Calendar of Upcoming Events
If you are sponsoring an upcoming community event or know of one that you would like posted on this page, please use our online contact form to send us the details.
Scent-Free Note: Please do not wear any perfumes or scented products to Equip for Equality events to ensure an accessible environment for people with chemical sensitivity.
November 2010
An Evening for Equality 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
5:30-9:00 p.m.
Chicago Renaissance Hotel
One West Wacker Drive
Announcing the 2010 Legal Issues Webinar Series: Employment and the ADA
The DBTAC-Great Lakes ADA Center is pleased to announce an educational opportunity for 2010. This program will focus on employment issues and disability discrimination under the ADA.
Cost: All sessions are free.
TIME: Each session is 90 minutes in length. They are held from 1:00-2:30 p.m. Central Time Zone (CT) on dates specified.
This webinar series will utilize an on line conferencing system. The Online Conferencing System is a fully accessible integrated data and voice medium that enables users to conduct workshops over the Internet from just about any computer with a high speed network connection and web browser. Participation is enhanced with use of a personal microphone.
REGISTRATION IS OPEN at www.ada-audio.org (choose the ADA Legal Issues Webinar Link)
Session Schedule and Descriptions
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April 7, 2010 – Reasonable Accommodation Legal Update
Reasonable accommodation issues continue to be one of the most frequently litigated ADA issues. This session will identify the major trends arising in reasonable accommodation cases and analyze recent court decisions interpreting the reasonable accommodation provisions of the ADA. David Lee, an experienced employment litigation attorney in Chicago and former president of the Illinois Chapter of the National Employment Lawyer’s Association, will be a co-presenter for this session.
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June 2, 2010 – “Invisible Disabilities” and the ADA
When someone does not have a visible disability, such as diabetes, epilepsy, chemical sensitivity, asthma, mental illness and HIV/AIDS, it frequently can raise unique issues for both the employer and the employee. This session will review the legal issues and court decisions when "invisible" disabilities are at issue, including pre-employment inquiries and medical examinations, workplace disclosure, reasonable accommodation issues (such as leave and modified schedules), and confidentiality.
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August 4, 2010 – The EEOC and the ADA
Employers and people with disabilities frequently have questions about the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s role in interpreting and enforcing Title I of the ADA. This session will provide participants with a clear understanding of the EEOC’s administrative process, including work share agreements, mediation, investigations, and case selection, as well as an update on the EEOC's ADA litigation. John Hendrickson, the Regional Attorney for the EEOC office in Chicago, will be a co-presenter for this session.
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September 29, 2010 – Litigation under the ADA Amendments Act
The passage of the ADA Amendments Act sought to change the narrow interpretations by courts of the definition of disability. But what has been the real impact of the ADAAA? This session will analyze the initial case decisions interpreting the provisions of the ADAAA and its regulations, and identify any emerging trends. Brian East, an ADA expert and a Senior Attorney with Advocacy, Inc. in Texas, will be a co-presenter for this session.
All sessions will be hosted and moderated by Barry C. Taylor, Legal Advocacy Director at Equip for Equality, and/or Alan Goldstein, Senior Attorney at Equip for Equality, the Protection and Advocacy Program in Illinois, www.equipforequality.org.
About the Hosts/Moderators:
Barry C. Taylor, Legal Advocacy Director at Equip for Equality
Since 1996, Barry Taylor has been the Legal Advocacy Director at Equip for Equality, the Illinois Protection and Advocacy system. He has overseen many individual and systemic disability discrimination cases and he also oversees the agency's training project, which in its first ten years trained approximately 28,000 people with disabilities. He has also given numerous presentations on the ADA across the country to people with disabilities, employers, service providers and advocacy organizations. Mr. Taylor has been the Chairperson of the Disability Rights Consortium, Chairperson of the Legal Committee for the National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems, Chairperson of the Chicago Bar Association's Legal Aid Committee, and Chairperson of the Chicago Bar Association's Mental Health and Disability Law Committee. He is an Adjunct Professor at John Marshall Law School, and in 2001, Chicago Lawyer Magazine named Taylor one of “40 Illinois Attorneys Under 40 to Watch.” Prior to coming to Equip for Equality, he was the AIDS Project Attorney in the Midwest Regional Office of Lambda Legal working to advance the civil rights for people living with HIV/AIDS. From 1988 - 1993, he was a litigation associate at the Chicago law firm of Peterson & Ross. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law, where he also received his undergraduate degree.
