Mr. X has Reasonable Cause for Not Filing and Turning Over Form 941 Withholding Taxes. Under appendix A of part 37, which adopts as part of a DOT regulation the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) guidelines for accessible facilities, sections 10.3.1 and 10.3.2, require that an accessible rail station have a 24-inch wide detectable warning strip running the entire length of the platform edge. The manufacturers said that the problems the NPRM had cited with adhesion, lift-up, etc. 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. Supervisors should be aware that most technologies we purchase as an accommodation may take awhile for employees to master. Frequently (e.g., at holiday times or other high-demand periods), Amtrak must obtain additional cars from nearby commuter rail authorities on short notice for a short period of time. hXko+1Ap`;McIsc j&BesfI#H%53EKdJ[qZyfQE)*f:C Iy2-:WA`\I The third change would modify the Department's procedures for responding to requests for equivalent facilitation determinations. An FTA regulation (49 CFR 609.15(d)) requires FTA-assisted public transit authorities to designate priority seating near the front of vehicles for elderly and handicapped persons. WebReasonable Accommodation (request): the act of enabling a qualified individual with a disability to obtain full and equal access to TriMet services, programs or activities See 57 FR 41006, September 8, 1992. The Department will extend the required completion date for the installation of detectable warnings in existing key stations to July 26, 1994. Two organizations that represent a constituency consisting primarily of persons with mobility impairments said that additional research was needed on the issue of whether detectable warnings were an obstacle or hazard to persons with mobility impairments. The existing rule's one car per train requirement applies, after July 1995, both to Amtrak and the commuter authorities involved. 2. Phone: 202-493-0625. WebReasonable accommodations also include any structural changes that may be necessary. The key point in the comments, from the Department's point of view, is the absence of information documenting a safety problem resulting from standees' use of lifts. The study does not point to any safety problems created by the materials for passengers, beyond those that can be inferred from "lift-off." The less stringent standard could also encourage misleading or unethical practices, they said. The Department stated in the NPRM that having an adequate detectable warning system to warn blind and visually impaired passengers that they are near a platform edge is a vital safety matter for these passengers. Under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, managers and supervisors are required to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified Federal employees and applicants. 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. Disability Resource Center We believe that a reasonable balance is best achieved, in this case, by allowing transit authorities a limited period of time to resolve practical problems concerning detectable warnings. endstream endobj 11 0 obj <> endobj 12 0 obj <>/ExtGState<>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageC]/XObject<>>>/Rotate 0/Type/Page>> endobj 13 0 obj <>stream Some letters mentioned the need for detectable warnings for persons who use dogs, as well as those who use canes, as a mobility aid. Fourteen commenters supported the NPRM provision as drafted. A transit authority and an "elderly and handicapped" advisory committee sought assurance that transit authorities and advisory committees, respectively, would be part of the public participation process. Consultation with these individuals and groups shall take place at all stages of the development of the request for equivalent facilitation. "[wll,u&aElBK5#3cn6u. The DRC staff member and the employee's manager sign the form as well as the employee. Liz has low vision and uses assistive technologies to assist her with the essential functions of her job in the Office of Human Resources. A few comments alluded to reported opposition to detectable warnings on the part of one organization representing individuals with visual impairments. Seventeen commenters supported restricting the access of standees to lifts. * * * * *7. (4) In the case of a request by a manufacturer or a private entity other than an air carrier, the manufacturer or private entity shall consult, in person, in writing, or by other appropriate means, with representatives of national and local organizations representing people with those disabilities who would be affected by the request. B) should request an increase in audit fees so that more resources can be used to conduct the audit. The purpose of the detectable warning is to inform blind or visually impaired passengers that they are nearing the platform edge. liquid watercolor michaels. One disability community. Parts 37 and 38 require wheelchair securement. The last paragraph of @ 38.113, entitled Signage and currently designated as paragraph (3), is redesignated as paragraph (e). These good faith efforts are the same that apply to purchases of used rolling stock (e.g., buses) by mass transit systems-an initial solicitation for accessible vehicles, a nationwide search for accessible vehicles, including advertising in trade publications and contacting trade associations. Examples of