Americans With Disabilities Act Research Paper

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) “prohibits discriminating against an individual in the selection process” (Moran, 2014, p. 32) due to a potential disability. A disability can be defined as a mental or physical condition that can result in some sort of handicap. As a result, the employer may be required to accommodate the people who are considered as disabled, to help them perform his or her job duties.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is one of the most significant laws in American History. Before the ADA was passed, employers were able to deny employment to a disabled worker, simply because he or she was disabled. With no other reason other than the person's physical disability, they were turned away or released from a job. The ADA gives civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities similar to those provided to individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, age, and religion. The act guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in public accommodations, employment, transportation, State and local government services, and telecommunications. The ADA not only opened the door for

Over forty million Americans are disabled, whether it is a physical, sensory, cognitive, or mental disability. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act was signed into law in 1973. This law states that no handicapped individual shall be disqualified from partaking, be denied benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program receiving federal financial assistance. The foundation of the Section 504 is from the language of preceding civil rights laws that sheltered women and minorities. Section recognizes that history proves that humanity has treated people with disabilities as second-class citizens based on previous stereotypes. These types of attitudes have translated into policies based on paternalism. Section has acknowledged

In recent news, the famous law firm, Seyfarth Shaw, claimed that the number of cases based on Title III of the Americans with Disability Act, have increased over the year by 63% in 2015. The act makes it illegal for the businesses to discriminate on the basis of a disability when they are open to general public for hiring. The law is applicable to a variety of general public direct interaction based industries including housing, construction, school, teaching and day care therefore, had the law been in real practice and implemented in force the discrimination would have not taken place. Discrimination is taking place at a much higher rate than ever before because of all the cases that are flooding the court system.

The ideology behind the ADA is inclusion. As stated in its preamble, individuals with disabilities are equal to every other human being, in regard to laws and civil rights. They should be allowed the same opportunities as the rest of the population to participate in all aspects of life (Introduction to ADA, 2014). Dana Lee Baker stated in her book on neurodiversity and public policy that terming a difference or an impairment as a disability is subjective and based on cultural views of how it relates to an individual’s function in society. For instance, being left-handed was once viewed as a threat to the health of the individual. Today being employed is a major function of the western culture; however, during some historical times, having to seek paid employment was seen as an impairment. Since functionality is the primary gauge for a disability, the farther a person is from the standard level of function, the greater the need is to protect the person’s civil rights in order for them to share membership in a society that views them as dysfunctional. The view of functionality changes over time and the ADA of 1990 had the task of bridging the changing definitions (Baker, 2011). Rosemary Chapin stated that the goal of the policy is not to emphasize the shortfalls of the individual, rather to view the disability “as the gap between a person’s capabilities and the environment’s demands” (Chapin, 1995, para. 23).

“Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 Title I does not allow any private employers, local, and state governments, labor unions and employment agencies from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in job application procedures, firing, hiring, job training, advancement and other terms, privileges, and conditions of employment” (The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a civil rights law that forbids the discrimination against individuals with disabilities in jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are in the general public. This law makes sure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities. (What is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)? (2017, March 21)

After years of discrimination, it looked as though people with disabilities would finally fine justice. In 1968 a bill was proposed that would enable people with disabilities to seek protection from the government. One would think that this bill would be welcomed into our society, but the events that followed proved quite the contrary. It took five years, three changes of administration and two presidential vetoes to pass the Rehabilitation Act. President Richard Nixon signed the bill into law on September 26, 1973. This act was designed to protect the rights of persons with disabilities. Proceeding the signing of the bill a federal campaign was launched to eliminate discrimination

Although the ADA does not specifically list any disabilities, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) guidelines state that when an individual has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activity then the individual is in fact disabled. It goes on to state that impairments can include any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more of several body systems, or any mental or psychological disorder (Dessler). Among the protected classes are persons with AIDS and substance abusers who are in treatment. Some 50 million current or potential workers are estimated to be covered by the law's provisions (Columbia Encyclopedia). However, the act does list some

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was put into place in 1990 to ensure that people could not discriminate against those with disabilities. At the end of every war, there were newly disabled American veterans that wanted improved civil rights and proper accommodations for the disabled that needed them. In the 1960’s, veterans from World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War saw

Before the passage of the Americans Americans with Disabilities Act, disabled people were not viewed as equals or treated with the same dignity as someone who was

When the law was signed, new doors opened for the deaf and hard of hearing culture for a better opportunity in gaining equal rights. President Bush appointed four titles to protect deaf and hard of hearing people. In “The ADA and Deaf Culture” by Tucker, B. Title I, prohibits both public and private employers from refusing to hire or promote an individual because of his or her impairment and requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for applicants or employees who are deaf or hard of hearing (Tucker 28). If a deaf or hard of hearing employee can pass the essential part of the job qualification, he or she is protected by the ADA to be hired. Also, the ADA prohibits employers to discriminate disabled people in means of recruitment, job applications procedures, pay rates, and promotions. The second title, Title II, “Requires all state and local government agencies to make all of their services accessible to individuals with disability” (NAD 22). This ensures people with disability to be able to participate in services, programs, and activities who can meet the essential eligibility requirements. Such places that must make these accommodations are schools, libraries, police and fire department, public hospitals, jails and prisons, motor vehicle departments, parks and

As George Washington Carver is quoted as saying “Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom”. This law in my opinion is what makes title 1: Employment possible. As stated on page 181 of the book “An employer cannot deny an employment opportunity to a qualified applicant or employee because of the accommodation process.” The key word in this is “qualified applicant”, for people with disabilities to be able to have jobs and careers to better themselves and the lives of their families they need to have a good job, to have a good job you must have an education so to me the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) is the cornerstone of the fight for equality & equity for persons with

After World War 2 erupted, there was a massive return of disabled service members who lost a major life function in battle. As a result, President Harry S. Truman declared a national “Employ the Physically Handicapped Week” to spark public interest into including those with disabilities into the workplace.This propaganda created awareness that ultimately helped change the way society looked at the disabled. `https://www.corada.com/documents/ada-25-anniversary-timeline/declaration-of-national-employ-the-physically-handicapped-week In 1962 the word “physically” was removed from the propoganda to acknowledge all forms of disabilities.

A piece of legislation that has contributed greatly to the rights of those with disabilities is the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. This legislation is considered as far reaching and important as the Civil Rights Act. The core of the legislation focuses on prohibiting discrimination against persons