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Civil Rights Violations at the Department of Veterans Affairs
Civil Rights Violations at the Department of Veterans Affairs
by Jeffrey Schwartz, Ph.D.
Thousands of blind/visually impaired individuals are employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs.I am a clinical psychologist and have been there for 33 years. I am also on the faculty of the Yale School of Medicine. I suffer from a progressive retinal degeneration, Retinitis Pigmentosa, which has left me at age 60 with light perception only. I was first diagnosed in the second semester of my senior year at Johns Hopkins University. I was a premed and had been accepted to medical school.
I saw an ophthalmologist for a routine exam. My friends had noticed that my night vision left something to be desired. The physician I consulted suspected something more ominous and referred me to the Wilmer Eye Clinic at Hopkins Hospital for a thorough “work up”. When the results were in, I was stunned by the diagnosis. I was already legally blind in terms of field of vision. I decided that no one really wanted a blind physician, so I took a year off and applied to graduate school.In 1975, I took a position at the VA.
About 20 years ago when I reached the point that I could no longer read or write standard print, I approached my service chiefwith my problem. He thought about it, shook his head, and said “I’m sorry Jeff. I just don’t know how we can help you”. This despite the fact that the West Haven VA housed one of the system’s first and largest regional blind rehabilitation centers in the nation. My office was across the hall from it. The real message was quite clear. “We don’t want a blind psychologist here. Maybe you should retire”. I sought and received training and adaptive equipment from a state operated vocational rehabilitation program for the blind.
They saved my career. After about four years, they could no longer justify the expenditure and stated that the VA was required by federal law to “pick up the ball”. This is when my problems really started. I filed grievances with some success but was generally without the hardware and software which I required to perform the essential functions of my job. In recent years, the VA has moved our continuing education and other tasks to web based sites.
They have been uniformly inaccessible to the blind/visually impaired. What follows is a report which I made to the FBI today regarding the latest of these sites. Blind employees have been resigning and moving to law abiding companies. In the final analysis, it is our veterans who suffer most significantly.
I am a blind, 60 year old, doctoral level, clinical psychologist who has been employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs for 33 years. I am also an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine. I am writing to report that the VA is in flagrant violation of federal law, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 508. As you may know, federal employees are not protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act. If we were, I would be contacting the Department of Justice. Section 508 of the Rehab Act of ’73 was passed into law in June, 2001. It deals with electronic media. “Section 508 requires that when Federal agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology, Federal employees with disabilities have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the access and use by Federal employees who are not individuals with disabilities”. In recent years the VA has moved our required mandatory training to a web based site called the Learning Management System (LMS), https://www.lms.va.gov/plateau/user/login.jsp
LMS went online in October, 2007. In January, 2008, the staff of the VA was instructed to begin doing our required training on LMS. I logged in, but discovered that the program was inaccessible. My text to speech software would not navigate the web site. It had not been constructed in such a manner as to make it available to blind/visually impaired users. I contacted the Chief of Hospital Education at my facility and told her that I was unable to do my training on LMS as it was not, as mandated by the above referenced federal legislation, 508 compliant. She contacted VA Central Office, and they lied to her. They stated that if one was using the latest version of the most commonly employed speech software, Jaws, version 9, one could use LMS.
