The DRC will then purchase the items or services outlined in the Action Plan, at no additional cost to your operating administration. Webthe issuance of Statement on Auditing Standards No. 0 It also mentioned a technical safety concern relating to the interface of the detectable warning strip and the yellow safety stripe at the platform edge. INTRODUCTION. For these reasons, the Department will continue to make equivalent facilitation determinations. 322. Making the requirements effective at the same time made sense, they said, because they relate to an accessible car-station interface. Prospective purchasers are advised to evaluate carefully all proposed products and designs against the Access Board requirements for compliance with technical [*63099] specifications, applications, designs, and installations. Controls another person's means of transportation with the intent to permanently deprive the person of the means of transportation. One commenter suggested that the postponement apply here, as well. The supporting You need to document why you needed the missing records, and why they Spaces for persons who wish to remain in their wheelchairs or mobility aids shall have a minimum clear floor spacePAGE 2858 FR 63092, *6310348 inches by 30 inches. The equivalent facilitation sections for vehicles and facilities are basically parallel. Under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, managers and supervisors are required to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified Federal employees and applicants. (iii) The entity shall sponsor at least one public hearing on the request and shall provide adequate notice of the hearing, including advertisement in [*63102] appropriate media, such as newspapers of general and special interest circulation and radio announcements. This issue attracted, by far, the greatest number of comments of any issue raised by the NPRM. Section 37.87 is amended by redesignating the present paragraph (d) as paragraph (e) and adding a new paragraph (d) to read as follows:@ 37.87 -- Purchase or lease of used intercity and commuter rail cars. PAGE 1158 FR 63092, *63096letter-writing campaign organized by the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF), whose comment is probably the most thorough and typical statement of the disability community's objections to the proposal. Mr. X has Reasonable Cause for Not Filing and Turning Over Form 941 Withholding Taxes. WebStatement regarding reasonable accommodation under the Fair Housing Act generally apply to requests for reasonable accommodations to rules, policies, practices, and At the same time, given the modification discussed below, it will not impose onerous new duties on transit personnel. Some services, such as sign language interpreting, reader services, or personal assistance while on travel, can be provided by DRC on a continuing basis. In addition, in December 1992, a visually impaired passenger fell to the tracks on Baltimore's subway system, and was struck and injured by a train. That's where the DRC can offer their expertise. PTSB described, in some detail, how the design and operation of a particular lift model (a front door "arcing" lift manufactured by EEC, Inc., Model 141) could create specific hazards for standees. In @ 37.7, paragraph(b) is revised to read as follows. * * * * *, (g) The entity shall permit individuals with disabilities who do not use wheelchairs, including standees, to use a vehicle's lift or ramp to enter the vehicle. Such spaces shall adjoin, and may overlap, an accessible path. 2. of detectable warning materials had been the result of a combination of first-generation materials and improper installation and/or maintenance by rail properties. Consequently, the NPRM proposed to extend for 18 months the key station compliance date with respect to detectable warnings. One disability community. A disability community commenter suggested. One of these commenters also asked for guidance on how to treat non-disabled personal care attendants who may want to sit next to a disabled passenger. Nine commenters, eight of whom were equipment manufacturers, said that there should not be separate equivalent facilitation procedures for public and private entities. Washington, DC 20590 Equivalent facilitation is a useful provision of the Access Board guidelines and the Department's rules that applies to all accessibility features. An official website of the United States government Here's how you know. It is important to remember that the NPRM never raised the issue of whether detectable warnings should be installed on rail platform edges, only the issue of when installation should be completed. We provide training in the use of the accommodation, and follow up with the employee to be sure that the accommodation is effective. In an audit, your CPA is required to obtain an understanding of your businesss internal control and assess fraud risk. This language should parallel that of @ 38.95(d). (5) A determination of compliance will be made by the Administrator of the concerned operating administration on a case-by-case basis, with the concurrence of the Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs.PAGE 2458 FR 63092, *63102(6) Determinations of equivalent facilitation are made only with respect to vehicles or vehicle components used in the provision of transportation services covered by subpart D or subpart E of this part, and pertain only to the specific situation concerning which the determination is made. One rail operator cited a 1991 study performed by a consultant for DOT that noted a number of problems that had occurred in early installations of detectable warnings. The future event or events are likely to occur. The study also noted ongoing efforts at improving detectable warning materials. Any such use of these letters, or reliance on these letters in marketing materials, is unauthorized, and potential customers for these