Introduction
For the past century, the primary focus of the US national legislature has been given to the notions of social equity and inclusion. The US, being a conglomerate state for people of various backgrounds and beliefs, has recently initiated a series of congress bills that center around the gap between social groups. A prime example of such legislation is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), ratified in 1990. The notion of disability in the title stands for “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual; a record of such an impairment; or being regarded as having such an impairment.”1(7) Thus, in this paper, the preceding provisions and titles of the ADA will be summarized while presenting insights into the employment progress for people with disabilities. While the progress made over the past two decades has created many opportunities for inclusion, the national employment network requires more meaningful changes.
Americans with Disabilities Act Overview
Employment
Prior to the ratification of the ADA in 1990, the notion of employment for people with physical disabilities was beyond realistic, as employers prioritized cost- and time-efficiency over inclusion and respect. Title 1 of the ADA proclaims:
No covered entity shall discriminate against a qualified individual on the basis of disability in regard to job application procedures, the hiring, advancement, or discharge of employees, employee compensation, job training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment1(10)
Thus, after the Act’s ratification, every workplace was obligated to provide people with disabilities with a decent attitude and the opportunity of employment. Moreover, besides the job offer itself, an employer is as well obligated to make sure that the workspace is accommodated according to the worker’s needs. According to the Act, the lack of desire to provide said accommodation to mental or physical limitation is an irrelevant reason for not employing a qualified applicant with a disability1. The majority of ADA provisions in this section are related to the employer’s duties to secure equal treatment during the pre-employment process, whereas people with disabilities can be asked to undergo a preassessment to identify whether they are capable of performing their job. Finally, the section addresses the peculiarities of employing people with a history of alcohol and drug abuse, as the individuals who successfully completed a rehabilitation program should also be supported within their working environment, like people with disabilities, in a wider meaning.
Public Services
The second provision of the ADA addresses the elimination of discriminatory attitudes towards people with disabilities during their use of public entities. The latter, in terms of the Act, is defined as “any department, agency, special purpose district, or other instrumentality of a State or state or local government.”1 According to this provision, no individual with a disability shall be deprived of the right to use public services, including communication and commuting. More specifically, Title II of the Act addresses the use of public transportation. Thus, in terms of Title II, “it shall be considered discrimination… to fail to provide with respect to the operations of its fixed route system, in accordance with this section, paratransit and other special transportation services to individuals with disabilities.”1(18) Not only does this notion include letting people with disabilities use transportation services but also building infrastructure that would help people with disabilities operate on their own without external assistance.
Public Accommodations and Services Operated by Private Entities
The third section of the ADA is dedicated to the specifics of using services such as commercial centers, restaurants, rental establishments and various entertainment centers. The primary issue with these places is that while being a hospitality service for the general public, the entities are owned by individuals. If previously, private owners were not punished for denying access to their services, the ADA provision states:
No individual shall be discriminated against on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of any place of public accommodation by any person who owns, leases (or leases to), or operates a place of public accommodation1(32)
Thus, according to this rule, every owner of public accommodation or service is obliged to equip the facility with such objects as separate toilets for people with disabilities, elevators, ramps, and other things to facilitate access to the service. The section also extends to private companies that provide public transportation, claiming the transport shall not discriminate against people with disabilities by presenting inaccessible vehicles.
Telecommunications
The Title IV of the ADA addresses the issues associated with telephone and television access for people with hearing or speech impairments. Thus, according to the title, the telecommunication companies across the country shall make sure that persons with hearing and speech issues are able to perceive the information through an alternative way of presenting information1. More specifically, this section of the ADA provides communication services with the mandatory rule of connecting their network to a telecommunication relay service. It stands for the operator service that allows people with sensory impairments to receive help in receiving and making calls through a communication assistant. As far as television is concerned, Title IV of the ADA strongly advises television networks to have closed-captioning services for all verbal information.