Reasonable Accommodations can include: Of course, the list above is not all-inclusive. It is a significant rule under the Department's Regulatory Policies and Procedures, since it amends the Department's Americans with Disabilities Act rule, which is a significant rule. Phone: 202-366-6242, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE The Department believes that existing research adequately documents the detectability of warning materials meeting or exceeding the current Access Board requirement, and, therefore, that the materials will mitigate this hazard. endstream endobj startxref Webthe issuance of Statement on Auditing Standards No. PAGE 2258 FR 63092, *63101omission of part of the language concerning wheelchair locations in @ 38.125(d)(2). Entities shall not claim that a determination of equivalent facilitation indicates approval or endorsement of any product or method by the Federal government, the Department of Transportation, or any of its operating administrations. The uniformity considerations mentioned by commenters will be taken into account in this process. We want to be sure that you or your employee can fully use the accommodation effectively. Loss contingencies resulting from illegal acts A disability community commenter suggested. The Department believes that the suggestion to publish its equivalent facilitation determinations is a good one. (4) In all signage designating priority seating areas for elderly persons and persons with disabilities, or designating wheelchair securement areas, the entity shall include language informing persons sitting in these locations that they should comply with requests by transit provider personnel to vacate their seats to make room for an individual with a disability. 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. 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. However, nothing in the study suggests that these problems appear insuperable; nor does the study suggest that a prolonged period of time (e.g., five years) is needed for rail operators to solve these problems. Consequently, the rule gives equivalent facilitation authority to the FTA and FRA Administrators. 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 facility owner simply makes its own determination, which may be challenged in court or administrative proceedings as failing to comply with ADA requirements. This language should parallel that of @ 38.95(d). PAGE 1458 FR 63092, *63097Commenters had a variety of points of view on this proposal. They suggested that public and private entities be subject to the same procedures. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services. INTRODUCTION. The Department believes that, given the safety-related reasons for a detectable warning requirement documented in the rulemaking record, deleting the requirement postponing it indefinitely, or postponing it for a lengthy period (e.g., five years) would be inadvisable. With the exception noted below, the existing @ 37.165(g)-which requires transportation providers to permit standees to use lifts, without restriction-will remain in effect. When reviewing the request for the medical disability exception, the officer must determine whether the medical professional explained that the applicant has a physical or developmental disability or mental impairment that prevents the applicant from being able 2). Once your or your employee's needs have been identified, we will prepare a written Action Plan for achieving the proposed accommodations. 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 would be appropriate for transit operators to establish a mechanism based on local circumstances, consultation with drivers, and input from the local community. This is because the economic effects of the rule in general should be minimal; to the extent that the rule reduces costs (e.g., by delaying the requirement for completing the installation of detectable warnings), this beneficial effect will affect only large entities. Under the present rule, except where the Department has extended time for completion of modifications to a key station, rail operators had to make key stations accessible by July 26, 1993. The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) changed the name of the former Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA) to * * * * *(d) * * *(2) Wheelchair or mobility aid spaces. PAGE 658 FR 63092, *63093handrails, as well as detectable warnings, at intervals along platforms. An ambulatory person with a disability may be unable to stand for long periods, meaning that the person would be effectively denied access to transportation if he or she could not sit down on a crowded bus. 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. (49 CFR part 37, Appendix A, @ 2.2; 49 CFR part 38, 38.2). All it takes is a brief moment of fatigue, or distraction, or disorientation, in the complex and sometimes confusing environment of a rail station, and even a very experienced blind rail system user can make what, in context, is a fatal misstep. The study affirms the excellent detectability of materials meeting Federal standards. The Act defines a person with a disability to include (1) individuals with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life PAGE 358 FR 63092, *63092The Department published its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on the issues covered by this rule on November 17, 1992. The Department believes that the ambiguities in the original Access Board guidelines have been resolved by Bulletin # 1, and that FTA letters concerning compliance with the Access Board requirements are no longer necessary. 