News Blog

Benefits to Work, a project of the Tennessee Disability Coalition, is pleased to announce the addition of a new project manager.  Joining the organization to lead Benefits To Work is Alice Owens Gatlin.

“We are delighted to welcome Alice to our team,” said Carol Westlake, executive director of Tennessee Disability Coalition.  “ She brings with her unique experiences and skills that will strengthen our ability to assist social security beneficiaries successfully return to work.”
 
Ms. Owens Gatlin brings with her an extensive and varied background in social security disability work and administration services.  Over the last 22 years she has worked on various aspects of social security and disability including representing clients with claims for disability, disability insurance benefits, and supplemental security income.  She is a certified clinical research professional, and has fulfilled a variety of leadership roles at Vanderbilt University as a part of the Office of Research.  Her education includes a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice and a Juris Doctor from Temple University.
 

NASHVILLE  – Celestica Inc., a Canadian electronics manufacturer service company doing  business in the United States as Celestica Corporation, will pay $102,100 and  provide other relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the  U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced  on April 8. 2010.

The EEOC’s suit (No. 3:09-0813, filed  in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee) had charged  that Celestica willfully ignored requests for reasonable accommodations under  the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).  An employee, hired through a placement agency, worked inside a  400,000-square-foot warehouse in Mt. Juliet, Tenn., operated  by Celestica. She has lupus, chronic  obstructive pulmonary disease and cardiomyopathy. She requested use of her own electric  wheelchair to get to her desk inside the warehouse from a handicapped parking  space close to the side entrance.  Although the placement agency allowed use of the wheelchair, Celestica  ignored her requests and acted as if they had never occurred, the EEOC said. She continued working for a few months without  any accommodation, but ultimately quit.

Denial  of a reasonable accommodation to an otherwise qualified individual with a  disability violates Title I of the ADA,  unless providing the accommodation would pose an undue hardship. The EEOC filed suit after first attempting to  reach a voluntary settlement.

Besides  providing monetary relief, the two-year consent decree settling the suit,  signed by Judge Todd Campbell on April 7,  2010, enjoins Celestica from further  refusing or ignoring any request from an individual with a disability for a  reasonable accommodation; requires the company to issue its policy regarding  reasonable accommodations under the ADA to all employees in the United States; train  its site managers and human resources managers on reasonable accommoda­tions;  report requests for reasonable accommodations to the EEOC; have the trainer  administer a test after the training and review the test results with the trainees;  and post notices on the settlement and the ADA.

“Employers  cannot simply ignore requests for reasonable accommodations of a qualified  individual with a disability,” said Faye A. Williams, the EEOC regional  attorney for the Memphis District Office.  “Rather, they must take an active role in determining whether the  accommodation can be provided or whether it would impose an undue  hardship. We are pleased that Celestica joined  us in a quick resolution to save all parties time and expense.”

Celestica, Inc., located in Toronto, Canada,  is a global provider of services for electronics manufacturers. It has over 38,000 employees worldwide.

The EEOC is responsible for enforcing the nation's  laws prohibiting employment discrimination.  Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.

The Autism Society of America - East Tennessee is hosting a spring conference titled, "Intervention Tools for Parents."  Led by the Parent Child Services Group, topics will include:  literacy to language, verbal behavior & behavioral interventions, sensory approach to feeding therapy, social interventions, TN insurance updates and more.

Date:  Saturday, May 8th

Time:  7:30am to 12:30pm

Location:  Second Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall, 2829 Kingston Pike, Knoxville

Registration Fee: $10

Registration Deadline:  Monday, May 3rd

To register online visit: http://www.asaetc.org/Confregistration.html

To download a flyer and registration form in PDF

 

 

 

If your youth has special health care needs and/or disabilities, you both will want to join Family Voices of Tennessee at the Tennessee Disability Coalition office for a movie, pizza and an opportunity to learn about transition issues from pediatric to adult health services. This Friday night beginning at 5:30pm.

Date: April 16, 2010
Time: 5:30 - 8:30pm
Location: 955 Woodland Street, Nashville TN 37206

To join Family Voices and other Metro families, please call Tonya Bowman at (615) 383-9442 to reserve your seat or write to her at hearfvmiddle@tndisability.org. Please leave your name, number and how many will be joining us for Watch and Learn.

