Disability Advocates Archives | Grady H. Williams, Jr. LL.M, Attorneys at Law

Category archives: Disability Advocates

Disability Advocates Wary of Proposed Medicaid Funding Changes
5 years ago
A recent push by the federal government to change Medicaid’s funding structure is raising concerns among disability rights advocates that the effort will slash funding for necessary services. At present, Medicaid is a joint partnership between the federal and individual state governments, and the... [read more]

Uber, Lyft Sued Over Wheelchair Access
5 years ago
In theory, the rapid growth of Uber, Lyft and other on-demand ride-sharing services should make cities more accessible to people with disabilities, especially considering the tendency of municipal governments to underfund paratransit systems. However, these ride-share companies, even more than t... [read more]

Will the Government Start Monitoring the Social Media of Disability Applicants?
6 years ago
A proposal tucked into the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) 2020 budget, released March 18, is raising fears that people applying for government disability benefits will soon have their posts on Facebook, Twitter and other social media networks scrutinized. Since at least 2014, the SSA’... [read more]

Movement Spreads for Medical Marijuana Licenses for Families of Children with Autism
6 years ago
The Colorado House of Representatives voted unanimously February 7, 2019, in support of a bill to add autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as a qualifying condition for families seeking medical marijuana licenses. The full Colorado legislature approved a similar bill last year, but then-governor John H... [read more]

Walmart Greets Greeters With Job Change That Could Ax Many With Disabilities
6 years ago
How much responsibility do employers have to reasonably accommodate people with disabilities when it changes the employees’ underlying job description? That question is central to the latest employment controversy surrounding America’s largest retailer, Walmart. For years, a ubiquitous fea... [read more]

Bipartisan Bill Gives Explicit Right to Care in the Community Rather than an Institution
6 years ago
People with disabilities would have an explicit legal right to receive services in the community rather than in an institution under new legislation backed by a bipartisan group of senators and representatives. The legislation, introduced January 15, would if passed represent the most comprehensive ... [read more]

What Is an ABLE Account? An Introduction
6 years ago
Since the passage of the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act in 2014, tens of thousands of people with disabilities have opened up new, special tax-free savings accounts to save for disability-related expenses. These accounts, popularly known as ABLE accounts, allow many people with disabi... [read more]

2018 Midterms Raise Accessibility Concerns
6 years ago
As the midterm elections approach, disability rights advocates are concerned about whether all eligible voters with disabilities will, in fact, have the opportunity to exercise their right to vote. About 35 million eligible voters in the U.S. have a disability – close to one in six. Although ... [read more]

Responding to Discrimination Charges, Facebook Removes Controversial Advertising Categories
6 years ago
Facebook is changing its practices to make harder for advertisers to discriminate against people with disabilities. When businesses seek to advertise on Facebook’s platform, the social network provides tens of thousands of different categories for advertisers to target their desired audience, and... [read more]

New Qualifications for ALJs Are Bad News for Social Security Beneficiaries, Legal Experts Warn
6 years ago
On July 10, President Trump issued an executive order that could compromise the independence of federal agency judges, most of whom work at the Social Security Administration (SSA). "Nothing less than the integrity of the administrative judiciary is at issue here," the president of the American Bar... [read more]

Lawsuit Alleges Assisted Living Facilities Discriminate Against Wheelchair Users
6 years ago
A lawsuit in New York state highlights an issue with some assisted living facilities: No wheelchairs allowed. The lawsuit claims that state regulations and facility policies discriminate against residents and potential residents who use wheelchairs. Filed on behalf of the Fair Housing Justice... [read more]

Are State ABLE Programs Sustainable? Disability Advocates Raise Concerns
6 years ago
In the past two years, nearly every state in the country has passed legislation enabling people with disabilities and their families to open new savings accounts, modeled after popular 529 college savings plans, to save for disability related expenses. But early projections indicate that many of ... [read more]