On the afternoon of January 20, members of the disability advocacy
community gathered to discuss one of the recurring challenges of
designing disability policy: allocating scarce resources and balancing
competing interests. Panelists and audience members agreed that
the labyrinth of state funding and politics alternately helps and
hinders the work that disability advocates do. Conference attendees
tossed around potential solutions in a high-energy discussion and
planning session, working to identify what the focus of disability
policy should be, and which tactics the disability community should
use to achieve its objectives.
Panelists discussed the case of Vande Zande v. Wisconsin Department
of Administration, and used it to frame their questions about how best
to address the issue of accessibility, as well as how to balance the
needs of workers, employers, and the state. In the case up for debate,
Lori Vande Zande, a woman affected by a physical disability, requested
workplace accommodations and was denied. The Wisconsin Department of
Administration, her employer, held that the cost of these accommodations
was not outweighed by the benefit they would bring Ms. Vande Zande
or the Administration, and the 7th Circuit Court agreed. Legal decisions
like the one against Vande Zande highlight the need for disability
advocates and policymakers to come up with creative solutions to the
problems of conflicting interests and limited funds. Bobbi Cordano,
director of Disability Services at the University of Minnesota, discussed
the appealing possibility of changing the overall design of workplaces
so that they are universally usable, meaning better for a larger variety
of needs. If offices utilize this design, Cordano asserted, employees
would be relieved of their duty to request accommodations, and employers
would not face additional costs after the initial construction or remodeling
of their workspaces.
Panelist
Cordano also vehemently agreed that Vande Zande’s specific
accommodation requests, particularly workplace kitchen accessibility,
were necessary to give her equal access to opportunity. Panelist Rosalie
Kane, a University professor who specializes in health services research,
declared that issues like kitchen accessibility might represent the
disability community’s version of the old adage “In corporate
America, it’s all about who plays golf with you”—meaning
that people get ahead in the workplace not just by doing their jobs
well, but by making connections with co-workers and supervisors on
a personal level away from their desks. If people like Lori Vande Zande
cannot use the kitchen or eat in the cafeteria, it may be more difficult
for them to advance in their careers. Employers’ and policymakers’ vision
of ADA compliance should be expanded to include new, nontraditional
ideas of equal access.
Conference
attendees discussed the importance of framing disability issues
in specific ways to spark the interest of policymakers and the
public, and give the issues more political clout. Members of the
disability advocacy community present vowed to continue their work
on developing efficient, cost-effective, useful initiatives that
lead to the best possible outcome, without compromising the needs
of constituents.
