The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was the
first "civil rights" legislation to prohibit discrimination
against people with disabilities. This law applied to programs
conducted by federal agencies, those receiving federal funds,
such as college participation in federal student loan programs,
federal employment, and employment practices of businesses
with federal contracts. The standards for determining employment
discrimination under the Rehabilitation Act are the same
as those used in Title I of the Americans with Disabilities
Act.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act provides
for "reasonable accommodations" for qualified individuals
and requires that these persons not be excluded from, denied
access to, or subjected to discrimination under any program.
Agencies which provide financial assistance are governed
by regulations covering all entities that receive federal
aid. In addition to reasonable accommodations, Section 504
requires access to participation in all programs, facilitates
communication for people with hearing or vision disabilities,
and provides accessible construction and alterations in
facilities. |
The Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990 (ADA) is the civil rights guarantee for persons with
disabilities in the United States. It provides protection
from discrimination for individuals on the basis of disability.
The ADA extends civil rights protections for people with
disabilities to employment in the public and private sectors,
transportation, public accommodations, services provided
by state and local government, and telecommunication relay
services.
A "person with a disability" is anyone with
a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits
one or more major life activities, such as caring for oneself,
performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking,
breathing, learning, and working. In addition to those people
who have visible disabilities-persons who are blind, deaf,
or use a wheelchair-the definition includes people with
a whole range of invisible disabilities. These include psychological
problems, learning disabilities, or some chronic health
impairment such as epilepsy, diabetes, arthritis, cancer,
cardiac problems, HIV/AIDS and more. A person is considered
to be a person with a disability if he/she has a disability,
has a record of a disability, or is regarded as having a
disability. Determining reasonable accommodations for a
person with a disability generally requires assessment and
documentation by a qualified professional. |
