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

Doug Lee dgl at dlee.org
Fri Nov 14 15:16:58 UTC 2008 

Perfect case in point:  All these new cross-platform apps that use
QWidgets.  Without specific accessibility code in those apps, screen
readers can see nothing but the main window title, and there is no
reasonable solution that can be implemented without modifications to
the application.  The cross-platform trend is nice from an economic
standpoint, but it's starting to hit us hard here and there according
to what I've seen.

If using an application is like climbing a mountain, then my screen
reader is my hands and feet, and scripting is my ability to make
tools with my hands from the rocks on the ground ... but one of
these QWidget applications is a solid cliff face with no footholds,
and all I can do is scratch the earth at the bottom and throw
harmless pebbles at it.  In accessibility and rock climbing, the
problem is the same: You want me to grasp it, you gotta give me
something to hold on to.

On Fri, Nov 14, 2008 at 07:21:44AM -0600, Wunder, Gary wrote:
What makes it so hard is that the presence of a blind person seems, at
least initially, not to make any difference. Everyone says to me that
they want things to be accessible - that they think my equipment is neat
and that I'm really good to work with, but that never filters into
buying decisions unless the purchase is for me. So then we face a
situation where they say "2500 people can use this and they like it, so
tell us what you want to make this work and we'll get it." By that, they
mean I should tell them about an enhancement to my screen reading
software, maybe another screen reader, or that there must be some kind
of software they can get to fill the bill. Seldom do they understand
that the programs they buy must have a foundation which supports
accessibility.

    

-----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 5:37 PM
To: NFBnet NFBCS Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nfbcs] Blind New York State Employee Unable to
PerformJobDueto Inaccessible Software

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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-- 
Doug Lee                 dgl at dlee.org                http://www.dlee.org
SSB BART Group           doug.lee at ssbbartgroup.com   http://www.ssbbartgroup.com
"The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit
of it. You have to catch up with it yourself." --Benjamin Franklin

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