Americans with Disabilities Act

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Americans with Disabilities Act

• By
• Ryan Brown
• Amy Wintrow

2
History of ADA

• After World War I American Foundation of the
  Blind (AFB), National Association for Retarded
  Citizens (Arc)
• After World War II National Federation of the
  Blind (NFB)
• American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities
  (ACCD)

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What is it?

• Enacted July 26, 1990 by President George Bush
• Prohibits private employers, state and local
  governments, employment agencies and labor unions
  from discriminating against qualified individuals
  with disabilities in job application procedures,
  hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, job
  training, and other terms, conditions and
  privileges of employment. An individual with a
  disability is a person who
• 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.

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Divided into 5 Titles

• Title I Employment
• Title II Public Services
• Title III Public Accommodations
• Title IV Telecommunications
• Title V Miscellaneous

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Title I

• Discrimination in Workplace
• Employment affairs
• Workplace misconduct
• Reasonable accommodation
• complaints must be filed with the U. S. Equal
  Employment Opportunity Commission within 180 days
• The ADA's definition of disability requires a
  person to be "substantially limited" in a major
  life activity. For people with mental
  disabilities, this usually means caring for
  oneself, thinking, concentrating, interacting
  with others.

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Court Cases for Title I

• Mancini v. General Electric
• plaintiff was not a "qualified individual with a
  disability" because he was insubordinate and
  because the ability to follow orders was an
  essential function of the job, even though the
  court seemed to accept the fact that there was a
  link between his emotional impairments and his
  insubordinate behavior.
• Carroza v. Howard County ,
• an employer doesn't violate Section 504 or the
  ADA by disciplining an employee for misconduct
  (the plaintiff was fired for "insubordination"
  and angry "outbursts") even if the misconduct is
  related to the employee's disability.

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Title II

• State and Local Government Activities
• complaints must be filed with the Department of
  Justice within 180 days
• covers all public agencies, whether or not they
  receive federal financial assistance.
• also helpful to enforce the voting rights of
  people with disabilities

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Cases for Title II

• Helen L. v. DiDario (1995),
• the State of Pennsylvania violated the ADA by
  confining in a nursing home a plaintiff who did
  not require nursing home care.
• Charles Q. v. Houstoun, (April 22, 1996)
• In two decisions relying heavily on Helen L. v.
  DiDario, the court granted summary judgment for
  three plaintiffs with mental illness who alleged
  that the state defendants violated the ADA by
  treating plaintiffs in a state psychiatric
  hospital rather than in community settings.

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Title III

• Discrimination within private businesses
• Such as banks, restaurants, supermarkets,
  shopping centers, privately-owned sports arenas,
  private day care centers, schools and colleges,
  accountant or insurance offices,
• most Title III case law has focused on physical
  rather than mental disabilities

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Cases for Title III

• Roberts v. KinderCare Learning Centers, (1996),
• rejecting the plaintiffs' claims that a child
  care center violated the rights of a disabled
  four-year-old by refusing either to admit him or
  to provide one-on-one care when the child's
  personal care attendant services were
  unavailable.
• California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform v.
  Creekside Care Convalescent Center, (1995)
• refusing to dismiss the plaintiffs' allegations
  that a private nursing home provided inadequate
  care to its residents, in violation of Section
  504 and Title III of the ADA.

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Who the Law Covers

• people who currently have a disability
• people who have a history of a disability
• people who are regarded as having a disability by
  others, whether or not they actually have a
  disability
• people who are not themselves disabled but who
  encounter discrimination on the basis of their
  association or relationship with a person who has
  a disabilityparents of children with
  disabilities, for example.

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Conditions not Covered

• Temporary, physical or mental impairments
• Pregnancy
• Advanced Age
• Personality Traits
• Sexual behavior disorders
• Homosexuality or bisexuality
• Current illegal drug use

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Are Illegal Drugs Covered

• No. Individuals who currently engage in the
  illegal use of drugs are specifically excluded
  from the definition of a "qualified individual
  with a disability" protected by the ADA when the
  employer takes action on the basis of their drug
  use.
• Individuals who are not currently engaged in drug
  use can be covered under the Law

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Testing for Drugs

• Yes. A test for the illegal use of drugs is not
  considered a medical examination under the ADA
  therefore, employers may conduct such testing of
  applicants or employees and make employment
  decisions based on the results. The ADA does not
  encourage, prohibit, or authorize drug tests.

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Alcohol Use

• Yes. if an employer acts on the basis of such
  use, a person who currently uses alcohol is not
  automatically denied protection. An alcoholic is
  a person with a disability and is protected by
  the ADA if s/he is qualified to perform the
  essential functions of the job. An employer may
  be required to provide an accommodation to an
  alcoholic. However, an employer can discipline,
  discharge or deny employment to an alcoholic
  whose use of alcohol adversely affects job
  performance or conduct. An employer also may
  prohibit the use of alcohol in the workplace and
  can require that employees not be under the
  influence of alcohol

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Are HIV/AIDS covered?

• Yes. An individual is considered to have a
  "disability" if he or she 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. Persons with HIV disease, both
  symptomatic and asymptomatic, have physical
  impairments that substantially limit one or more
  major life activities and are, therefore,
  protected by the law

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Reasonable Accommodation

• Any modification or adjustment to a job or the
  work environment that will enable a qualified
  applicant or employee with a disability to
  perform essential job functions. Reasonable
  accommodation also includes adjustments to assure
  that a qualified individual with a disability has
  rights and privileges in employment equal to
  those of employees without disabilities.
• Enforced with 15 employees
• 3 forms of reasonable accommodation
• Changes in work environment
• Changes in job application process
• Changes for an employee with disability to enjoy
  equal opportunity of output
• http//www.eeoc.gov/facts/accommodation.html

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Hiring and Qualifications

• An employer does not have to give preference to a
  qualified applicant with a disability over other
  applicants. An employer is free to select the
  most qualified applicant available and to make
  decisions based on reasons unrelated to a
  disability. (typing speed asks for 70, disability
  applicant gives 50, other applicant 75, employer
  can hire the faster typer)

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Construction and ADA

• http//www.access-board.gov/adaag/checklist/a16.ht
  ml
• Bathrooms
• Telephones (length of cord)
• Drinking fountain

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Locations up to code for ADA

• Sale Theatre
• Britt
• Roberts
• John Wesley
• Dorms other than Bassett

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Cites Used

• http//www.eeoc.gov/facts/fs-ada.html
• http//trace.wisc.edu/docs/compliance_with_the_ada
  _for_itm/comply_comp1.html
• http//www.bazelon.org/issues/disabilityrights/ind
  ex.htm
• http//www.access-board.gov/adaag/checklist/a16.ht
  ml
• http//library.findlaw.com/1999/Oct/1/129429.html
• http//www.accessiblesociety.org/topics/ada/pgavma
  rtin.htm
• http//www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/ada.html
• http//www.bazelon.org/issues/disabilityrights/res
  ources/title3.htm

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Recent Public Court Case

• Casey Martin case in January 17, 2001
• degenerative circulatory disorder that prevents
  him from walking golf courses
• Supreme Court ruled in favor of Martin (7-2)
• Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act,
  modeled on the Civil Rights Act's Title II,
  prohibits discrimination on the basis of
  disability in places of public accommodation