American's with Disabilities Act
In the history of the United States many groups have worked toward and gained, to varying levels of success, equality. We are no longer a nation that only values the rich, white, male land owners with the aristocratic pedigree. Women and minorities have gained the right to vote, own property, attend school and many more. One demographic in the quest for equality for most of the history of the United States was ignored and perhaps not even considered to be significant or even worth any attention at all. This group is the disabled individuals.
According to the US census there are currently over 54 million disabled Americans. Most of these in 2008 were older adults.(United States Census Bureau, n.d.) Thirty-eight percent of adults age 65+ were disabled. This is compared to 10% of adults 18-64 and only 5% of children under 18. This coupled with the increase in the population over the age of 64, means that this population of disabled Americans seeking out equal rights and accommodations has become a more vocal minority in the United States and had become harder for others to avoid and ignore. The disability rights movement was one that went on for several decades before it was met with a response in the form of meaningful legislation.(The History of the ADA) It meant chaining centuries old mentality that if you just ignored these disabled people that they would just go away, stay home or otherwise not burden others with their special needs. It was and remains and uphill struggle to obtain and maintain reasonable rights and accommodations but fortunately this kind of struggle is not untested ground. The quest of the aforementioned groups’ rights laid down the groundwork for future endeavors such as this one.
One of the steps taken to ensure that the people in need to action were no longer able to be ignored. This group of people began to take steps similar to Black Americans when they began their equal rights’ movement. Disabled individuals and groups gathered in public buildings. They blocked inaccessible buses from operating. Additionally, there were large gatherings and marches in public places. Lastly, similar to any of the other equal right’s movements, they began to seek justice against their injustices through the criminal and civil court system.
All of the efforts eventually became fruitful in gaining the kind of respect they deserved but the Americans with Disabilities Act was by far not the first positive step or piece of legislation that was passed in response to their pleas and protests. In 1973 three was a profound shift in policy and legal attitude toward the disabled. Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act was passed in this year making it illegal to discriminate on the basis of disability when awarding federal funds such as grants. This was modeled against previous anti-discrimination legislation that protected on the grounds of gender, ethnicity and sex.
The passage of this bill was not simply a change in how federal funds would be handled. It was acknowledgement by the government of an overwhelming problem. It was acknowledgment of a demographic with an imposed inferior social and economic status. Segregation and exclusion of people with disabilities for the first time became viewed as discrimination. This was in stark contrast to the previously held position that any individual that had a mental or physical difficulty that suffered from other issues, social, economic or any other was experiencing those difficulties because of their disability and not because of a problem with societal attitudes. It was recognition of these attitudes and prejudices that made congress further realize that legislation would be needed if any widespread solution was to be realized.
This set into motion a series of changes based upon this law where the government and related agencies had to figure out what overall implications of the establishment of disabilities as a recognized group protected from discrimination. They had to decide how discrimination against a disabled individual was the same as discrimination against other groups and what differences existed.
During the 1980s there were great strides made by the disabled community through the court systems. Supreme court rulings were slowly bolstering the rights of the disabled that had been taken away over the generations. IN 1984 the Civil Rights Restoration Act was introduced but did not pass until 1988. This bill was an attempt to reverse the effect of court rulings such as Grove City College v Bell which significantly limited the anti-discrimination provisions of 1973 Rehabilitation Act.
The passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act on July 26, 1990 was a major miles tone in the quest for equality and anti-discrimination. (Indiana Protection & Advocacy Services, n.d.) What his legislation accomplished was to ensure lack of discrimination in areas of employment, public accommodations, transportation, State and local government services, and telecommunications.(Facts About the Americans with Disabilities Act., n.d.) It also became illegal for a company to retaliate against an employee that files any complaint against the company for violations.
The act does however have some limitations which can be considered fair. It does not require small companies, those with under 15 employees to comply with rules requiring special accommodations to be made or keep disabled employees. If an employee is disabled due to a drug or alcohol problem he is not protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
On the other hand certain incentives are provided to companies that hire those with disabilities. Businesses doing less than one million dollars in business or having less than 30 employees can qualify for a credit of up to $5,000 to offset the cost of accommodations being made to disabled employees. Other tax credits provide a reduction in tax liability for each disabled person hired.
With amendments in 2008 and a continued need to educate individuals, government agencies and companies, the struggle for equal rights for the disabled is not over yet. Over the past 40 years they have made great strides and continue to fight for the same decency and respect that they see other groups receiving. As they make progress the struggle will be how to balance the increase in freedoms given to the disabled with the increased burden of accommodation placed on the rest of the population. As long as equal rights means more effort being provided by another group of individuals there will be people fighting against it even if it is the right thing to do.
Work Cited
"Facts About the Americans with Disabilities Act." Facts About the Americans with Disabilities Act. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 May 2014. <http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/fs-ada.html>.
"Indiana Protection & Advocacy Services." IPAS: Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Overview. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 May 2014. <http://www.in.gov/ipas/2395.htm>.
"The History of the ADA.” Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 May 2014. <http://dredf.org/news/publications/the-history-of-the-ada>.
"United States Census Bureau." Facts for Features: 20th Anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act: July 26. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 May 2014. https://<www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/cb10-ff13.html>.
