Americans with Disabilities Act

Americans with Disabilities Act  (E) This is an editorial/essay. #2054556 by Chris Breva

The Americans with Disabilities Act

By

Chris Breva

One of the greatest, and most innovative pieces of legislation ever to come out of the U. S. Congress and be signed into law by a sitting President, was the Americans with Disabilities Act. It was enacted in 1990 by the 101st Congress and signed into law shortly there after by President George Bush. The long title of the law is An act to establish a clear and comprehensive prohibition of discrimination on the basis if disability. The short title is the Americans with Disabilities Act. It is public law 101-336. It was first introduced in the U. S. Senate by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), as Senate Bill 933 on May 9, 1988 and passed that body7, 1989. The U. S. House of Representatives on May 22, 1989 by an usual unanimous vote. President George H. W. Bush signed the bill into law on July 26, 1990.
Very few pieces of legislation have had as much positive impact on society as this piece of landmark legislation. What at first was feared by some as a bill that would cause undue hardship for businesses, raise taxes, and create even more government bureaucracy has proven to be a blessing to nearly every facet of American society. The law has empowered a population that once was powerless. It has given opportunities to millions who otherwise would still be battling to take advantage of opportunities non-disabled individuals take for granted. Imagine the frustration and the need of being confined to a wheelchair in a public venue and needing to use the bathroom. Then when you get to the restroom you find that the restroom door is too narrow to allow your wheelchair to enter or if you do enter you find the commode is in a stall in, which you are unable to maneuver? What do you do? Or imagine being in that same wheelchair and wanting a drink of water from the water fountain that most people take for granted, yet you are unable to utilize it because it is much too high up on the wall or it is inside a cubicle that is inaccessible to you. What do you do? Let us also consider the employment field. You are a fully trained counselor and hold a doctorate degree in psychology. So you apply for work at a mental health facility that is hiring. Then you discover that you have been denied the job because you are confined to a wheelchair. What do you do?
The Americans with Disabilities Act put an end to all such discrimination. It gave people with disabilities recourse in the face of blatant disregard and outright ignorance. People with disabilities can now go anywhere an individual without disabilities can go. The barriers of the past are non-existent and lives have been drastically changed for the better. Where there was once missed opportunity, there is now a wealth of opportunity.
Prior to ADA many disabled individuals were denied access to public venues such as restaurants and nightclubs. The doors were often barriers in themselves because they were too narrow to allow wheelchair or walker access. People using walkers could often simply turn the walker sideways and scoot it in, but wheelchairs were simply barred by virtue of being too wide to gain entry. ADA changed that by requiring any business, which used government funds, and any business, employing more than fifteen people be made handicapped accessible when any new renovations were made. Many businesses simply made the changes voluntarily after the law was passed. The law also required that restaurants install tables that sat slightly higher and had removable seating to allow wheelchairs to fit comfortably. In the past, individuals who were able to access such establishments at all, were often force to hold their food in their laps because there was no place for them to sit. One of the most poignant moments I recall after the passage of ADA occurred about five years after its passage. A local restaurant made renovations and due to compliance with ADA, installed a wheelchair ramp and wheelchair accessible door. I had eaten there many times previously and like everybody, basically took it for granted. I had a friend who was confined to a wheelchair and he dearly loved the food served there. So after the renovations were complete we went there to dine. The emotions in the gentleman’s face as he gained access to the establishment for the first time were overwhelming. Tears streamed down his face. I honestly do not believe there was a dry eye as even the owner choked up. It was the first time in the 30 plus year history of the establishment that this man had ever been able to enter it. Prior to that he had been barred by a set of steps and an inaccessible door. The owner has reported many times that the new ramp and wheelchair accessible door has more than paid for itself by the increase in business due to wheelchair access! Many feared that ADA would place undue hardship on businesses due to the financial restraints of becoming compliant with the law. Most, like the aforementioned business have found that compliance actually pays for itself by allowing a whole new customer population to have equal access.
Another benefit of ADA is accessibility to sidewalks in every municipality. Prior to ADA most cities built their sidewalks with curbs at the end. This led to those in wheelchairs either waiting for assistance from passersby or making sure they took somebody along to aid them in negotiating the high curbs. Often they simply avoided the sidewalks altogether, choosing instead to run the risk of being hit by a vehicle as they rolled along in the traffic lane. It wasn’t at all uncommon to hear horns blowing or to witness road rage as drivers yelled obscenities at individuals in wheelchairs who dared obstruct traffic simply because they could not gain access to the same sidewalks most pedestrians took for granted. This has changed with the passage of ADA because municipalities are required by law to build wheelchair ramps into existing streets and to add them into the plans for any future streets. All the restroom facilities in public parks are now wheelchair equipped and accessible. Those who are not leave themselves open to legal action.
Another area that ADA has had a tremendous impact is in the workplace. Employers who receive any type of federal assistance or participate in any federal programs are required by law to make reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities. It was cited earlier about a psychologist who was denied employment due to his disability. Under ADA the employer who denies such an individual an equal employment opportunity leaves himself or she open to legal action. The law further stipulates that such employers must make any reasonable accommodations to allow such individuals to do their job as they would any non-disabled individual. In some cases this may be a simple as utilizing a filing system that does not require an individual confined to a wheelchair to stand or possibly making a photocopier more accessible. The needs of course vary from situation to situation, but employers are required to meet any reasonable request. Usually this simply requires a little common sense. Again employers usually find that whatever accommodation they make quickly pay for themselves in the productivity of the disabled individual.
One of the surprising and refreshing changes brought about by ADA has been a broad swing of the pendulum in public opinion. Disabled individuals who were once either pitied or treated like second-class citizens are now equally respected and trusted. The attitudes of the past are now history. Individuals with disabilities who want to succeed can succeed. This fact has been proven over and over since the passage of ADA. The public no longer looks upon an individual with a disability as somebody who should be abandoned at the bottom of Mt. Olympus. Instead they are seen as success stories in progress.
Very few laws come out of Washington, which have the tremendous success of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The congress, which voted unanimously for its passage had the foresight to see that it was indeed one of the most important pieces of legislation since the Eighteenth Amendment or the Civil Right Act. Millions of lives have changed for the better since its passage. Soon the rest of the world will likely follow suit.