An article came out this week that’s important to note: a collection of senior living providers in Michigan recently were served civil rights accommodation lawsuits for not provided sign language interpreters for deaf and/or hard of hearing residents. The Fair Housing Center for Metropolitan Detroit sent in “secret shoppers” to test whether interpreters would be provided to “prospective” family members; allegedly, the “secret shoppers” were told that they’d have to pay for their own interpreters or use written notes to communicate. “Those denials, the lawsuits allege, violate the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, the Affordable Care Act, and Michigan’s Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act.” Similar lawsuits earlier this year and in 2018 resulted in settlements levied to the organizations at nearly a quarter-million dollars.

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Laura Hofmann, MSN, RN – Director of Clinical and Nursing Facility Regulatory Services
c: 425-231-4804