Fact: The ADA has resulted in
a surprisingly small number of lawsuits-only about 650 nationwide in five
years. That is tiny compared to 6 million businesses, 666,000 public and
private employers, and 80,000 units of state and local governments that must
comply.
Assumption: The ADA's
definition of disability is broad and vague and has resulted in "bizarre and
arcane" discrimination claims that are wasting the time of the EEOC and the
courts.
Fact: As with any new statute,
there is a period during which employers and employees learn about their rights
and obligations under the law. While individuals have the right to file
charges, not all charges are meritorious. The job of the EEOC investigator is
to separate the wheat from the chaff. Further, the flexibility provided by the
ADA definition of "disability" means that there will be individuals who bring
claims for conditions that do not satisfy the statutory standards, and the
claim will be dismissed.
Assumption: The ADA forces
business and government to spend lots of money hiring unqualified people with
disabilities.
Fact: To be protected by the
ADA an individual must be qualified. No unqualified job applicant or employee
with a disability can claim employment discrimination under the ADA. Employees
or job applicants must meet all the necessary requirements of the job and
perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable
accommodation. No accommodation must be provided if it would result in an undue
hardship on the employer.
Assumption: The ADA, along
with other laws such as the FMLA and Workers' Compensation, are squeezing out
small businesses that cannot afford to hire human resource specialists to
advise them regarding the complexities of these laws.
Fact: Truly small businesses,
those with fewer than 15 employees, are not covered by the ADA. (The FMLA only
applies to employers with 50 or more employees.) For employers who are covered,
the ADA provides an undue hardship defense for reasonable accommodations that
are unduly costly or burdensome. Smaller employers can more easily establish
undue hardship because they have fewer resources.
Assumption: The ADA is being
misused by people alleging mental and neurological impairments.
Fact: The ADA covers
individuals with physical or mental impairments that substantially limit major
life activities because individuals with such impairments have traditionally
been subjected to pervasive employment discrimination. Just as the ADA excludes
people with temporary physical problems, so does it exclude people with mild or
short-term mental health problems. Neurological impairments are conditions or
diseases involving the nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord,
ganglia, nerves, and nerve centers. ADA charges indicate that there is
significant discrimination against persons with neurological impairments.
Psychiatric impairments involve a biological, social, or psychological
dysfunction. Individuals with psychiatric disabilities have traditionally been
subjected to discrimination, not because they are unable to successfully
perform job duties, but because of myths, fears, and stereotypes associated
with such impairments.
Assumption: The ADA is rigid
and requires businesses to spend lots of money to make their existing
facilities accessible.
Fact: The ADA is based on
common sense. The law recognizes that altering existing structures is more
costly than making new construction accessible. The law only requires that
public accommodations (e.g., stores, banks, hotels, and restaurants) remove
architectural barriers in existing facilities when it is "readily achievable"
(i.e., it can be done "without much difficulty or expense"). Inexpensive, easy
steps that can be taken include ramping one step, installing a bathroom grab
bar, lowering a paper towel dispenser, rearranging furniture, installing offset
hinges to widen a doorway, or painting new lines to create an accessible
parking space.
Assumption: ADA requires that
sign language interpreters be used in all situations involving persons who are
deaf.
Fact: The ADA only requires
that effective communication not exclude people with disabilities-which in many
situations means providing written materials or exchanging notes. The law does
not require any measure that would cause an undue financial or administrative
hardship.
Assumption: The ADA requires
extensive renovations of all state and local government buildings to make them
accessible.
Fact: The ADA requires all
government programs, not all government buildings, to be accessible. "Program
accessibility" is a very flexible requirement and does not require a local
government to do anything that would result in an undue financial or
administrative burden. Local governments have been subject to this requirement
for many years under Title 5 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Not every
building, nor each part of every building needs to be accessible. Structural
modifications are required only when there is no alternative available for
providing program access. Let's say a town library has an inaccessible second
floor. No elevator is needed if it provides "program accessibility" for persons
using wheelchairs by having staff retrieve books.
Assumption: Everyone claims to
be covered under the ADA.
Fact: To be protected under
the law, a person must have an impairment that substantially limits a major
life activity, must have a record of such an impairment, or must be regarded as
having such an impairment. While people have the right to file charges, not all
charges are meritorious. EEOC investigators are instructed to analyze whether a
charging party has an ADA-protected disability. If an individual does not have
a substantially limiting impairment (and does not allege "record of" or
"regarded as" discrimination), the complaint is dismissed.
The information in this fact sheet came from the following
sources: The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the U.S. Justice
Department.
July 1996 |