The History of the Americans with Disabilities Act

The History of the Americans with Disabilities Act
Name
Institution
The History of the Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is an act that was enacted to protect people living with disabilities from being discriminated by employers. According to Dessler (2017), under this act, people living with disability should not be discriminated not only during the hiring process but also during the provision of any employment-related privileges such as training and compensation. This act plays a major role in human resource management because it ensures that human resource practitioners maintain professionalism, even in issues concerning Americans living with disabilities. It is, thus, imperative for every practitioner in the field of human resources (HR) to understand the provisions of this act to ensure that they do not infringe the rights of those living with disabilities. The main aim of this paper is to explore the history of the ADA since its inception. Thus, the origin, purpose, amendments and the titles of the ADA will be explored to create a deeper insight, especially for HR practitioners, into the act.
The Origin
People living with disabilities have often been discriminated and treated differently by society. Thus, it is important for a society that values equality to implement laws and take measures that will ensure that everyone has a chance at a better life. This value for equality is what led to the formulation and enactment of the ADA. In fact, the ADA was formulated as a result of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that protected women and people from marginalized communities (Francis & Silvers, 2016). The lack of legal protection by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for people living with disabilities was first questioned seriously by Professor Jacobus tenBroek, who was visually impaired, in 1966 and efforts to include people with disability under the Civil Rights Act began in 1970 (Francis & Silvers, 2016). However, these efforts were futile because it took a while before people living with disabilities could be protected from discrimination under the law. In fact, Francis and Silvers (2016) reveal that the ADA was first introduced into Congress in 1988 as a bill by the National Council on the Handicapped, but nothing was done in Congress about the bill. In 1989, a revised bill on the same was introduced into Congress and was finally enacted into law in 1990 by a vote of 377 to 28 in the House and a consequent 91 to 6 by the Senate (Francis & Silvers, 2016). However, several amendments on the revised bill had to be made before it was made into law. The ADA was a one of a kind law that was meant to specifically protect people living with disabilities, especially after it became evident that it would be difficult to incorporate their rights into other existing discrimination laws. The ADA has actually been termed by the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division (n.d.) as one of the “most comprehensive pieces of civil rights legislation” that forbids discrimination.
Purpose
As mentioned earlier, the ADA was enacted to specifically protect Americans living with disabilities in the workplace. Specifically, the ADA outlaws any form of employment discrimination by all employers with at least fifteen employees (DeCenzo, Robbins, & Verhulst, 2016). Thus, employers must meet certain conditions to ensure that they can reasonably accommodate people living with disabilities. According to Dessler (2017), this reasonable accommodation entails making changes in terms of acquiring equipment and devices, making changes on the work schedule, modifying the structures of the workplace such as doors, among making other changes. For instance, an employee with hearing impairment whose job description involves answering the phone should be provided with a phone that displays real-time information of what the caller is saying. An employer, under the ADA, should not dismiss a qualified individual just because they have a disability. However, it is worth noting that an individual must be qualified for protection under the ADA. DeCenzo, Robbins, and Verhulst (2016) reveal that other than the required basic skills, education and experience for a job position, the individual with disabilities must also be able to perform the essential jobs function. Otherwise, they will not be protected by the ADA. Another point worth noting is that the ADA does not provide a list of all the disabilities that are considered, but it specifically reveals that compulsive gambling and some conditions that arise ...