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ADA Amendments Act Fact Sheet


ADA Anniversary Article

Twenty years ago, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed amidst great hope and celebration. With this legislation in place, it was presumed the barriers preventing people with disabilities from participating equally in community, democratic, commercial, government and employment spheres would be eliminated. Was this hope justified?

The ADA prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in the areas of public services provided by government entities, public services provided by private entities, transportation, telecommunications and employment. Twenty years after the ADA, we can see its impact all around us. Our built environment looks different. Businesses can no longer turn away customers with disabilities. Government programs and services must be accessible to everyone. Employers have obligations around disability inquiry and reasonable accommodation.

Have these efforts actually improved the economic and life conditions of people with disabilities? Though there is much to celebrate, much remains to be done. According to the Cornell University 2007 Disability Status Reports, 24.7% of working-age people with disabilities live in poverty, as compared to 9% of those without disability. Likewise, 21.2% of working-age people with disabilities are employed full-time/full-year, as compared to 56.7% of those without disabilities (Erickson & Lee, 2008).

Part of the reason the ADA was unable to deliver the promised benefits to people with disabilities was the narrow interpretation of the law applied by the courts. As a result of several court decisions, the impact of the ADA was severely restricted. This created a “catch 22” in which many people’s disabilities were not significant enough to qualify for protection under the ADA, but were to significant for you to be qualified for a job (National Council on Disability, 2003).

In response to issues such as this, the ADA Amendments Act was signed into law on September 25, 2008 and took effect January 1, 2009. The ADA Amendments Act restores the original intent of the ADA by reinstating the broad scope of protections to include more people with disabilities; the law will now ensure that people with disabilities are able to access the protections that the ADA was intended to provide for people with disabilities.

References:

  • Erickson, W., & Lee, C. (2008). 2007 Disability Status Report: The United States. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Disability Demographics and Statistics.
  • National Council on Disability (2003). The role of mitigating measures in narrowing the ADA’s coverage. Policy Brief Series: Righting the ADA. Number 11. Retrieved July 17, 2009.

HR Tips

This site provides articles, checklists, a glossary, and links to useful disability resources to help Human Resource (HR) professionals accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Both Spanish and English translations are available.













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