NDSC

May 10, 2013

National Down Syndrome Congress

Governmental Affairs Newsline 

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In This Issue
Restraint/Seclusion Bill Introduced
Workers Win Discrimination Lawsuit
 
Capitol Building 
 
 
 
National Down Syndrome Congress
30 Mansell Court
Suite 108
Roswell, GA 30076
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800-232-6372/770-604-9500
 

NDSC Day on the Hill   

Restraint/Seclusion Bill Introduced in U.S. House of Representatives

  

Please call your Congressman! 


Congressman George Miller (D-CA), ranking member of the House Education & Workforce Committee and Congressman Gregg Harper (R-MS) this week introduced the Keeping All Students Safe Act, HR 1893, a bill to protect all students nationwide from restraint and seclusion.  

NDSC was one of the founding organizations of APRAIS, the group whose mission is to protect children from restraint, seclusion and aversives in schools, and who has worked on development of this bill for several years.   

Please contact your members of Congress and ask them to Cosponsor and Support the Keeping All Students Safe Act, HR 1893.  Dial 202-224-3121; ask for your Representative's Office, and then ask for the individual who deals with education issues. 

If you are unable to call and need to use email, go to http://bit.ly/RepWrit.   The link to Congressman Miller's speech is here.

  

Tell your Congressional representative that:

  • A 2009 Government Accountability Office (GAO) study found that children were injured, traumatized, and even killed through restraint and seclusion in schools.  The GAO documented 20 deaths of school children. 
  • The Civil Rights collection data shows that 40,000 children were physically restrained during the 2009-2010 school year.
  • Restraint and seclusion are disproportionately used upon students with disabilities and minority students.  

The Keeping All Students Safe Act will protect children in the following ways:

         ban restraint/seclusion except in emergencies where someone is in danger of physical harm.   

         require that parents be informed if their child was restrained/secluded on the same day that the event occurred.

         ban restraints that impede breathing, mechanical restraints, and chemical restraints. 

         prevent restraint/seclusion from being used when less restrictive alternatives, like positive supports and de-escalation, would eliminate any danger. 

If you have questions, please contact [email protected].

Workers with Disabilities Awarded $7.5M for Pay Discrimination by Henry's Turkey Service 

 

Thirty two employees with intellectual disabilities have been awarded $7.5 million dollars in a lawsuit filed on their behalf by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for jobs they performed under contract at a turkey processing farm in West Liberty, Iowa between 2007 and 2009.   

The suit alleged that the turkey farm exploited the workers because their intellectual impairment made them vulnerable and unaware of the extent to which their legal rights were violated. 

The judge found that the employees were paid $65 per month rather than $11-12 per hour usually paid to non-disabled employees who performed similar work.   

In the court proceedings, EEOC included the statement of a West Liberty Foods supervisor, who stated that the workers were as productive as other workers in the plant, and that they actually demonstrated their knowledge and skills to persons who were being hired to replace them as the Henry's Turkey contract operations were winding down. 

Additionally, the employees lived in a "bunkhouse" that was closed down by the state fire marshal as unsafe: its heating was inadequate, the bug-infested building had rodent problems, and the roof was in such disrepair that buckets were put out to catch water pouring in.  The EEOC, supported by testimony of the U.S. Department of Labor, maintained it was unlawful for the company to deny the workers their full wages and benefits by claiming a "credit" for these substandard living conditions. 

In addition to the discriminatory pay practices which are the subject of the court's order, a trial will be held on the alleges that the company subjected the workers to abusive verbal and physical harassment, unnecessarily restricted their freedom, and imposed harsh punishments and other adverse terms and conditions of employment, such as requiring them to live together in substandard living conditions and failing to provide proper health care.  

If you have questions, contact [email protected]