products should disregard claims of this kind. (2) This requirement applies to light rail, rapid rail, and commuter rail systems only to the extent practicable. The concern expressed by these providers was essentially that some older models of lifts have no handrails or other means of preventing a standee user from losing his or her balance and falling while the lift is in operation. We decline to adopt suggestions that the completion date for installation of detectable warnings be established only after certain research is completed. Reasonable accommodations may include changes which may be necessary in order for the person with a disability to use and enjoy a dwelling, including public and common use spaces, or participate in the federally-assisted program or activity. For example, suppose there is a standing agreement between Amtrak and Commuter Authority B. The authority citation for 49 CFR part 38 is revised to read as follows: Authority: Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. These were primarily, but not exclusively, from the blind community. Those commenters who asserted that the two types of machines should have different requirements did not provide sufficient information on which the Department or the Access Board could base a separate standard. PAGE 858 FR 63092, *63094without unduly delaying the addition of this important safety feature. An official website of the United States government Here's how you know. The drop-offs at the edges of rail station platforms create a clear, documented, and unacceptable hazard to persons with visual impairments. The Department said that these concerns do not apply with the same force to a new construction situation, where detectable warnings can be made an integral part of the platform design (e.g., through concrete stamping or other methods not involving retrofit). The Department would apply 49 CFR 37.9, concerning grandfathering, to fare vending systems that meet the current ADA standard in the same way as that section applies to other features of transportation facilities. * * * * *(d) * * *(2) Wheelchair or mobility aid spaces. Obviously, a wheelchair user needs access to a securement location. For example, Amtrak may need a certain number of cars to carry overflow traffic at Thanksgiving or Christmas on the Northeast Corridor. %PDF-1.5 % This will inform passengers that such a request may be made and that they should comply. The agreement would provide that when Amtrak borrowed cars from B, B would make available and Amtrak would take its accessible cars first, to the extent they are available (e.g., B would not have to provide cars that were in the repair shop or that it was impossible to make available for Amtrak's use in a timely fashion). The bulk of these-388 comments-were from individuals with disabilities or organizations representing them. They also asked why we seemed to assume that detectable warnings shouldn't be installed until we were sure they were other component of a rail system. For example, a wheelchair user may not be able to use a bus safely and securely if he or she does not have access to the securement location. Three commenters suggested that buses carry an on-board wheelchair that standees could choose to use. Doing so will increase the likelihood that, when installed, detectable warnings do their intended job well without creating unnecessary problems for either passengers or transit providers. The ability to gather this information is an additional reason for providing the extension. Another disability community commenter suggested a requirement that the lease of rail cars by Amtrak not be permitted to decrease the overall percentage of Amtrak's fleet that was accessible (i.e., that if Amtrak leased inaccessible cars from a commuter authority, Amtrak would have to obtain accessible cars elsewhere in order to maintain the same percentage of accessibility in its fleet that it had before the lease). Some of these commenters expressed the concern that requiring enforcement could lead to confrontations between drivers and passengers or could disrupt service. Entities shall not cite these determinations as indicating that a products or methods constitute equivalent facilitations in situations other than those to which the determinations specifically pertain. [*63092]SUMMARY: The Department is amending its rules implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in several respects. The From a transportation policy point of view, requiring materials to be installed without providing a reasonable amount of time for rail operators to resolve these very practical issues could be counterproductive. The conclusion the Department draws from this study is that there are documented practical problems with the installation and maintenance of some detectable warning materials, which it is necessary for transit properties to address if their installation of detectable warnings is to be successful. At the request of commenters, the original January 19, 1993, comment closing date was extended through February 19, 1993. 12101-12213); 49 U.S.C. 322. In response to the disability group concerns about possible problems detectable warnings may create for people with mobility impairments, the FTA is available to work with rail properties that have installed or are testing detectable warning systems (and users of these systems who have mobility impairments) to determine whether such problems exist and merit any change in the detectable warning requirement. Since the FTA issued these letters, the Access Board published Bulletin # 1 in May 1992, clarifying many of the ambiguities left by its original guidelines and containing a diagram illustrating the pattern prescribed for detectable warning surfaces. Section 37.47(c)(1) is revised to read as follows:@ 37.47 -- Key stations in light and rapid rail systems. Five commenters (four transit agencies and a manufacturer) said that the purpose and design of fare vending machines were different enough from those of ATMs to warrant a different standard, at least with respect to some specifications. Every train that Amtrak or a commuter authority operates after that date will have to have an accessible car. Many of these letters appeared to be generated by a. To cover these situations, we proposed changing the rule to authorize the Administrator of the concerned operating Administration to make such a determination, with the concurrence of the Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs in order to ensure consistency. This was due, in part, to the absence of a diagram illustrating the required pattern. The FTA Administrator sent letter to a number of manufacturers to inform them that their designs appeared to meet the dimensional requirements intended by the Access Board. In 49 CFR part 37, the words "Urban Mass Transportation Administration" are changed to the words "Federal Transit Administration" in every instance in which those words appear; the letters "UMTA" are changed to the letters "FTA" in every instance in which those letters appear; and the words "UMT Act" and "Urban Mass Transportation Act" are changed to the words "FT Act" and "Federal Transit Act" in every instance in which those words appear, and the definition of "FT Act" is moved to the proper alphabetical order. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert C. Ashby, Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Regulation and Enforcement, Department of Transportation, 400 7th Street, SW., room 10424, Washington, DC. Providing reasonable accommodations is an interactive process where the employee and his or her manager need to participate to help achieve a successful accommodation. However, this organization did not comment on the NPRM, and there were no comments to the NPRM from any blind or visually impaired individuals or organizations representing them opposing detectable warnings on rail station platform edges. One of these commenters simply said that the current rule should be left in place, without change. PAGE 1458 FR 63092, *63097Commenters had a variety of points of view on this proposal. The situations covered by the Access Board proposal are distinguishable from the situation of rail platform edges, and a decision by the Access Board to delete the detectable warning requirement in the former would not affect the requirement in the latter for detectable warnings on platform edges, particularly given the safety consequences of falls from rail station platforms. The DREDF comment asserted, first, that there was no documentation of actual safety problems-data or even anecdotes-necessitating a restriction on the kinds of lifts that standees should be allowed to use. The obligations would differ depending on whether the requester is a transportation entity or a manufacturer (in the latter case, the requirement would be a consultation requirement, since there is not a single community whose representatives could be involved in the normal sense of public participation). When it drafted these provisions, the Department contemplated a small number of requests from transit providers concerning individual facility or vehicle problems on which flexibility in applying accessibility standards could be provided without negative effects on accessibility. PAGE 958 FR 63092, *63095standard for detectable warnings may be indicated, the Department is free to propose changes, which can exceed the minimum requirements of the Access Board guidelines. The less stringent standard could also encourage misleading or unethical practices, they said. PAGE 2158 FR 63092, *63100(ATMs). This extension applies only to detectable warnings. Making decisions about equivalent facilitation in advance, through an agency administrative process, seems more efficient than making them after the fact, through litigation. (3) In the case of a request by a public entity that provides transportation services subject to the provisions of subpart D of this part, the required public participation shall include the following:(i) The entity shall contact individuals with disabilities and groups representing them in the community. In @ 37.167, a new paragraph (j) is added, to read as follows:PAGE 2758 FR 63092, *63103@ 37.167 -- Other service requirements. A statement of the eligibility requirements for coverage including: (A) The condition under which dependent enrollees may be added to those originally covered; (B) Any limiting age for enrollees and dependents, including effects of Medicare eli-gibility; and (C) A clear statement regarding the cover-age of newborn children. The Nations transportation industries, which are not immune to the impacts and disruptions resulting from the spread of COVID-19 in the United States, are playing a vital role in mitigating the effects of COVID-19. II. Some commenters pointed out that the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) had not adopted a detectable warnings standard, drawing the conclusion that this placed the viability of the current Federal standard in question. The purpose of the detectable warning is to inform blind or visually impaired passengers that they are nearing the platform edge. Section 37.51(c)(1) is revised to read as follows:@ 37.51 -- Key stations in commuter rail systems. Reasonable accommodations are changes or modifications to a job or work environment that make it possible for an employee with a disability to perform the essential functions of that job. These situations, some of which were recounted by fall victims themselves in detail, were in addition to cases in which visually-impaired passengers almost fell off, or had become very fearful of walking on, rail station platforms. One of these commenters opposed the public hearing requirement, while another said public participation should receive greater emphasis. This issue is a difficult one, because the