Federal Health Regulations Americans With Disabilities Act

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT 1

Federal Health Regulations: Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

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Abstract

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is law intended to safeguard the civil rights of

disabled people. Over the past 25 years, the law has been in place, it has fostered the inclusion of

the group in different areas, including the workplace and healthcare intuitions among other

public spaces. The review of the legislative history of ADA showed that it originated from the

work of the Congress and the Bush administration in 1988 and 1989, a time it faced criticism and

support in equal measure. Later in 1990, it was enacted into law, leading to a new era in the

protection of rights for the disabled people. Unfortunately, the adoption and implementation of

the law have not been smooth all along, and the evidence of that includes the groups that have

challenged its effectiveness in safeguarding rights for the group. As an example, during the case

Bragdon vs. Abbott, the court held that the law covers the people who have HIV, which was not

predicted in the original version of the law. Similarly, the law’s effectiveness has remained

questionable, and the evidence of that includes the current issues surrounding enforcement,

comprising whether it increased the inclusion of disabled people or reduced the demand for their

services at the workplace. The topics commonly discussed the regulation highlights the need for

further research on the law and its effects and effectiveness in the society.

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Introduction

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a civil rights legislation adopted in1990.

The law prohibits the discrimination of the users of public areas, workers, and job seekers due to

their disability. The preconditions of the legislation include that owners of public spaces and

employers must safeguard the disabled from discrimination but also make the location changes

needed to accommodate the disabled people, for example, accessibility ramps for areas such as

staircases (Goren, 2006). Specific recommendations to prevent discriminative treatment include

failing to provide transportation for the disabled, and not making the accommodations needed to

make conditions convenient for their use, and unavailability of communication systems, for

example, alternative communication channels for handicapped people. Further, the law forbids

discrimination from accessing government services and programs. ADA was recommended and

formulated into a bill tabled at the Senate House in 1988, but it was not until July 1990 when the

reviewed version was signed to become an enforceable law by the then American President,

George Bush (Gostin, 2015). Since it became law, the Act received slight amendments in 2008,

and the proposed changes came into force in 2009. The review of the Americans with

Disabilities Act highlights its legislative history and explores the issues surrounding it, including

the recent amendments, towards providing an informative account of the law and the purpose of

its creation.

Legislative History of ADA

The Americans with Disabilities Act is a legislation whose roots can be traced to section

504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which was effected in 1973 (Fleischer & Zames, 2001). The idea

of formulating and adopting a law extending and boosting civil rights protections to the millions

of American citizens living with disabilities gained a lot of partisan attention and support during

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the late 1988 and 1989 (Acemoglu & Angrist, 2001). The evidence of support for the proposed

changes includes that during the early months of 1989, both the Bush administration and the

Congress worked tirelessly on fashioning the legislation required to broaden the civil rights of

the American people (Fleischer & Zames, 2001). Despite working separately, the two sides

proposed a legislation that did not impose unwarranted costs or harm to the groups already

operating in a way that is compliant to existing laws and rules at the time, particularly employers

and organizations.

ADA was also brought into existence through lobbying by vocal advocates and activists

that compelled the US Congress to fashion it and speedily pushed for its endorsement. Notable

people that played an instrumental role in the push to adopt the legislation included Patrisha

Wright, a blind activist for disability rights, and Justin Whitlock Dart, Junior, a leading advocate

for the rights of disabled people (Rehabilitation Research & Training Center, 2002). According

to the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (2002), Patrisha Wright’s role in coordinating

the campaigns pushing for the adoption of ADA led supporters to call her “the General;” she was

the primary force behind the lobbying. At the organizational level, a crucial source of

professional support for the proposed law came from the “Society for Human Resource

Management.” The agency worked through its director for workplace inclusion and diversity,

Shirley Davis, to push for the talent development among the disabled (Babcock, 2010).

According to the agency, the disabled population is a highly potent talent pool that needs

development, to tap the value they can offer at the workplace and the economy as a whole.

However, despite the lobbying and the support from the Congress and the Bush

administration, the ADA proposed legislation faced opposition from different groups. The

groups opposing the proposed law included some religious groups such as the Association of

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Christian Schools International (ACSI), which argued that in the original form, the bill labeled

religious centers as public accommodations (“Should the Senate Approve the Americans with

Disabilities Act of 1989?” 1989). According to some church authorities, the adoption of the law

would mean that churches would need to make costly changes according to the directives on

improving access for all (“Should the Senate Approve the Americans with Disabilities Act of

1989?” 1989). The cost-related opposition raised by the ACSI was instrumental in influencing

the revisions of the law to exclude churches from being classified under public accommodation

places. Further, church authorities challenged the employment provisions expressed in the law’s

title 1, arguing that it infringed the rights to religious liberty, noting that the regulation of the

employment conditions offered by the church was intrusive by the government.

