The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "American with Disabilities Act" ...
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Home or Nursing Home: America's Empty Promise to Give the Elderly and Disabled a Choice
"A new legal right gives the elderly and young people with disabilities in the Medicaid program the right to get their long-term health care at home, not in a nursing home. But the NPR investigation found that thise new right to choose one's care at home is largely denied to those who want it."
Tags: nursing home; elder care; disabled; long-term care; medical care; community-based care; Department of Health and Human Services; American with Disabilities Act; Olmstead Decision
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Access Denied
When reviewing how well the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) was fulfilling the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), it failed to fulfill in many cases. Many stations are designated as fully accessible, but in reality lack many of the general necessities. These include, “broken doors, turnstiles and elevators, and lacking automatic doors, which make it fully accessible”. Furthermore, the CTA declined to discuss these problems, but one employee did answer some questions, which lacked any substantial feedback.
Tags: public transportation; violation; handicap; public transit system; wheelchair; commuters; disabled
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Snow Removal
After the storm in January 2009, Southern Illinois University Carbondale was left to cleanup. The job brought "complaints from students, faculty, and staff" and the conditions were "hardest on the disabled". This story looks at the "Americans with Disabilities Act" and whether the university violated it. Further, it examines the concerns from "disabled students, faculty, and staff that had a very tough time maneuvering around campus because the sidewalks were not properly cleaned up".
Tags: college; education; campuses; storms; snow; removal; winter; criticize; school
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The Price of Access
Examining "the large proliferation of disability access lawsuits in California," the Sacramento Bee found that "offering the most generous payouts in the nation has made (California) a magnet for lawsuits filed under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act." The stories exposed the "most prolific attorneys and their most common targets." They also spoke with "individual business owners and disabled people for comment and context."
Tags: Americans with Disabilities Act; frivolous lawsuits; California law; attorneys
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Less than minimum
Reporter Chris Mahon discovered that ORC Industries, Inc., a Brownsville, TX, nonprofit, paid 20 percent of its employees less than minimum wage because they were disabled. That practice is legal, but one employee who was not disabled received less than minimum wage, and another whose disability did not affect work performance was paid under minimum. Both examples violate federal law.
Tags: labor; minimum wage; disabilities; Americans with Disabilities Act; labor law; nonprofit; compensation; wages; ORC Industries
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Bus Stop ADA
The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Agency thumbed its nose at the Americans with Disabilities Act, until we found a wheelchair bound bus rider putting his life on the line to flag down a bus. County commissioners were appalled and demanded change.
Tags: Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Agency; HARTline; Americans with disabilities Act; Federal law violations; bus services; bus stops
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Disability dilemmas
This report analyzes the situation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), passed in 1991. Perlman says state and local governments face big problems "as they try to make public buildings accessible and provide services for citizens with disabilities of all kinds." "Many places clearly have not done what the law requires", Perlman adds. Cases regarding disability discrimination were adding up at the Justice Dept. when Perlman wrote the story. Perlman also reports the cost of complying with ADA hasn't taken any State or local governments into bankruptcy, as opposed to what those who were critical of the law had announced.
Tags: Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); United States Justice Department; Janet Reno; Center for Disability Rights; Public Interest Law Office of Rochester; Massachusetts Office on Disability; New Orleans Human Relations Commission; National Emergency Number Association
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Fear of Flying: Disabled Travelers Say Discrimination is Still a Problem at Airlines
"Discrimination against air travelers with disabilities was outlawed more than a decade ago by the Air Carrier Access Act. But complaints from disabled people have risen sharply in the past few years. Many of these travelers say airlines ignore the law, and that flying remains on the most difficult and humiliating experiences they have to face." The Wall Street Journal describes some cases of discrimination against handicapped people and reports on airline efforts to prevent it.
Tags: Air Carrier Access Act; Department of Transportation; disabilities; airlines; travel; Americans with Disabilities Act
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Americans with Disabilities Act - Fitting In: Perspectives from St Louis
"Ten years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, people with disabilities go about their daily lives with fewer obstacles than ever before, yet some major barriers remain. This series looked at how much of the promise of the ADA has become a reality in the St. Louis area and how much remains to be done."
Tags: Disabilities; Disability project
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Americans with Disabilities Lawsuits
KGTV-TV reports that "the number of Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuits have exploded in the last two years. Individuals are filing hundreds of lawsuits (against) businesses whose owners say they are victims of legal extortion. Our investigation report examines one of these litigious advocates and the law firm he employs, to find out if the lawsuits are really about increasing access for the disabled, as intended by the ADA, or a way to make money....: