President H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act signed into law on July 26, 1990. The law is a wide-ranging Civil Rights law that protects against the discrimination of people with disabilities. Title I of the act covers employment. The law prohibits employers, governments, employment agencies, and labor unions from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in the job application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, job training, and other term conditions, and privileges of employment. A qualified employee or applicant is someone who is able to complete the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodations being made by the employer. A reasonable accommodation is one that does not require significant difficulty or expense when compared with the firm’s size and financial capabilities. Employers with 15 or more employees are covered by this law.
In September 2008, Congress enacted the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act, which both clarified and broadened the definition of a disability under the law. This amendment also reversed certain Supreme Court decisions where the court interpreted the original wording of the Americans with Disabilities Act. With this amendment, to be protected under the law, individuals are considered disabled if they: are actually disabled (having a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities), they have a record of a disability, or their employer regards them as being disabled.
How the ADA Changed the Employment of Disabled People
The Americans with Disabilities Act was a landmark piece of legislation that changed the hiring practices of many firms. Employers now have a legal obligation to provide reasonable accommodations to disabled applicants and employees so they are able to perform essential job functions. This changed the long history of discrimination against people with disabilities, much like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 did for minority groups.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission explains that there are three categories of “reasonable accommodation” employers must provide. These accommodations include:
- Modifications or adjustments to a job application process that enable a qualified applicant with a disability to be considered for the position such qualified applicant desires; or
- Modifications or adjustments to the work environment, or to the manner or circumstances under which the position held or desired is customarily performed, that enable a qualified individual with a disability to perform the essential functions of that position; or
- Modifications or adjustments that enable a covered entity’s employee with a disability to enjoy equal benefits and privileges of employment as are enjoyed by its other similarly situated employees without disabilities.
Employers must accommodate changes to the way in which a job is performed. If it is the responsibility of the administrative assistant to hand-deliver copies to his or her supervisor, but the person in that position is unable to do so because of a condition that causes weakness in his or her legs, the employer must find a way to provide an accommodation. Perhaps the organization would have the supervisor pick up the copies instead, since that would not cause any undue hardship to the company.
Employers who fail to comply with the ADA could face heavy monetary fines. In one case, Calef V. FedEx Ground Package System, Inc., a jury awarded a FedEx employee $1.2 million because the company did not attempt to determine if a disabled employee, Tammy Calef, could perform her essential job functions if provided with an accommodation (Calef v. Fedex Ground Packaging System, Incorporated, 2009).
Many organizations now exist to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities in the workforce. One such organization, The Center for an Accessible Society, agrees that the ADA has had an immense impact on the treatment of employees with disabilities, noting: “The ADA has profoundly changed how society views and accommodates its citizens with disabilities.”
In Today’s World
Ensuring that people with disabilities are afforded equal opportunities for work is critical in today’s world. Employers must be more willing to accept people with disabilities into the culture of their company. As of 2014, the unemployment rate for people with disabilities was 12.9 percent, compared to 6.1 percent of people without disabilities (Diegelman, 2014). Today’s technology can help to improve these numbers by opening up opportunities for disabled people to hold jobs they previously were unable to. In the future, we must find ways to use additional technology to be able to provide more accommodations for disabled people. Technology such as text-to-speech, telecommunications, and other medical developments must be explored to further enhance the ability of qualified disabled people to enter the workforce.
There have been many improvements in the inclusion of disabled people in the workforce since the ADA was signed into law. However, many people have criticized the government for not doing enough to enforce the ADA. In June 2000, the National Council on Disability published a report titled, “Promises to Keep,” which criticized federal agencies for their poor record of enforcing the ADA. The report states that although it found the administration had shown strong support for the ADA, federal agencies that were supposed to enforce the policies were “underfunded, overly cautious, reactive, and lacking any coherent and unifying national strategy.” The report also included a comprehensive list of elements of enforcement the council recommended.
A 2004 survey revealed that 35 percent of disabled people ages 18 to 64 are employed compared with more than three-quarters of people without disabilities. These figures are the same as reported in a similar poll from 1986, before the ADA was signed into law. The study also showed that people with disabilities are three times as likely to have a household income of $15,000 or less. A 2003 survey also found that while 49 percent of employers have made recruiting and interviewing more accessible to disabled people, only 12 percent have changed the format of job applications to make them more accessible (National Council on Disability, 2007). This shows that, from a hiring standpoint, there is still much to be done in order to achieve the original goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Once the applicant is hired, however, it seems that the ADA is working better. In the 1986 survey, it was found that 51 percent of employers had made an accommodation for a disabled person. In 1995, that figure rose to 81 percent. In the 2003 survey, 52 percent of large companies (those with more than 25 employees) provided training to their employees regarding providing accommodations to people with disabilities. The study also revealed that fewer people are experiencing on-the-job discrimination because of their disability (National Council on Disability, 2007).
Incentives for businesses to employ people with disabilities should be looked into. The Work Opportunity Tax Credit is a tax credit available to employers who hire people with disabilities, as well as people from other disadvantaged groups. However, most employers are not taking advantage of this credit. In 1999, about 1 out of 790 reported the Work Opportunity Tax Credit on their tax returns.
In conclusion, the Americans with Disabilities Act has taken great measures to end discrimination against people with disabilities in the same ways the Civil Rights Act of 1964 did for minority groups. However, more could be done. Modern technology could stimulate the full inclusion of disabled people in the workplace. Businesses need to seek out ways to use this technology to create a truly inclusive workplace. Technology companies need to find more ways to address the needs of the disabled population in a cost-efficient manner. More incentives also should be made available for businesses that hire disabled people.
Joseph Papamichail is a graduate student at St. Joseph’s College in Patchogue, NY.