Miscellaneous Provisions
The final Title of the ADA serves as an addition to the aforementioned provisions, presenting clarifications to the ADA Titles. Specifically, this part addresses the fact that the ADA by no means interferes with all other federal and state laws that relate to the rights of people with disabilities. Additionally, Title V mentions social groups that do not fall into the category of people with disabilities, namely, sexual minorities, current illicit drug abusers, and pedophiles. Finally, the provision clarifies the procedures of reporting an ADA violation and public services responsible for developing policies to grant the rights of people with disabilities.
Employment Under the ADA: Progress over Three Decades
The introduction of the ADA in 1990 was indeed a revolutionary change in the lives of Americans with disabilities. Prior to the ADA ratification, “many hiring managers didn’t think people with disabilities were able to work.”2 No preference was given to people with physical or mental impairments. In cases when people with disabilities were hired, their performance was assessed as less valuable for the employer, so they received lower payment and absolutely no guarantee of safety and assistance. As a result, it may seem that after the introduction of the ADA in 1990, the employment rates among people with disabilities decreased. In reality, the new employment rates implied a new perspective on inclusion and respect for people with disabilities.
The history of employment among people with disabilities started seventy years before the ADA. The first legal document to secure employment rights for people with disabilities was the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1920, ratified after WWI in order to guarantee employment for war veterans.3 Later, this Act was replaced by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which “was the only other major federal statute providing for nondiscrimination on the basis of disability.”3 The dramatic change introduced by this legislation was the fact that it addressed other aspects of life besides employment, including access to public schools, hospitals, and public transportation. However, it was the implementation of the ADA that presented a major change in the perception of disability in the workplace, as besides banning explicit discrimination, the Act addressed the notions of bias associated with disability.
The implementation of the ADA, along with the introduction of the 2008 Amendments to the Act, expanding the definition of disability, has changed millions of lives in the US. Currently, nearly 20% of people with disabilities are employed under the ADA.4 Such a number became possible due to the fact that under the ADA, employers were forced to introduce a series of accommodation adjustments in the workplace.
However, when speaking of progress observed over the last three decades, it becomes evident that the premises of the ADA cannot eliminate major problems and stigma associated with employment. According to Brianne Perkins, employers still live under the impression that hiring a person with a disability still leads to increased expenses and worse quality of work.3 Hence, in order to eliminate the risk whatsoever, employers seek ways to minimize the number of employees with disabilities.
The most challenging issue today, as far as people with disabilities are concerned, is the stigma and implicit discrimination of employees. According to Perkins, although the situation is changing for the better, people with physical or mental impairments are treated with more prejudice than their counterparts with no disability whatsoever.3 Moreover, employers unwilling to hire people with disabilities try to find a way to reject a job application by saying that another candidate is more suitable for the job because of their qualifications and experience. In these cases, applicants with disabilities are not allowed to make employers disclose data about another candidate’s credentials, so it is rather difficult to prove that the rejections happened on the grounds of one’s disability. Hence, nowadays, barriers to employing people with disabilities still exist, and the majority of accommodation adjustment requests by the employees are not fulfilled until the issue is brought to court.
Considering the benefits introduced to society by the ADA and the existing issues, it may be concluded that although the ADA is life-changing legislation for people with disabilities, more public initiatives should be introduced. For example, both employers and workers should be educated on the matter of inclusion and the eradication of implicit bias in the workplace. Another initiative that can be introduced by the government is the implementation of monetary incentives for small businesses to reorganize their accommodation and business procedures for the sake of better inclusion and compliance with the ADA. By encouraging more people to embrace the employment of people with disabilities, the provisions of the ADA will have much more impact compared to the already introduced initiatives.
Conclusion
The introduction of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990 has profoundly impacted American society. Although previously, the US legislation considered the rights of people with disabilities in terms of employment and public services. ADA was the first exhaustive document that elaborated on rights, freedoms, and public policies on helping people with disabilities be integrated into society. However, despite the progress, especially in employment, people with disabilities continue to suffer from implicit bias and discrimination.
References
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended. ADA.
Smith A. The ADA at 30: Looking back and ahead. SHRM.
Perkins B. The ADA and the fight against employment discrimination. UIC John Marshall Law Review. 2019;52(1):51-82.
Persons with a disability: Labor force characteristics — 2021. U.S. Department of Labor.