A Decade of the Americans with Disabilities Act: Judicial Outcomes and Unresolved Problems

A decade after its enactment, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has not resulted in the substantial employment gains for individuals with disabilities that its proponents had predicted. It also has not resulted in many legal victories for disabled individuals who have challenged alleged disc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Industrial relations (Berkeley) 2003-01, Vol.42 (1), p.11-30
Main Author: Lee, Barbara A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Americans with Disabilities Act 1990-US
Civil Rights
Disability
Discrimination
Employment
Federal court decisions
Handicapped
Individuals
Industrial relations
Judicial Decisions
Labor law
Legal aspects
Legislation
Litigation
People with disabilities
Supreme Court decisions
Trends
U.S.A
United States of America
Work Environment
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Summary:A decade after its enactment, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has not resulted in the substantial employment gains for individuals with disabilities that its proponents had predicted. It also has not resulted in many legal victories for disabled individuals who have challenged alleged discriminatory actions by their employers. This article briefly reviews literature on disability and work and summarizes the data on the employment of individuals with disabilities. It addresses litigation trends prior to several significant U.S. Supreme Court rulings the ADA made in 1999 and compares them with litigation trends following the issuance of these rulings. The article concludes that the law needs to be amended if it is to serve those individuals with disabilities who are capable of productive employment but whose impairments do not fit the judicially narrowed definition of disability in the ADA.
ISSN:0019-8676
1468-232X
DOI:10.1111/1468-232X.00274