The president of America signed the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act on September 25, 2008, but the act was in effect only from January 2009 as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA), overturns a series of Supreme Court decisions that inferred the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 in a way that made it difficult to prove that a deficiency is a “disability”, and the ADAAA made significant changes to the ADA’s definition of ‘disability” under both the ADA and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act . ADA is a civil rights law that disallows judgment against persons with disabilities in all areas of public life, comprising jobs, colleges, transport, or all private and general public places which is meant for all individuals. ADA law focuses on providing same opportunities and rights for the individuals with disabilities. The purpose of the law is to make sure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else, and provide same facilities irrespective of the sex, age, religion, race, color or national origin of the individual.
ADA assures the same prospects for all people with disabilities in employment from private employers who have more than or equal to fifteen employees, public offices, transport, regional government services, and communications. ADAAA had already made many changes to the definition of disability and it is applicable to all the prospects provided by ADA. ADA also provides a transparent and extensive general order for the abolition of perception, discrimination against individuals with infirmities. ADA also hopes to minimize the government payments that are given as social security income and several other government tax-funded programs that are related to disability. As compared to the Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act, ADA covers more employers and assists the companies to provide more benefits to the employees.
The Americans with Disabilities Act protects anyone with “a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more life activities”, where the life activities include daily routine things such as eating, seeing, hearing, speaking, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking and communicating . ADA believes that the employers discriminate in contrast to the disabled individuals. ADA focuses on preventing discrimination by regulating the employer’s access to data, and provides authorized preparations for sufferers of race and discrimination. ADAAA clearly protects persons discriminated against due to either actual or perceived impairments; the congress has recognized the debilitating effect that stereotypic assumptions can have on persons with disabilities and the prohibition on discriminatory behavior based upon perceived impairments reflects this concern and is designed to help eliminate it .
The strategies for human resources managers for hiring individuals with a disclosed disability are to manage, retain, develop, and advance employees with disabilities and accept them as normal human beings. The focus must be on the candidate’s ability and how soon they can learn and meet the business demands. The HR personnel must encourage self-identification by people with disabilities. As of August 2014, the unemployment rate for people with disabilities was 12.8%, more than double the unemployment rate for people without disabilities, and the labor force participation rate of people with disabilities was 19.8%, compared to 68.8% of people without disabilities, and this resulted in dense talent looking for early positions in the labor pool . The employers must include a plan to recruit people with disabilities within employee development programs.
People with disabilities have exceptional viewpoints, which may or may not be considered by others. A good practice is to include people with evolving infirmities in their own development produces valued insights. Few questions that are appropriate during interview for the individuals with disabilities are; how the person can perform the essential needs of the job? Are there any adjustments or specifications that are required to complete the essential requirements of the job? What education, skills, and training do you have that will help you succeed in this position? What certifications/licenses do you have? .
Undue hardship is well-defined as a substantial strain experienced by an enclosed entity with respect to the establishment of an accommodation. To understand if an accommodation levies an undue hardship on an employer, the factors such as cost of accommodation, financial resource of facilities, and type of operation of the covered entity must be considered. As per ADA disability is defined as a physical or mental deficiency that considerably limits a single ot multiple events in life. cThe essential job functions are used to regulate the privileges of an employee with a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). An employee who is incapable to perform the essential job functions, even with a sensible accommodation is not considered capable for the work and is not protected from perceptions and discrimination.
References
Bender. (2016). Disability Employment Strategy and Training. Retrieved from Bender Consult: http://www.benderconsult.com/our%20services/disability-employment-strategy-and-training
DBTAC. (2014). Job Interview: Disability-Related Questions: What IS and IS NOT ok to ask in a job interview? Retrieved from http://www.oed.wisc.edu/: http://www.oed.wisc.edu/documents/job-interview-questions.pdf
Georgetown. (2012). Common Questions & Answers About the ADA Amendments Act . Retrieved from Law Georgetown: https://www.law.georgetown.edu/archiveada/documents/ADAAAQandA.pdf
Lee, A. M. (2014, February 14). ADA: Protecting Your Child’s Civil Rights. Retrieved from Understood: https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/your-childs-rights/basics-about-childs-rights/ada-protecting-your-childs-civil-rights
