The Legal Aid Society filed this landmark lawsuit to challenge the New York City Human Resources Administration’s (HRA) rules and systems for people with disabilities who receive cash assistance, SNAP, and Medicaid. Just like an individual in a wheelchair needs a ramp to access a building, many of Legal Aid’s disabled clients needed assistance getting to their appointments and/or filling out required forms. In our suit, we argued that the City’s failure to make reasonable accommodations for disabled New Yorkers violated city, state, and federal disability rights laws.

In 2015, Legal Aid entered into a settlement with the City which overhauled HRA’s rules and policies, including improved screening procedures, speedy access to assistance, individualized case management services, improved communication systems, and new management techniques to ensure that disabled New Yorkers do not inappropriately lose benefits because of their disabilities. Legal Aid continues to monitor the City’s compliance with the terms of settlement as the City rolls out new procedures for enforcing work rules and imposing sanctions for noncompliance.