Like similar civil rights employment laws enacted to protect certain classes, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was initially enacted in 1990 to protect those with physical and mental disabilities. This piece of legislation is interesting because it has two components. The first part of the law protects those with disabilities in the employment process. The second part addresses equal access to public services, access to private and public transportation, and telecommunications, to those with disabilities. The law was enacted to create opportunities, guarantee rights and remove barriers for the disabled and afford them the same rights as non-disabled citizens.
It took many years for the law to come to fruition. From the employment …show more content…
The definition under the law states, “An individual is considered to have a "disability" if s/he has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, has a record of such an impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment” (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 2015). Health conditions that were identified as disabilities were blindness, deafness, cancer, paraplegia, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, diabetes, morbid obesity, AIDS, HIV, and substance addiction (alcoholism and drug abuse) (Miller, 2014). Those who were diagnosed with drug addiction and currently using illegal drugs were not protected; the law only protected former drug addicts who had completed rehabilitation treatment programs (Miller, 2014). Individuals suffering from a short-term illness such as the flu or a broken bone are not protected. However, individuals with a record of a disability would be covered and those diagnosed with having a substantially limiting impairment, even though they may not have such an impairment, are protected as well (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, …show more content…
This part of the law ensures the disabled have public access to transportation, which includes rail service (both public and private), streets and sidewalks, buses and taxi providers. Access to public accommodations is addressed in the law. This provides easy access to public spaces for the disabled including entrances, access to public restrooms and public gathering spaces. Finally, Title IV of the law addresses accessibility of telecommunications for the disabled (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 2015). This requires public services announcements for both the hearing and speaking disabled. When the law was first enacted, employers had to install text telephones (TTD’s) which allowed the hearing disabled to type in their message. Currently, companies can offer services through the internet to communicate with the hearing impaired. The last section of the law, Title V, protected disabled individuals from retaliation or coercion when seeking accommodations from employers and public entities (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990,
It took many years for the law to come to fruition. From the employment …show more content…
The definition under the law states, “An individual is considered to have a "disability" if s/he has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, has a record of such an impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment” (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 2015). Health conditions that were identified as disabilities were blindness, deafness, cancer, paraplegia, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, diabetes, morbid obesity, AIDS, HIV, and substance addiction (alcoholism and drug abuse) (Miller, 2014). Those who were diagnosed with drug addiction and currently using illegal drugs were not protected; the law only protected former drug addicts who had completed rehabilitation treatment programs (Miller, 2014). Individuals suffering from a short-term illness such as the flu or a broken bone are not protected. However, individuals with a record of a disability would be covered and those diagnosed with having a substantially limiting impairment, even though they may not have such an impairment, are protected as well (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, …show more content…
This part of the law ensures the disabled have public access to transportation, which includes rail service (both public and private), streets and sidewalks, buses and taxi providers. Access to public accommodations is addressed in the law. This provides easy access to public spaces for the disabled including entrances, access to public restrooms and public gathering spaces. Finally, Title IV of the law addresses accessibility of telecommunications for the disabled (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 2015). This requires public services announcements for both the hearing and speaking disabled. When the law was first enacted, employers had to install text telephones (TTD’s) which allowed the hearing disabled to type in their message. Currently, companies can offer services through the internet to communicate with the hearing impaired. The last section of the law, Title V, protected disabled individuals from retaliation or coercion when seeking accommodations from employers and public entities (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990,