American With Disabilities Act Research Paper

Americans with Disabilities Act

In July 1990, president, George H.W. Bush, passed an important law called the “The American with Disabilities Act (ADA)”. This civil rights law prohibited discrimination against human beings who have disabilities in settings such as jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places. This law is a life-changing phenomenon because people with disabilities have the guaranteed protection, the same equal rights and opportunities as other individuals in the society. “The ADA has been an enormous and singular success in resetting what our expectations and attitudes are” (Young). People have disabilities however it doesn’t mean that they should be limited or discriminated against from doing any sort of everyday task. In the ADA, people who have disabilities benefit from occupational therapists, by giving them independency and self-determination.

Discrimination

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces federal laws that illegalize discrimination against employers or employees because due to the person’s race, religion, sex gender, age, or disability.

According to the Congress, “physical and mental disabilities in no way diminish a person’s right to fully participate in all aspects of society, but that people with physical or mental disabilities are frequently precluded from doing so because of prejudice, antiquated attitudes, or the failure to remove societal and institutional barriers;” (Coustan, 39). In other words, whether an individual has a disability or not, we shouldn’t be prejudice against a person’s disability and exclude their topmost potentials. Just because a person has a disability, it shouldn’t exempt a person from performing at their job or simply in their society. This is where the Americans Disabilities Act is being enforced by the EEOC, and tremendously benefits the people for this very

reason.
Benefits & Reasonable Accommodations
This act has a beneficial purpose for human beings with disabilities to perform in their work environments freely, and enable them to work in their best ability. According to the article “Americans with Disabilities Act of 1988”, “The act also would require reasonable accommodations to allow an individual to apply, have access to and participate in programs, activities, and jobs”(480). A reasonable accommodation is any significant change or adjustment to a work environment that allows the employees with their disability to be able to participate in the process to apply for a job, to perform the vital functions of a job, or to experience the benefits and privileges of employment that are equal to those by employees without disabilities. Title I forbids employment discrimination only in contradiction of qualified individuals with disabilities. The employees with disabilities are identified as “qualified individuals with disabilities” An example for a reasonable accommodation is making their work environment highly accessible and usable by people by those with disabilities. In the article, “ Disability and Work: Incentives, Rights, and Opportunities” it is said that “While the ADA encourages work by enforcing civil rights for the disabled, it stands apart from other antidiscrimination laws in that it recognizes reasonable accommodation and undue hardship” (Weaver, 559). This article argues that it is only right for any work area to provide fairly reasonable accommodations to those who are disabled so everybody can be treated equal amongst the work force.