comments favoring and opposing the proposed 18-month delay both make reasonable and persuasive points. Reasonably possible . This requirement applies to all fixed route vehicles when they are acquired by the entity or to new or replacement signage in the entity's existing fixed route vehicles. Another transit property also asked for a 5-year delay, while a third suggested making the requirement effective in July 1995, to coincide with the one-car-per-train requirement. WebThe ADA also outlaws discrimination against individuals with disabilities in State and local government services, public accommodations, transportation and Thirty-one state and local agencies working with disability matters, three private transportation providers, three members of Congress (Senators Harkin and Kennedy and Representative Mineta), and four other commenters also advocated not changing the existing rule. It is a way of providing needed flexibility as entities find ways to achieve accessibility in ways that differ from existing design standards. 107. In particular, transit authorities said that safety (e.g., a potential tripping hazard), durability, and maintainability questions about detectable warnings had not been answered satisfactorily. The requirement will apply to newly acquired vehicles and to new or replacement signs in existing vehicles. One partial exception to this pattern was a comment from the New York State Public Transportation Safety Board (PTSB). 4 Transportation barriers The first was the designation of the last paragraph of @ 38.113 (concerning signage) as (3), rather than (e). Finally, the need of transit properties for time to determine which specific detectable warning product is best for their systems and to go through their procurement processes is reasonable to take into account. The final rule specifically bars claims by manufacturers that an equivalent facilitation determination constitutes a product endorsement by the Department. The first step is to complete the DRC Accommodation Request Form so we can begin to identify your needs. PAGE 1958 FR 63092, *63099covered by FTA [*63100] regulations concerning priority seating-would not apply. The third change would modify the Department's procedures for responding to requests for equivalent facilitation determinations. The warning strip must include a pattern of "truncated domes" (i.e., small raised rounded surfaces) as required by section 4.29 of appendix A. In @ 37.165, paragraph (g) is revised to read as follows:@ 37.165 -- Lift and securement use. PAGE 1758 FR 63092, *63099locations in vehicles, though transit providers may have fold-down seats that other persons can use when there are no wheelchair users on the vehicle. U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave, SE It is appropriate for a driver, under this provision, to ask an ambulatory passenger with a disability to move to clear a wheelchair securement location when needed to accommodate a wheelchair user. The NPRM proposed to amend the rule to reflect this situation, allowing equivalent facilitation requests to be made by manufacturers and by transportation entities in other modes. Five transit agencies noted that they provided lift service to standees without significant problems. Business Hours:8:30am-5:00pm ET, M-F. Sixteen commenters-including both transportation agencies and disability community commenters, among others-favored the NPRM's proposal. Most of these commenters did not provide a detailed basis for their position, essentially endorsing the NPRM's rationale. These commenters, while making clear their concern about safety, did not present any data or anecdotal information that would demonstrate that an actual safety problem existed. DREDF also cited ADA legislative history favoring use of lifts by standees, the practices of some transit agencies which allow standees to use lifts, extra costs to paratransit systems if ridership on fixed route systems by standees were limited, and a general concern that ADA regulations' protections should not be weakened. (iii) The entity shall sponsor at least one public hearing on the request and shall provide adequate notice of the hearing, including advertisement in appropriate media, such as newspapers of general and special interest circulation and radio announcements. As such, training is required, and adequate training time should be allowed. The facility owner simply makes its own determination, which may be challenged in court or administrative proceedings as failing to comply with ADA requirements. Nine transit agencies and one state or local agency working on disability matters suggested that the final rule require the driver to ask someone sitting in a priority seat to move, or to make good faith efforts to clear the seat, but not to have to enforce the request. Rather, they went to the question of how best. Several manufacturers of detectable warning surfaces requested clarification. (56 FR 45755). Provided, that an entity is not required to permit such individuals to use a lift Model 141 manufactured by EEC, Inc. Further, 49 CFR 37.7 and 37.9 establish a procedure through which an entity may obtain a determination of equivalent facilitation for vehicles and facilities, respectively:For purposes of implementing the equivalent facilitation provision * * * a determination of compliance will be made by the (Federal Transit) Administrator or the Federal Railroad Administrator, as applicable, on a case-by-case basis. To detectable warnings be established only after certain research is completed detectable materials. To confrontations between drivers and passengers or could disrupt service providing reasonable accommodations is an process. The use of the United States government Here 's how you know respect detectable! Also encourage misleading or unethical practices, they said, because the comments favoring opposing. 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