To download a PDF Flyer - contains the same information as above.

A bill has been introduced that - on the surface - seems harmless enough, but once one looks at the unintended consquenes it is clear that funding for Traumatic Brain Injury programming could take a significant cut as a result.  Efforts are underway to see about an amendment to ensure TBI Funds are protected so stay tuned.

Senate Bill 2523 and HB 2544 creates an offense of super speeding when driver speeds at 75 mph or more on any two-lane highway or 85 mph or more on any public highway; the violation is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by a $200 fine only.  The revenues from those fines are to be dedicated to the Trauma System Fund to help cover the cost of unreimbursed care.

HOWEVER

Unintended consequence:  While the Trauma System is a worthy recipient of the revenues, the bill as written may have the unintended consequence of diminishing - perhaps significantly - the revenues to the Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Trust Fund.

• Legislatively established in 1993 to address the unique needs of survivors of traumatic brain injury, the TBI Program is funded through additional fines on specific traffic violations, including speeding.
• The TBI trust fund receives $5 from every speeding ticket.
• The trust fund revenues of $1 million per year and are used to provide home and community based services to the 8,000 Tennesseans who sustain a brain injury annually. 

Revenue Shift: the proposed legislation is anticipated to bring in approximately $3.7 million. However that revenue will bypass the TBI Trust Fund and effectively siphon off some fines that otherwise fund the TBI program, resulting in a lost of services to TBI survivors.

TBI Program Services: With money from the TBI trust fund, survivors of brain injury are benefiting from a variety of programs:

• Assistance of a local service coordinator
• Personal care assistance in order to live as independently as possible
• Therapeutic recreation program
• Social and recreational activities at a camp for brain injury survivors

With this limited funding, the TBI Program has been able to make a difference in the lives of hundreds of survivors. 

The bill will be heard in the House Transportation Committee on Tuesday, April 13.  It will also be heard soon in the Senate Transporation Committee.  If your legislators serve on one of these committees (see below), please urge them to vote against SB2523/HB2544 if it will cut funding for the TBI Trust Funding. 

Keys for successful Communication:  1) please only contact your personal legislator - not the entire committee, 2) provide the bill number when communicating, 3) be polite and thoughtful, and 4) provide your address so the legislator knows you are a constituent.

House Transporation Committee

Click a name to get their phone, fax and email address.

Bil Harmon - Sequatchie, Van Buren, Grundy and Marion Counties

Vince Dean - Part of Hamilton County

George Fraley - Franklin, Moore, and part of Lincoln County

Judy Barker - Obion, Lake and part of Dyer County

Ty Cobb - Part of Maury County

Chad Faulkner - Campbell and Union County

Richard Floyd - Part of Hamilton County

Matthew Hill - Part of Washington County

Phillip Johnson -  Cheatham and parts of Montgomery and Williamson Counties.

Pat Marsh - Bedford and parts of Lincoln and Rutherford Counties

Jimmy Matlock - Parts of Loudon and Monroe Counties

Tony Shipley - Part of Sullivan County

John C. Tidwell - Houston, Humphreys, Perry, and parts of Hickman and Maury Counties

Ben West Jr. - Part of Davidson County.

Senate Transportation

Jim Tracy - Bedford, Moore, and part of Rutherford County.

Steve Southerland - Cocke, Greene, Hamblen, and Unicoi Counties

Tim Barnes - Cheatham, Houston, and Montgomery Counties

Mae Beavers - Cannon, Clay, DeKalb, Macon, Smith and parts of Sumner, Trousdale, and Wilson Counties

Andy Berke - Parts of Hamilton and Marion Counties

Lowe Finney - Madison, Gibson, and Carroll Counties

Dolores Gresham - Chester, Crockett, Fayette, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, McNairy, and Wayne Counties

Doug Jackson - Dickson, Giles, Hickman, Humphreys, Lawrence, and Lewis Counties

Ken Yager - Campbell, Fentress, Morgan, Rhea, Roane, and Scott Counties