October 25, 2022 • 1:00 - 2:00pm
The Accessibility Advisory Council Presents: Reasonable Accommodations: ADA in the Workplace
United States
In observance of Disability Employment Awareness Month, COMTO’s Accessibility Advisory Council will present a webinar to review workplace rights under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) which pertains to employment discrimination. Our guest speaker for this webinar is Diego Demaya, Director, ADA Technical Assistance with the Southwest ADA Center.
A brief review of the definition of disability under the ADA and employee rights will be provided to frame our discussion around recognizing and understanding disabilities in the workplace, when to disclose a disability, and the interactive process for requesting accommodations. Introductory remarks will be given by COMTO President and CEO April Rai and Accessibility Advisory Council Leadership. Q&A will follow the presentation.
This webinar will include closed captioning. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications can be provided upon request. Requests for additional accommodations must be made to COMTO Headquarters at [email protected] no later than 72 hours in advance of the session.
Host Bio:
Martin Kareithi is the Director, Systemwide Accessibility for Capital Metro where he manages compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and ensures accessibility across all agency programs and services. He is the agency’s community engagement liaison to organizations serving the needs of persons with disabilities and older adults. He holds a Master’s in Public Administration from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin and is a graduate of Leadership Austin. Martin serves on the City of Austin’s Commission on Seniors and as Chair of the Community Advisory Board for Austin PBS. He is a board member of the Transit Empowerment Fund, a fund that focuses on lowering barriers to self-sufficiency through increasing access to transportation. Martin’s national work includes serving as the national Co-Chair of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) Accessibility Advisory Council.
Speaker Bio:
Diego Demaya is a labor and civil rights law attorney working as Human Resources Adviser and Director of Technical Assistance with the ADA Resource Center -- a division of the Memorial Hermann Healthcare System. The Resource Center is part of the ADA Networks funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Each center serves to encourage voluntary compliance with antidiscrimination laws, provide technical assistance, facilitate learning, and provide policy guidance. Diego provides counsel and educates on the ADA, FHA, FMLA, ACA, 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, Section 504, Fair Housing Accessibility Guidelines, and equivalent State laws.
He trained with the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Labor, and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He consults with and guides other Federal, State and local agencies as well as the private business sector. He is routinely brought in to facilitate educational programs and assist with policy development to guide entities to meet Settlement Agreement and Consent Decree obligations.