The following content updates have been made to the Inclusive by Design site: A new Create Inclusive Social Media page has been added to the Creating an Inclusive Experience section of the site. New disability community pages have been released under the "Understanding the full range of human differences" section of the Understanding Disabilities page. Each page provides examples of conditions…
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Tuesday, Nov 30, 2021, 12:00 pm ET Do all deaf people know how to read lips? Know sign language? Can they drive? There are many misconceptions about deaf and hard of hearing (HoH) people. Meryl Evans will set the record straight on common misconceptions. Attend this A11yTalks session to get the facts about deaf and HoH people to enrich your accessibility and inclusion efforts. Access the…
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Each year, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts provides state agencies with the opportunity to formally recognize employees for their extraordinary contributions to public service through the Performance Recognition Program (PRP). Employees at the University of Massachusetts President’s Office are asked to submit nominations for the five awards offered through the PRP, including for the…, Group Commonwealth Citations, COVID-19 On-Site Transition Team (OTT), Kelly Fucci, Executive Assistant Bill Smith, MIS Manager/Senior Director Brad Smith, Chief Information Security Officer, Effort Certification Core Team - Application Upgrade Implementation, Kristen Luiz Roger Rice Kathy Sawyer Saqib Zulfiqar, Family First Coronavirus Response Act Project Team, Zoila Altamirano Nicole Apostola Suzanne Cerrato Darpan Gokharu Susan Kong Gale Landry Lillian Leong Meghan Portmann Cynthia Szabady
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A11yTalks, a monthly virtual meet-up featuring speakers & conversations around digital accessibility, will host “Why We Need More Accessibility Designers” with Anna E. Cook, Senior Accessibility Designer on December 15. Many accessibility defects originate in design, so why do the bulk of accessibility considerations fall to developers and quality assurance? In this talk, we will discuss why…
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Free Webinar on Thursday, December 09 at 2 PM ET The legal landscape of digital accessibility in the United States, and increasingly around the world, provides a strong framework supporting digital inclusion for disabled people in the public and private sectors, in education, and throughout society. The pandemic has made the need for accessibility more urgent than ever, and individual advocacy,…
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AccessU will be a hybrid event with virtual attendees participating in onsite sessions through Zoom. The conference is looking for session proposals for the following learning tracks: Dev/Coding/Testing UX/Design Content/Documents Policy/Strategy Gaming/XR/AI More information can be found at the Call for Proposals page. To submit your proposal, complete AccessU 2022 Call for Proposals Google…
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued interim guidance for employers in response to the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19). In addition, the Baker Administration has issued guidelines for state employees on this matter. The purpose of the document is to provide UMass President’s Office employees with guidance that is consistent with these guidelines. This guidance…, Notification, Documentation and Return to Work, Employees who are absent from work because they meet one or more of the criteria above should follow their existing department notification process, and they should contact Jacquie Kittler, Director of Employee & Labor Relations, at jkittler@umassp.edu or at 774-455-7559. In addition, they should contact Jacquie Kittler to coordinate the terms of their return to work. Consistent with CDC…, Use of Paid Leave, Employees can use available paid leave (including sick, vacation and personal leave) if they are absent from work for one of the reasons above. Employees who do not have sufficient paid leave to cover their absence should contact Jacquie Kittler at jkittler@umassp.edu or 774-455-7559. If an employee is fit to perform work, but unable to report to work because they have self-quarantined from…, Work from Home, The President’s Office is exploring options to increase the number of employees who may work from home. At this time, existing work from home agreements should continue in their current form. However, supervisors should work with employees, who currently do not work from home, to develop work from home options that could be implemented in the event we need to expand the number of employees who…, Employees with Symptoms, If an employee is concerned that a co-worker may pose a health risk to others, please contact Jacquie Kittler at jkittler@umassp.edu or at 774-455-7559. We ask that any decision to send an employee home from work, or restrict an employee from the workplace, be made in conjunction with Human Resources on a case-by-case, fact-specific basis., Work Related Travel, All international and out-of-state University-related travel for President’s Office employees has been cancelled., Personal Travel, The President’s Office strongly discourages employees from traveling internationally at this time. Employees who choose to engage in personal travel should review the “Traveler’s Health Notices” that can be found at CDC Travel page . Employees should be advised that travel to certain locations may result in the need for the employee to self-quarantine upon his/her return in accordance with CDC…, Conference and Large Gatherings and In-Person Meetings, Employees may not attend external work-related conferences, seminars or events in person. Alternatively, employees are encouraged to participate remotely. Regular internal business shall continue. However, meeting organizers are encouraged to utilize alternatives like conference calls, Zoom, WebEx and other group communication tools. Additionally, employees may not host in-person meetings,…, Interviews for Employment, Interviews with candidates for employment should be conducted remotely or rescheduled., Employees with Increased Risk, Older adults and individuals with serious chronic medical conditions are at increased risk of becoming seriously ill should they contract COVID-19. Employees in these risk groups are encouraged to talk with their supervisors to review possible alternative work assignments which may include working from home. These employees may also contact Katie Temple, the Senior Benefits Generalist for the…, Bias in the workplace, Employees are reminded to be mindful of projecting their anxiety about COVID-19 onto people from specific races and ethnicities. Stigma directed towards any group regarding the virus is contrary to the facts and runs counter to the values of our University and is not to be tolerated., Additional information, Employees with specific questions regarding COVID-19, including its symptoms, spread, prevention and treatment can be found with the CDC and Massachusetts Department of Public Health at the links below. CDC Coronavirus (COVID-19) Page Information on the Outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) If you have any additional questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to Jacquie…
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Event Information, Date and Time:, Wednesday, January 12, 4:00 p.m. Eastern A11yTalks presents “Fostering Inclusion in Technology: Ten Tips for a Better Sense of Belonging” with Nikki Flores, Certified ScrumMaster and Technical Project Manager. Those of us who work in technology know how to work with multifaceted and diverse teams to solve complex issues for our end users. Becoming stronger, more empathetic communicators who…, About A11y Talks, A monthly virtual meet-up featuring speakers & conversations around digital accessibility.
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Event Information, Date and Time:, Tuesday, January 11 at 7:00 pm.. A11yNYC presents, "Broke with Accessible Taste: Understanding the Economics of Digital Access in US" with Crystal Preston-Watson (Senior Digital Accessibility Analyst at Salesforce). Conversations about digital accessibility are predominantly centered on the technical and monetary expenses of implementation in products and applications. Missing from these…, Presenter Bio, Crystal Preston-Watson is an Accessibility and Quality Engineer based in Denver, Colorado. She is the Senior Digital Accessibility Analyst at Salesforce. Crystal believes that accessibility is a civil and human right and is dedicated to making innovative, inclusive, and accessible applications for everyone.
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The National Guard was formed on December 13, 1636, when the first militia regiments in North America were organized in Massachusetts. The colony's militia was organized into three permanent regiments - the 181st Infantry, the 182nd Infantry, the 101st Field Artillery, and the 101st Engineer Battalion of the Massachusetts Army National Guard - to better defend the colony. Learn more about the…
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