I was using that program and after many years I am an expert in the use of adaptive software. I went back and gave it another try, with the same results. Federal legislation assigns responsibility for Section 508 compliance to the VA’s Chief of the Office of Information and Technology, currently Mr. Robert Howard. I emailed him, but he ignored me. I contacted Dr. James Peake, Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Soon I heard from Ms Jennifer Duncan, Mr. Howard’s executive assistant. She acknowledged that LMS was inaccessible to the blind, but assured me that they were working diligently on the problem. I have documentation of this admission. I urged her to post a notice on the web site alerting blind users that it was not useable. I had learned that hundreds of us were wasting thousands of frustrating hours in a futile attempt to do the impossible. This was and continues to be time taken away from treating our veterans. She ignored me. I began an email campaign, contacting various members of the OI&T, appealing to their better natures, to pragmatism, to the law, etc. Uniformly, they ignored me. When I threatened to take the issue to the press, they posted a link warning the blind off LMS within a few days. Unfortunately, the notice is not prominently displayed. It is hidden away on an ancillary document, Inside LMS, http://www.insidelms.va.gov
If one stumbles across this obscure document and searches diligently, they will find a “508 link” which takes them to the following site,
http://www.insidelms.va.gov/insideLMSpages/508.shtm
This does warn the blind “VA’s Section 508 Program Office has found the LMS User Interface Platform and some of the courses posted on that platform to be Non Compliant to the Section 508 Standards. Thus, users With visual impairments are experiencing some issues with the VA LMS and some courses offered through the VA LMS.”.” They proceed to say “It is not our intention to put forth the idea that any employee who is blind or visually impaired should be able to complete these courses.” Thus, they clearly acknowledge, if one is able to find this page, that LMS is not compliant wit federal standards of accessibility. They admit that they are in violation of federal law and are thus violating the civil rights of their employees. I have urged them to move this warning to a conspicuous location in order to save blind employees the frustration of wasting their precious time, diminishing that available for caring for our veterans. They contacted the Hospital Director at my facility, Mr. Roger Johnson and told him to prohibit me from contacting them any more. I have documentation of this warning and much more relating to my attempts to force them to act appropriately.
Increasingly, our government agencies and officials violate federal law and the constitution with impunity. I implore you to investigate this situation and take appropriate action. If the FBI can not investigate flagrant violation of federal law, albeit by another federal agency, who can?
If anyone would care to express their feelings about this issue, the Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs, a cabinet level post is:
James Peake, M.D.
Department of Veterans Affairs
c/o The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Jeffrey Schwartz, Ph.D.
Clinical Psychologist.
VA Ct. HealthCare System
Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry
Yale University School of Medicine
950 Campbell Avenue
West Haven, Ct. 06516
203.932.5711 x4172
Jeffrey.schwartz@va.gov
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Short URL: http://www.veteranstoday.com/?p=3310
Posted by Veterans Today on Jul 28 2008, With 0 Reads, Filed under Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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David H. Marshall jakegreenchappy@yahoo.com
A FOR THE GREATER GOOD OF ALL?
Given a past 50 years of not corrected performance, do not the 1994 U.S. Senate Rockefeller Report “IS MILITARY RESEARCH HAZARDOUS TO VETERANS’ HEALTH? LESSONS SPANNING HALF A CENTURY” violations continue? Outlined is the USAF and VA from 1952 covering up acts on SEVENTY SEVEN (77) servicemen for the greater good of all. These flight line personnel were identified by name and Air Force Serial Number to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for treatment; LIST ATTACHED. They were subjected to the without protection then known certain injury of an at least flight line 87,381 sound pressure multiple (X) to a “warm-up crew” over 699,051 X vs. the ignored required protection at a maximum of 59 X! Despite the since 1991 many letters to Congress, there has been no VA response on the 76 others.
BACKGROUND.
The 1948 Air Force Regulation (AFR) 160-3 established “Precautionary Measures Against Noise Hazards” ordered that, “In this 1948 Medical Services regulation, overall exposures were never to exceed 95 dBA and were recommended to be kept below 85 dBA.” The 1948 “Noise Hazards” is a follow-on to the World War II V-51R provided hearing protection for anyone working in 90 dB or greater noise levels. The American Medical Association (AMA) “Sound and noise levels” table states that “SOUND PRESSURE DOUBLES WITH AN INCREASE OF 6 DECIBELS”. The AMA table in conjunction with the 1948 AFR 160-3, the USAF 1952 to 1956 Project 7210 and this veteran’s retained 1952 to 1956 USAF service records underlie the issue. A BVA letter records a 4 April 2008 lost evidence, “We are writing to you about your appeal pending before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA or Board). According to our records, your claim file was received at the Board on January 28, 2006. However, despite extensive search efforts, we are currently unable to locate your file.” An ongoing 17 years, over one (1) foot thick, now “unable to locate” compilation of from 1952 USAF, VA, Veteran Service Organizations, HMO and independent records. A 10/16/08 postmarked, undated letter from the VA Boston Office stated “…because of insufficient or inaccurate information we cannot identify the proper record.” This is the veteran’s from 4/4/08 to 11/7/08, five times submitted total of over 100 VA Hearing Officer’s 8/2/95 “certified” replacement copies. The BVA’s statement is in reference to the 7/9/57 Boston, MA. VA Rating Board’s Clear and Unmistakable Error (CUE), i.e., a from 3/26/04 Meniere’s Disease retroactive to 1956 claim.
