[Vabs] Discussion: ADA Notification Act of 2009 Introduced

[pajohns1 at vt.edu]

        Sounds like a good amendment in principle, and likely in practice. 
I read the amendment as providing the defendant the opportunity to fix a 
problem within 90 days of notification before the complaint is filed in 
court.  This sounds like a way to clear up issues before they clog the court 
system.  Having dug through pages of OCR (Office of Civil Rights) complaints 
anything that can remidey even a small percentage of issues before reaching 
the courts sounds like a good thing.

        The cynical side of me says there has to be a "catch", or a 
"downside" to the amendment, but at first reading I don't see it.

My $0.02 worth,

Patrick


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Corbb O'Connor" <corbbo at gmail.com>
To: "Virginia Association of Blind Students list" <vabs at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, May 19, 2009 11:00 AM
Subject: [Vabs] Discussion: ADA Notification Act of 2009 Introduced


> Hiya Virginia Students!
>
> I'm in my new apartment, and finally have Internet again! At the May 
> board meeting, those of us who were there talked about starting a  monthly 
> discussion topic on the VABS list so that we can have some  more regular 
> traffic. So, here's our first topic...with many more to  come and maybe 
> even more than one per month if there is interest.
>
> A good friend in the disability advocacy community forwarded this to  me 
> today. You may remember buzz about the ADA Amendments Act last  summer, 
> which primarily impacted language that the Supreme Court had  struck down 
> about the definition of disability. Now, Representative  Hunter has 
> introduced another amendment to the ADA. What are your  thoughts? Do you 
> think, and if so how, this will impact blind folks? I  see this 
> complicating suing somebody over Braille, guide dogs, or job 
> discrimination to name a few. Why might this legislation be a good  thing? 
> Do you think the NFB should involve itself?
>
> Happy to hear your thoughts, though!
> Corbb
>
>
> ADA Notification Act of 2009 (H.R. 2397)
>
> Core Provisions: The bill would amend the enforcement section of Title 
> III
> of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, by adding a procedure 
> that
> allows covered entities the opportunity to correct an alleged violation
> prior to the initiation of a plaintiff's lawsuit under the ADA or a 
> related
> state  statute. Title III covers places of public accommodation; 
> commercial
> facilities;  and private entities that offer certain examinations and
> courses related educational and occupational certification.
>
> Under the proposed legislation, before filing a complaint in federal or
> state court alleging a violation of the ADA or a state law that 
> conditions
> a violation of its provisions based on a violation of the ADA, a 
> plaintiff
> would be required to provide the covered entity with written notice of 
> the
> alleged violation and an opportunity to remedy the alleged violation.  The
> written notice  would need to (1) identify the facts that constitute the
> alleged violation, including the location of the alleged violation and 
> the
> date on which the alleged  violation occurred; and (2) contain a 
> statement
> indicating that the plaintiff is barred from filing a complaint until  the
> end of a 90-day remedial period.
>
>
> Covered entities would have 90 days to correct an alleged violation
> following receipt of the written notice. If a plaintiff ultimately  files 
> a
> complaint under the ADA or a related state statute, the complaint  would 
> be
> required to state that as of the date of the filing, the defendant had 
> not
> corrected the alleged violation. The bill would permit a court to extend
> the 90-day remedial period one time by a period not to exceed 30 days if
> the defendant applies for an extension.
>
> Status: On May 13, 2009, Rep. Duncan D. Hunter (R-CA),
> http://www.congress.org/congressorg/webreturn/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fhunter.house.gov ,
>  introduced H.R. 2397. The bill was referred to the House Committee  on 
> the
> Judiciary following its introduction.
>
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