at vyingling at nfb.org <mailto:vyingling at nfb.org>  or 410-659-9314, extension
2440, so that we can monitor your matter. 
*	Familiarize yourself with your rights under Title 1 of the ADA and
Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act. 
*	Recommend that the employer engage an accessibility expert to assess
how the company's software can work with screen access software. 
*	Prepare a timeline of events and gather together documentation that
evidences the discrimination. 
*	Determine whether you want to file a complaint and if so, with which
entity-the EEOC or a state or local agency. File within your designated
statute of limitations. You do not need to have an attorney to file a charge
of employment discrimination. 

            For more information about Ronit's lawsuit or your rights as a
job applicant with disabilities, please contact Valerie Yingling, legal
program coordinator, at vyingling at nfb.org <mailto:vyingling at nfb.org>  or
410-659-9314, extension 2440.

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