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. For example, if a transit authority provides an on-board wheelchair for use by standees on lifts, the transit authority could not insist that a standee sit in the wheelchair in order to use the lift. statement regarding inability to obtain reasonable transportation WebApplicable for audits of financial statements for periods commencing on or after 15 December 2019. We do not believe it is necessary to add language concerning the "one car per train" requirement. 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). 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. The Department sought comment on whether this change would improve safety significantly, what the effect would be on consumer access to vehicles, and any other measures that could mitigate any potential safety problems involved with the use of existing lifts while having less significant effects on access. While the procedures differ, the substantive standard is not less stringent for manufacturers: any party seeking a determination of equivalent facilitation must convince the Department that its proposal really results in equivalent or greater access. (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. If the technical standard changes at this or any future point, the Department could, in appropriate situations, apply the grandfathering provision in the Department's ADA rule (49 CFR 37.9) to avoid making rail operators re-install detectable warnings meeting the revised standard. The study identified cleaning, maintenance, and installation deficiencies as factors leading to lift-off, in addition to adhesive failure and temperature effects. (ii) The entity shall make its proposed request available for public comment before the request is made final or transmitted to DOT. Because this action had already been taken, it is not necessary for this document to further amend the regulatory text. (2) The requesting party shall provide the following information with its request:(i) Entity name, address, contact person and telephone;(ii) Specific provision of appendix A to this part with which the entity is unable to comply;(iii) Reasons for inability to comply;(iv) Alternative method of compliance, with demonstration of how the alternative meets or exceeds the level of accessibility or usability of the vehicle provided in appendix A to this part; and(v) Documentation of the public participation used in developing an alternative method of compliance.PAGE 2558 FR 63092, *63102(3) In the case of a request by a public entity that provides transportation facilities (including an airport operator), or a request by an air carrier with respect to airport facilities, the required public participation shall include the following:(i) The entity shall contact individuals with disabilities and groups representing them in the community. 12. @ 38.113 -- [Amended] 11. Such spaces shall adjoin, and may overlap, an accessible path. One of these commenters simply said that the current rule should be left in place, without change. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. However, it is not a condition to the Close of Escrow that Seller obtain Estoppel Certificates from those A-Tenants in excess of the Minimum Number of Estoppels. Consequently, the NPRM proposed to extend for 18 months the key station compliance date with respect to detectable warnings. U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave, SE Other transit provider comments opposed all standee lift use on safety grounds. The comments to this docket were considered in context of that rulemaking and were reflected in its preamble. WebThe ADA also outlaws discrimination against individuals with disabilities in State and local government services, public accommodations, transportation and The information cited in the comment-which is consistent with the Department's information about this lift model-provides a reasonable basis for believing that its operation may be particularly hazardous to standees. Disability group comments expressing concern about the effects of detectable warnings on transit accessibility for persons with mobility impairments are also worthy of consideration. Some of these commenters expressed the concern that requiring enforcement could lead to confrontations between drivers and passengers or could disrupt service. People using canes or walkers and other standees with disabilities who do not use wheelchairs but have difficulty using steps (e.g., an elderly person who can walk on a plane without use of a mobility aid but cannot raise his or her legs sufficiently to climb bus steps) must also be permitted to use the lift, on request. The existing detectable warning requirement, without change or postponement, will continue to apply to construction of new stations and alterations of existing stations platforms. Some services, such as sign language interpreting, reader services, or personal assistance while on travel, can be provided by DRC on a continuing basis. 12101-12213); 49 U.S.C. These were primarily, but not exclusively, from the blind community. This extension applies only to detectable warnings. 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