[nfbcs] Blind New York State Employee Unable to Perform JobDueto Inaccessible Software

Thu Nov 13 23:36:50 UTC 2008

I have actually had some success in convincing employers and companies to 
make changes to their software or web-sites to facilitate accessibility. 
That being said, I am in Canada where we have human rights statutes in each 
province, and federally, that although untested do seem to suggest that 
software / web-site accessibility is a requirement by law.

On a side note, it is almost always only after I mention the human rights 
codes that changes are made.  An interesting example of statute as 
deterrent, since there is no jurisprudence on this issue.

Everett

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Wm. Ritchhart" <william.ritchhart at sbcglobal.net>
To: "'NFBnet NFBCS Mailing List'" <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, November 13, 2008 7:09 PM
Subject: Re: [nfbcs] Blind New York State Employee Unable to Perform 
JobDueto Inaccessible Software

> This is a never ending battle.  In the past week and a half, I have had
> one software tool rendered totally inaccessible by a new version being
> loaded, and found a second that left the accessibility totally out of
> key functions needed for doing my job.
>
> The first problem is that the people buying and/or writing the software
> do not stop to think about whether there are any blind employees using
> the software.  The next issue is will the employer and the company
> producing the software fix it?  I am willing to bet that if this woman's
> issue has resulted in a law suit, the State of New York and Emerging
> Soft probably said they couldn't or wouldn't fix the software or change
> to a different tool.  Either way, it constitutes the same thing and both
> New York and Emerging Soft need to be held accountable for ignoring the
> law.
>
>
> THANKS, WILLIAM
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of E.J. Zufelt
> Sent: Thursday, November 13, 2008 4:52 PM
> To: NFBnet NFBCS Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [nfbcs] Blind New York State Employee Unable to Perform Job
> Dueto Inaccessible Software
>
> Good afternoon,
>
> This story, which is not uncommon, makes me wonder what, if anything,
> has
> been done thus far to attempt to make the application accessible.  Is it
>
> totally unscriptable with JAWS or Window Eyes?  I imagine that if this
> situation has progressed this far that these avenues have been explored
> without success.
>
> Without commenting on this situation in particular, as there is so much
> I do
> not know, I do think that there needs to be cooperation between
> technology
> and software providers, employers and employees to find the most
> accessible
> solution to accessibility problems.
>
> Everett
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Freeh,Jessica (by way of David Andrews <dandrews at visi.com>)"
> <JFreeh at nfb.org>
> To: <david.andrews at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Thursday, November 13, 2008 5:27 PM
> Subject: [nfbcs] Blind New York State Employee Unable to Perform Job Due
> to
> Inaccessible Software
>
>
>> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>>
>>
>>
>> CONTACT:
>>
>> Chris Danielsen
>>
>> Public Relations Specialist
>>
>> National Federation of the Blind
>>
>> (410) 659-9314, extension 2330
>>
>> (410) 262-1281 (Cell)
>> <mailto:cdanielsen at nfb.org>cdanielsen at nfb.org
>>
>>
>> Blind New York State Employee Unable to Perform
>>  Job Due to Inaccessible Software
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> National Federation of the Blind Assisting In Litigation
>>  Against State Crime Victims Board
>>
>>
>>
>> New York, New York (November 13, 2008): Dawn Whitfield, a blind woman
> who
>> has worked for the New York State Crime Victims Board for over twenty
>> years, filed suit today in federal court because she is no longer able
> to
>> perform the functions of her job.  The State Crime Victims Board has
>> purchased and implemented software that cannot be used by a blind
> person
>> and is therefore in violation of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, a
> federal
>> law which requires that entities receiving federal funds must have
>> information technology in place that is accessible to blind employees.
>
>> Because of the new software, which is manufactured by a company called
>
>> Emerging Soft, Ms. Whitfield has been unable to perform the functions
> of
>> her job since May of 2008.  The National Federation of the Blind, the
>> nation's oldest and largest organization of blind people, is assisting
> in
>> the litigation.
>>
>>
>>
>> Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind,
> said:
>> "Like all workers in the twenty-first century, blind people must have
>> access to information technology in order to do their jobs
> effectively.
>> Without access to information technology in the workplace, Ms.
> Whitfield
>> does not have meaningful access to her workplace and is therefore
>> experiencing discrimination under the Rehabilitation Act.  The
> National
>> Federation of the Blind will do everything we can to assist her in
> seeking
>> a remedy for this deplorable situation."
>>
>>
>>
>> Carl Jacobsen, president of the National Federation of the Blind of
> New
>> York, said: "The National Federation of the Blind of New York will not
>
>> tolerate a situation in which hard-working blind state employees are
>> relegated to second-class status because the agencies they work for
> refuse
>> to follow the law and purchase software that is accessible to them.
> We
>> are committed to ensuring that Dawn Whitfield and all blind New
> Yorkers
>> employed by this state have full and equal access to information
>> technology in the workplace."
>>
>>
>>
>> Dawn Whitfield said: "It is extremely frustrating that I cannot do my
> job
>> effectively because my agency did not take my needs into consideration
>
>> when purchasing new computer software, even though I made it clear to
> my
>> supervisors that I had specific needs as a blind employee and the
> agency
>> was well aware of the potential problems with this new software.  I
> hope
>> that this situation can be resolved quickly so that I can go back to
>> assisting crime victims in the state of New York with their claims for
>
>> compensation as I have for over twenty years.  I enjoy my work but
> lately
>> it has become a nightmare; I look forward to being a productive
> employee
>> of this agency once again."
>>
>>
>>
>> ###
>>
>>
>>
>> About the National Federation of the Blind
>>
>> With more than 50,000 members, the National Federation of the Blind is
> the
>> largest and most influential membership organization of blind people
> in
>> the United States.  The NFB improves blind people's lives through
>> advocacy, education, research, technology, and programs encouraging
>> independence and self-confidence.  It is the leading force in the
>> blindness field today and the voice of the nation's blind.  In January
>
>> 2004 the NFB opened the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan
>> Institute, the first research and training center in the United States
> for
>> the blind led by the blind.  Please visit our Web site:
>> <http://www.nfb.org/>www.nfb.org.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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