Restoration of ADA Rights

New changes to the ADA’s protection of disabled Americans are underway.

By Herb Drill

Congress is already on the Democratic Agenda Highway, after a pit stop at the minimum wage legislation, and now, advocates are pushing for an extended stay at the ADA Restoration Act. On Sept. 29, 2006, U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.) and House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) introduced bipartisan legislation that would restore protection for disabled Americans under the ADA titled the “Americans with Disabilities Act Restoration Act of 2006.” By changing language in the bill, the ADA Restoration Act hopes to harmonize the ADA with the Civil Rights Act and other civil rights laws.

Sensenbrenner stated, “The [U.S.] Supreme Court has chipped away at the broad protections of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and has created a new set of barriers. This legislation will enable disabled Americans utilizing the ADA to focus on the discrimination they have experienced rather than having to first prove they fall within the scope of the ADA’s protection. With this bill, the ADA’s ‘clear and comprehensive national mandate for the elimination of discrimination on the basis of disability’ will be restored and the ADA can reclaim its place among our civil rights laws.”

Rep. Hoyer added, “The Supreme Court’s interpretations of this law have been largely inconsistent with the original intent of Congress and President George H. W. Bush. People with diabetes, heart conditions and cancer have had their ADA claims kicked out of court because, with improvements in medication, they are considered ‘too functional’ to be considered ‘disabled.’ Congress intended the law to be broadly—not narrowly—interpreted. The point of the law is discrimination.”

In a keynote address at the World Congress on Disabilities (WCD) and Expo at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, disability rights advocate Jim Ward, CEO of www.ADAWatch.org, spoke of his campaign, “The Road to Freedom: Keeping the Promise of the ADA.” This year-long awareness effort and 35,000-mile cross-country tour hit the asphalt in Washington on Nov. 15. At this WCD stop, Ward focused on the ongoing need for equal access to health care, transportation, education and employment, and is determined to expose mainstream audiences to the ADA and the history of the disability rights movement, which includes protection against discriminatory application, hiring, advancement and firing procedures in the workplace (Title 1).

For many, the journey toward equality didn’t end with the signing of the act in 1990. “Instead, citizen action highlights the need for participation to respond to the current status of an ADA severely weakened in the courts,” says Ward. The “still unfulfilled vision” of the ADA reflects “segregation of children and adults with disabilities [and] disproportionately high unemployment and poverty rates.” According to the Cornell University 2005 Disability Status Report, 12.6 percent of working-age individuals in the United States report a disability (more than 21 million). The difference in employment rates of working-age people with and without disabilities was 40.3 percentage points, and the difference in the poverty rate between working-age people with and without disabilities was 15.3 percentage points.

Ward notes that when he was “diagnosed with attention deficit disorders, I realized how people with mobility challenges and all other disabilities are put in a box” and generally disregarded. Ward is the founder/president of www.ADAWatch.org and the National Coalition for Disability Rights (NCDR) based in Washington and has served as a wellness consultant to corporations including GE, IBM and Goodrich. Despite his challenges, he has extensive experience in public affairs and has been featured in publications like The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times and The Boston Globe. Ward was also the former director of public policy for the National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems, the network of federally mandated disability law centers now called the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN).

“By signing the ADA,” says Ward, “America promised to protect the rights of people with disabilities; we promised full access to the dream that we all share and often take for granted; we promised to shed the stereotype of America’s ‘forgotten population.’ In many ways, America has forgotten. People with disabilities continue to face unnecessary institutionalization, limited access to health care, and other obstacles to freedom, integration and opportunity.”

The Road to Freedom Campaign, which will make more than 80 stops in all 50 states, hopes to increase support for passage of the ADA. “We hope to mobilize Americans to keep the promise of the ADA: freedom, inclusion and opportunity for children and adults with physical, mental, cognitive and developmental disabilities.”

Ward emphasizes there are several simple things individuals can do immediately to help the ADA reach its potential, including signing a petition at www.roadtofreedom.org , contacting Congress, signing up for news alerts and supporting organizations that provide advocacy for and services to people with disabilities. Further information on local partners is available at www.ncdr.org. In addition, a variety of organizations work with corporations to improve their diversity and accessibility in the workplace.

• National Business & Disability Council is a member-driven organization that educates companies through training and customized programs, accessibility surveys, newsletters, legislative updates and job databases. Members include Caterpillar, IBM, UBS, UPS and Wal-Mart.
• The National Center on Work­­force and Disability assists organizations in developing disability policies, marketing and outreach, improving accessibility, and more.
• National Organization on Disability offers the National EmployAbility Program and National Partnership Program, which work with corporations to advance the participation of people with disabilities in the workforce and community.
• World Institute on Disability is a public policy center organized to strengthen the disability movement through research, training, advocacy and public education. Recent programs include the California Work Incentives Initiative (CWII) to provide information on health coverage, work and benefits to youth and adults with disabilities in California.

Herb Drill is a charter member of the Society of American Business Editors and can be reached at herb.drill@yahoo.com.