Relay services, in which an operator acts as an intermediary between a deaf caller and a hearing one, make it easier for those with hearing impairments to make use of communications technology. But as About.com's guide to deafness, Jamie Burke, pointed out in her blog yesterday, the individual in the middle of that conversation can be used as a scapegoat by those who wish to weasel out of promises made.
She describes a case in which a deaf man, in a phone call that made use of a relay service, was promised a job interview by a company. The company later went back on that offer, and now claims that, because the words on the job seeker's TTY were typed by an intermediary, the company itself never in fact made the offer.
A U.S. District Court agreed that without testimony from the operator as to what the company representative said, no lawsuit could be brought. The case will now be going to the U.S. Court of Appeals, with help from the National Association of the Deaf Law Center.
This case obviously has ramifications for parents of deaf children who will one day be dealing with possibly duplicitous employers. But it seems to me that, as assistive technology of all sorts opens up more and more opportunities for young people with special needs, it is going to be increasingly important that communication between persons be taken seriously regardless of what is needed to make it happen.
If the courts make that clear here, it would be a good start.