Student Paper - Legal Rights for Deaf and Hard of Hearing People

HOUSING

The Fair Housing Act prohibits landlords, real estate sellers, condominium management companies and homeowners’ associations from discrimination on the basis of disability under Fair Housing Act 42 U.S.C. §3604(f). There are two key things in the Act that landlords and building owners must be aware of. The first is the provision that allows tenants to make modifications to their own rental unit or condominium to accommodate their needs as handicapped persons. What makes this different from other legislation mentioned thus far is that modifications made under the Fair Housing Act are the responsibility of the tenant. Therefore, the landlord simply must allow for modifications. He is not required to investigate the need, make the changes, or pay for them. Landlords may, however, make conditional the modifications, stipulating that upon termination of occupancy, the tenant must restore the dwelling to its original state, minus any normal wear and tear. The second point of the law states that it shall be "unlawful for any person, (meaning the landlord or property owner), to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services, when such accommodations may be necessary to afford a handicapped person equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling unit." Some examples would be allowing service animals in a "no pets" building and installing visual alarms in buildings where audible alarms are present. Also, in cases where tenants or homeowners' associations have meetings, interpreters or other acceptable communications must be provided for Deaf residents. The law has provisions for other types of disabilities, but for the purposes of this paper, they will not be discussed.

CLOSED CAPTIONING

In 1996 the Federal Communications Commission passed a regulation stating that beginning in 1998, all television programming must be made available with closed captioning. There was an eight year window used to roll the program out, and by 2006, unless "undue burden" could be shown as a reason for not providing closed captioning, 100 percent of all television shows produced in the United States must be in compliance. From 1999 to 2004, there were 67 requests for exception, but only three were given. Shows were given exemption for 1-3 years. Unfortunately, recent years have seen more requests and approvals, often without hearings, and in on September 12, 2006, two programs were given permanent exemption status.

TELEPHONES

The Hearing Aid Compatibility Act of 1988 (HAC Act), stipulates that all telephones made in or imported for use in the United States must be adaptable for use in "telephone mode" for persons who wear hearing aids. This is because volume controls on hearing aids must sometimes be adjusted when on the phone to keep volume from being too loud, or to prevent feedback from occurring. HAC also states that this feature must be present on all phone "essential" phones. Essential phones are any public pay phones, phones in hospitals, hotels, offices, and phones available for emergencies. Some phones exempt are those on secured government lines where sensitive and classified information is transmitted. Also excluded at this time are cellular phones, but that is changing, as the FCC, in 2003, set a timetable for development and sale of digital wireless phones compatible with hearing aids and cochlear implants.

CONCLUSION

There are other laws concerning other aspects of the Deaf community and the way its residents live and interact with the hearing world. Laws about airport access and airplane travel, and treatment if detained by law enforcement personnel are just a few. All in all, the laws spell things out rather clearly in general terms. Deaf people are entitled to the same privileges and opportunities in life as hearing people. Since most Deaf people don’t see themselves as handicapped, just different, because they communicate without hearing and speaking, they are quick to explain that they have the same rights as the hearing world. What becomes a challenge is answering the question of what constitutes "reasonable accommodation." What is an "undue burden," and so on. Cases have gone to trial challenging local school boards and private industry on discrimination charges, claiming that a Deaf person was denied access to one thing or another, usually because accommodations and communications were not made available. The courts have generally ruled in favor of the Deaf, and precedence has been set.

It is this researcher’s opinion that the thing that needs to be done more than anything else to rectify this is educating the public. Just as White America saw the Black slave as inferior, and just as men claimed for years that women couldn’t or shouldn’t be viewed as intellectually and emotionally strong enough to lead, hearing America needs to learn more about Deaf America. Only then can the two cultures truly live in harmony.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

National Association of the Deaf http://wwww.nad.org

Joel Bergsbaken Communications Advocate Hearing, Speech and Deafness Center

Federal Communications Commission
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/hac.html

Jamie Berke About Deafness http://deafness.about.com/

U.S. Department of Justice A Guide to Disability Rights Laws
http://www.ada.gov/cguide.htm