[A] federal judge in San Francisco ruled Wednesday that the Social Security Administration must accommodate the needs of blind recipients of benefits when announcing decisions that affect them.
Under the Social Security Act, the agency sends certified letters, makes follow-up phone calls, or takes other steps to communicate decisions to those who are receiving benefits solely because of their blindness, but does not accommodate visually impaired people who get Social Security because of their age or other reasons.
U.S. District Judge William Alsup ruled that the agency is also covered by an anti-discrimination law that requires the federal government to provide access to disabled people in all federally funded programs, including audio recordings, Braille and other aids for the blind.
Alsup gave the Social Security Administration the option of adopting regulations on visual aids or allowing the changes to be determined in further proceedings in a suit filed by the American Council of the Blind and eight individuals.
Apr 25, 2008
Court Rules For Blind Claimants
From the San Francisco Chronicle:
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If SSA is to accomodate vision problems with those receiving benefits for other reasons they may have to self identify as SSA does not store such information on the Master Beneficiary Record (MBR). The MBR will contain an indicator only if the person has been determined to be statutorily blind.
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