Discrimination
The Americans with Disabilities Act, passed in 1990, 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. Barriers to employment, transportation, public accommodations, public services, and telecommunications have imposed staggering economic and social costs on American society. The ADA guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in public accommodations, employment, transportation, State and local government services, and telecommunications.
Cry Wolf Quotes
The proposed ADA represents both a significant expansion of existing civil rights protections…and an equally significant expansion of Federal regulatory authority over private enterprises.
The ADA also mandates job accommodation financed by employers. Employers will be forced to restructure existing facilities, restructure jobs, hire readers, signers, and assistants in order to accommodate over 900 physical and mental impairments. This converts a civil rights measure into a mandated benefits program for the disabled. It is time we ask ourselves what `reasonable accommodation' means for American businesses. The real cost to the nation would be higher costs of production, fewer jobs, lower real wage rates, lower levels of output and income, and a weaker competitive position for the U.S. business in the world market place.
Rather than merely prohibiting discrimination against the disabled, the bill compels employers to make significant expenditures and extensive physical alterations to their facilities to accommodate an unlimited variety job applicants.
We don’t want a lot of innocent small-business people who are trying to do the right thing to be hauled into court.
Related Laws and Rules
Evidence
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The Americans With Disabilities Act Didn't Cause A Flood of Lawsuits
Employer warnings of frivolous lawsuits in the wake of Americans With Disabilities Act were proven false.
Resources
Campus Progress is the youth wing of the Center for American Progress. They do work in both advocacy and journalism.
Institute for Women’s Policy Research is a prominent think tank that is largely focused on American women's issues. This covers everything from pay equity to welfare reform to domestic violence.
The National Council on Disability is a small, Senate-appointed, federal agency that advises the president and Congress on matters concerning the disabled community.
The American Association of People with Disabilities organizes and advocates for the disability community across the nation.
