ODEP News Brief - Olmstead Turns 25! Also: Consensus on Long COVID

Growing up in the tiny, rural community of Rio, W. Va., ODEP Policy Advisor Beth Loy remembers wishing she had “someone ‘like me’” to look up to. But while no one else in Rio had intersecting, marginalized identities like she did, the rural life mentored Beth in other ways. On her family’s farm, Beth learned grit and perseverance, and she gained lived experience with disability and accommodation, laying the foundation for a future career advancing workplace inclusion for people with disabilities—including people like her. Read Beth’s story in a Pride Month profile published this week on the DOL blog.

Join the Administration for Community Living on Thursday, June 20, 2024, at 2 p.m. ET, to mark the 25th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision in Olmstead v. L.C. The court ruled that the unjustified segregation of people with disabilities is a form of unlawful discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act—a decision that has since transformed the lives of many disabled people and the services they receive. But even today, people with disabilities still face barriers to community living and true inclusion. Join the event to hear from disabled people, federal leaders and national experts about what is needed to fully realize the promise of this historic decision.

In a new report, a committee of the National Academies has proposed a consensus definition of Long COVID based on findings in existing literature as well as input from experts, including patients and caregivers with lived experience. Long COVID has serious consequences for patients’ health, functioning, quality of life and capacity to work, and a consistent definition is essential for appropriate diagnosis, treatment and research. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is currently reviewing the proposed definition.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau is hosting a conference on June 26, 2024, starting at 1 p.m. ET, during which researchers, state administrators of paid leave, representatives from the federal government and others will discuss the equitable implementation of state paid leave programs. Attendees will delve into the latest research findings, policy innovations and promising practices to help improve equitable implementation at the state level and nationally. ODEP’s Assistant Secretary Taryn Williams will moderate a panel on workers’ rights.