Alan M. Goldstein, Senior Attorney at Equip for Equality
Alan is a Senior Attorney with Equip for Equality (EFE), the Illinois Protection and Advocacy Agency for people with disabilities. Mr. Goldstein has been practicing law for over twenty years and has specialized in the area of disability rights for more than ten years. Mr. Goldstein provides employment-related training to human resource professionals, individuals with disabilities, service providers, businesses, government agencies, and other organizations utilizing his experiences as an attorney to provide practical information his training. Equip for Equality also manages the Illinois ADA Project that is funded by the DBTAC: Great Lakes ADA Center and National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR). The Illinois ADA Project provides ADA information and training to organizations and individuals across Illinois.
Telephone/TTY: (877) 232 - 1990 (V/TTY)
Past Events
April, 2009
Symposium: Saturday, April 18, 2009
The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance of Greater Chicago Presents its 10TH ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM - SELF DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIOR: PATHS TO RECOVERY.
The Symposium will take place on Saturday, April 18, 2009 at Evanston Hospital, 2650 Ridge Avenue, Evanston, Illinois. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION - Please visit www.dbsa-gc.org, send an e-mail to: wecanhelp@dbsa-gc.org (subject line: Symposium), or call the Alliance at (773) 465-3280.
Meeting to Discuss Issues Impacting Persons With Vision Impairments or Blindness
Equip for Equality will be hosting a meeting on Wednesday, January 21, 2009 to discuss legal issues impacting persons with vision impairments or blindness in Illinois. The purpose of the meeting is to solicit input from the blind community on what issues are important, in order to provide guidance to EFE on case acceptance and proactive initiatives. The meeting will take place from 10:30 a.m. until noon at EFE’s offices at 20 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 300, Chicago, Illinois 60602. Barry Taylor and Amy Peterson will participate on behalf of Equip for Equality. This meeting is open to the public and all interested persons are encouraged to attend. Please call (312) 895-7346(voice) or (800) 610-2779 (TTY) or write cecille@equipforequality.org to reserve your space or request an accommodation. Accommodations should be requested two weeks in advance, if possible.
August 2008
Serving Customers with Disabilities: Implications for the Hospitality Industry
August 19, 2008
Disability Rights Consortium at Equip for Equality
August 27, 2008
The August meeting of the Disability Rights Consortium will take place on Wednesday August 26th from 9:30-11:00 at Equip for Equality (20 North Michigan, Suite 300). The topic of the meeting will be the Voting Rights of People with Disabilities. A sign language interpreter will be available for the meeting. Anyone needing accommodations should contact Barry Taylor at barryt@equipforequality.org. The meeting will also be webcast - to participate go to www.illinoislegaladvocate.org and click on "calendar"
September 2008
ADA Webinar sponsored by the DBTAC Great Lakes ADA Center
September 23, 2008
The DBTAC-Great Lakes ADA Center is pleased to announce the 6th in a series of webinars focused on Employment Topics to be held on Tuesday, June 3rd. The topic will be Direct Threat/Safety in the Workplace.
The webinar utilizes an on line conferencing system. The Online Conferencing System is a fully accessible integrated data and voice medium that enables users to conduct workshops over the Internet from just about any computer with a high speed network connection and web browser. Participation is enhanced with use of a personal microphone.
COST: $100 per session. Discounts are available if you register for more than one session in the series. (10% discount for 2 sessions, 15% discount for 3-4 sessions, 20% discount for 5-6 sessions).
TIME: The session is 90 minutes in length and is held from 1:00-2:30 p.m. Central Time Zone (CT)
For registration contact DBTAC-Great Lakes ADA Center at gldbtac@uic.edu or go on-line at: www.adagreatlakes.org.