“Had some trouble with hearing while working on warm-up crew for F-86 D with very high noise levels.” The physician’s statement in the veteran’s 29 Jan 54 USAF Cadet Wing Commander washout exam. The F-86 D was powered by the GE J47 jet-engine. The J47′s operating range was the 1952 known Project 7210 “very high noise levels” of an at 50 foot radius, from 158 dB to 176 dB “noise levels” vs. the AFR 160-3 “never to exceed 95 dBA”! Starting from the AMA’s 60 dB “Normal conversation” level, this is a “sound pressure doubles with an increase of 6 decibels” of an unprotected 1952 to 1956 then known certain injury of from, a well within 50 foot radius, over 87,381 multiple (X) to an over 699,051 X! A Regulation disobeyed without protection 1948 maximum of 59 X. A USAF physician on 2/1/54 stated “it is unusual to find such a severe deafness”. Then the physician’s 7/29/54 and 7/21/55 ignored get him off the flight line memo and do not expose to “loud acoustic trauma”. The 5/21/56 Separation from Service recorded perfect hearing.
CLEAR AND UNMISTAKABLE ERROR.
On 5/7/57 VA Boston Regional Office requested and stamped as 6/3/57 received the veterans 6/25/52 to 5/21/56 service record. Then the VA, Boston, MA, Regional Office (RO) Rating Board’s 7/9/57 awarded hearing loss only ERROR. This is proven by their 7/9/57 Rating Board’s attending physician’s evidence resultant USAF SURGEON’S 6/25/58, “PERMANENTLY MEDICALLY DISQUALIFIED FOR MILITARY SERVICE”! Despite repeated requests there has been no VA response to the “permanently medically disqualified”. Then its ‘must of been a mistake’ and very effective symptoms of Menieres Disease hiding six (6) months later 1/22/59 “HONORABLE DISCHARGE” WITH “RECOMMENDED FOR REENLISTMENT – YES”. In 1965 VA medical personnel noted the veteran’s, “History – Exposure to jet noise and decompression concussion”, i.e., a well within the 50 foot radius of Project 7210 as an unprotected “warm-up crew” member of an over 699,051 X, at176 dB, vs. a maximum allowed 59 X, at 95 dB.
“THE VETERANS SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF MENIERES DISEASE CLEARLY ARE DOCUMENTED IN HIS SERVICE RECORD” with the results of “A STRESS REACTION MAY PRECIPIRATE AN EPISODE OF SYMPTOMS (OF MENIERE’S DISEASE), AND CYCLES MAY REPEAT ENDLESSLY”. This is the VA Chief of Otolaryngology’s 9/15/99 statement regarding the since 1861 medically known disease.
“CERTIFIED” RECORDS.
In 1991 acting on the “episode of symptoms” business failures and unemployment advice of HMO physicians the veteran went back to the VA. A 12/7/92 USAF letter stated that most of the veterans records had been destroyed in a 1973 National Personnel Records Center Fire.. In the few surviving records received all names had been censored by Congress’s 1974 Privacy Act. A 10/5/94 VA Criminal Investigator noted that their 6/3/57 stamped received service records and resulting 1958 and 1959 documents could not be found. On 8/2/95 a VA Hearing Officer “certified” copies of the veteran’s 1952 to 1995 retained records as in the VA file. The “certified” 1952-1956 records are the 9/15/99 ones cited by the VA Chief of Otolaryngology. On 3/26/04 the local RO awarded a Menieres disease retroactive to 8/11/94 disability. On 7/25/05 the VA rediscovered their 1991 misplaced original and stamped 6/3/57 received 1952-1956 USAF and then to-date Medical History. A VA 100% unemployability disability was awarded on 3/8/06 with its cited, “Social Security Administrative Law Judge determination concluded the veteran was entitled to disability benefits solely as a result of his service connected condition.” This is the 1/28/97 Law Judge’s early Social Security disability decision that recognized the 1952-1956 “certified” in-service Menieres disease records! Now the 4/4/08 BVA “we are currently unable to locate your file.” with the 10/16/08 VA “cannot identify the proper record.”
AND THE ATTACHED SEVENTY SIX (76) OTHERS??