Similarly, business organizations raised opposition to the new law, arguing that it would

cost businesses millions in expenditure, and thus deny the public crucial services such as

transportation. As an example, the Greyhound Bus Lines in making its argument against the

adoption of ADA before the Congress, it claimed that passing the law would affect transportation

service provision (U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, 1993). In its defense, the

company argued that endorsing the ADA bill into law would deny millions of Americans

transportation services. Similarly, the US Chamber of Commerce made its position against the

proposed law, arguing that the costs of compliance with the new ADA law would destroy many

small enterprises, making it impossible for them to do business and survive (“Should the Senate

Approve the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1989?” 1989). Similarly, the “National

Federation of Independent Businesses,” which fights for the rights of small enterprises, took its

position against the adoption of ADA, arguing that it would spell doom for small businesses

(Mandel, 1990).

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Despite the revolt against ADA, the disabled people and activists kept pushing, and just

before it was passed into law, they held a massive crawl at the Capitol building. During the

protest, the disabled people discarded their wheelchairs and clutches among other assistive tools,

claiming that ADA needed to be passed immediately, and that compelled legislators to approve

the proposed law (Eaton, 1990). Finally, on 26th of July 1990, the president passed the proposed

legislation, making it enforceable. In 2008, the Act was amended to make it more

accommodating to the disabled people that are impaired only to a “substantial” level, unlike the

traditional standards that action would be taken, if conditions were “severely” impacting the

disabled (Gostin, 2015). Over the years, since it was proposed, the ADA legislation has triggered

many changes in the American society, towards more inclusion for disabled people.

Discussion of Current Issues Surrounding the ADA Regulation

The leading issues surrounding the ADA regulation is the impact that it has triggered in

the American society, and whether it adversely affects the groups it was supposed to support.

The positive effects of the legislation include that it compelled more employers to accommodate

the people living with a disability, which was the original purpose it was intended to serve.

However, the adoption of the legislation also triggered some adverse effects, the main one being

that the demand for disabled employees reduced among employers (Burns & Gordon, 2010). As

a result, the intended goal for the adoption of the legislation was challenged at its core, and it is

likely that the expected benefits will never be realized in the future (Maroto & Pettinicchiov,

2015). Maroto and Pettinicchiov (2015) note that following the adoption of ADA, despite that it

was supposed to increase inclusion for the disabled in public places, the downward trend of

reducing income standards, employment levels, and economic well-being continued. ADA

disclosed antidiscrimination guidelines aimed at fostering the employment of disabled people in

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public agencies and the public sector in general. The founders and the legislators responsible for

the adoption of the law hoped that it would reduce the gap between the income and employment

levels enjoyed during the 1960s and mid-1970s, but began to drop after 1976. Surprisingly, the

downward trend has continued until the 2010s, leading many stakeholders to channel attention to

whether the law has the impact it was supposed to trigger (Maroto & Pettinicchiov, 2015). The

apparent failure of the law has remained a significant area of debate for years, and it is likely that

it will continue to be a significant focus of attention.

The second major issue surrounding the ADA regulation is that the recent research on its

impact shows that it did not yield any benefits for people suffering from more severe forms of

disability and marginalized racial and ethnic groups living in the US. According to Harris and

Gould (2014), the ADA legislation has not affected some groups positively, for example, those

suffering from mental health issues and disabilities, and also those from racial and ethnic

minorities, due to the structure and systems for representation. The primary causes of the

problem include that the research done in the US about the needs and the provisions to make for

disabled in different public areas is not based on or informed by the views of the people living

with disabilities (Maroto & Pettinicchiov, 2015). Instead, the decisions that should be based on

research are made by public workers and policymakers in the traditional style of representation,

whereby the public is represented and rarely consulted (Harris & Gould, 2014). The disparity

between the issues and the needs of the group and the changes made in line with the legislation

may remain an important topic of study for researchers, and thus the society should be offered a

solution soon.

The third issue surrounding the ADA Regulation is the impact that it has on other groups

and stakeholders related to disabled people. The affected groups and stakeholders include

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employers, families, the providers of disability services, healthcare workers, and the industry

professional responsible for the implementation of the ADA law in some way (Harris & Gould,

2014). The evidence of a knowledge gap is a significant area of debate on the effectiveness of the

legislation and is barely investigated, for example, the impact of the law on the disability rights

advocates and families (Harris & Gould, 2014). As an example, the research by Yamaki, Hseih,

and Heller (2009) indicated that providing healthcare services for disabled people is in some

ways demanding and challenging, and can affect the levels of services offered to other groups.

The related challenges include that it reduces the levels of services that other groups such as the

aging population receives. Further, there is also little attention offered to the impacts that the

services tailored for the disabled people have on caregivers, especially, wherever there is limited

state support (Yamaki, Hseih & Heller, 2009). Similarly, considering the guidelines of the ADA

law, it is crucial for healthcare among other service providers to operate more carefully, in the

efforts to prevent suspicion or reports of discrimination, which may result from the low levels of

state support, but may affect the group (Harris & Gould, 2014). Currently, there is considerable

research focused on the issue, and it is likely that more attention will be channeled to the study of

the impact that ADA and its enforcement have on other groups.

Another issue that remains persistent in the discussions on the adoption of ADA is the

discrimination of disabled people in healthcare services areas. Gostin (2015) notes the inclusion

of the group by highlighting that the creation of ADA safeguards their access to the best care

after expanding the protection to cover institutions that are not federally funded, which was the

norm in the past. However, the case Bragdon vs. Abbott highlighted the discrimination faced by

the patients suffering from disabling conditions such as HIV, cancer, and other forms of

disability. The case was taken to court after Abbott was denied services at a private dental center

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(Gostin, 2015). During the case, the court held that the symptoms of HIV infection qualify for

consideration as a disability under ADA, indicating that many others suffer the same plight and

lack the security that the law should offer (Gostin, 2015). The persistence of the problem

suggests the need to explore the definition of disability covered by ADA, and also the practices

that are discriminatory, but unlikely to be considered so.

Conclusion

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is an extension of the Rehabilitation Act of

1973 and was adopted to safeguard the civil rights of disabled people in America. The history of

the legislation can be traced to the deliberation done over the rights of disabled people by the

Bush administration and the Congress during the late 1980s.In two years, different groups,

including activists and business showed their support and criticism for the proposed law, and in

1990, it was signed into law. However, over the years that it has been in place, many groups and

stakeholders have continued to express fears that it did not serve its intended purpose entirely.

The issues raised include the impact it had on the employment of disabled people and the effect

it has triggered among the groups and stakeholders affected by the law, including healthcare

among other service providers. The research highlighted crucial issues and indicated the need for

further research to explore the impact of ADA, and the steps to take to ensure that it yields

positive effects.

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References

Acemoglu, D., & Angrist, J. (2001). Consequences of Employment Protection? The Case of the

Americans with Disabilities Act. Journal of Political Economy,109 (5), 915-957.

Babcock, P. (2010). Targeted Development for Managers with Disabilities. SHRM. Retrieved

from: https://goo.gl/t6BzmN

Burns, K. K., & Gordon, G. (2010). Analyzing the Impact of Disability Legislation in Canada

and the United States. Journal of Disability Policy Studies 20, (4), 205-218.

Eaton, W. (1990). Disabled Persons Rally, Crawl up Capitol Steps: Congress: Scores protest

delays in passage of rights legislation. The logjam in the House is expected to break soon.

The LA Times. Retrieved from: https://goo.gl/Q78B6N

Fleischer, D. Z., & Zames, F. (2001). The disability rights movement: from charity to

confrontation. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

Goren, W. D. (2006). Understanding the Americans with Disabilities Act. Chicago, Ill: ABA

GP/Solo.

Gostin, L. (2015). The Americans with Disabilities Act at 25: The Highest Expression of

American Values. Journal of American Medical Association, 313(22), 2231-2235.

Harris, S., & Gould, R. (2014). Scoping Review of the Americans with Disabilities Act: What

Research Exists, and Where do we go from Here? Disability Studies Quarterly, 34(3).

Retrieved from: http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/3883/3645

Mandel, S. (November 6, 1990). Disabling the GOP. The National Review, 42(11), 23-24.

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Maroto, M., & Pettinicchiov, D. (2015). Twenty-Five Years after the ADA: Situating Disability

in America's System of Stratification. Disability Studies Quarterly, 35(3). Retrieved

from: http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/4927/4024

Rehabilitation Research & Training Center. (2002). Disability History Timeline. Retrieved from:

https://goo.gl/wgoSUq

Should the Senate Approve the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1989? (1989). Congressional

Digest December, 68(12), 297.

U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment. (May 1993). Access to Over-the-Road Buses

for Persons with Disabilities, OTA-SET-54. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing

Office. Retrieved from: https://goo.gl/ZrwSKK

Yamaki, K., Hsieh, K., & Heller, T. (2009). Health Profile of Aging Family Caregivers

Supporting Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities at Home. Intellectual

and Developmental Disabilities. 47 (6), 425-435.

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