Disability Rights Groups and Employer Groups Work Together on Bill to Restore ADA
Feature Story by Tyler Lewis - 6/18/2008
UPDATE: The Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act was passed by the House on June 25, 2008.
In an unprecedented act of cooperation, the disability rights, civil rights, and employer groups have agreed upon an amendment to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that will restore the landmark civil rights law to its original intent.
"I've lobbied on Capitol Hill for 25 years and rarely seen anything like the extraordinary coalition of the civil rights, disability and employer communities that have come together around the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act," said Nancy Zirkin, executive vice president of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), during the announcement of the alliance.
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer speaks with Elizabeth Goldberg, founder of the Epilepsy Foundation's Youth Council, at a June 25 press conference prior to the House vote. You can view more photos from the event on our Flickr page.
The alliance of organizations worked over the past few weeks on an agreement on clarifications to the ADA that would restore broad coverage to anyone discriminated against because of a disability.
Zirkin said that the alliance came together because it "makes sense." "It's just fair to cover the people that Congress intended to be covered by the ADA," said Zirkin.
The ADA was passed in 1990 and prohibits discrimination against Americans with physical and mental disabilities in such areas as employment, public accommodations, and transportation.
The amendment will overturn Supreme Court decisions that excluded vulnerable individuals – like people with diabetes, epilepsy, serious heart conditions, mental disabilities and even cancer – who should have been covered under the ADA.
Ari Ne'eman, founding president of the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network, said that the Supreme Court decisions "threatened to create a glass ceiling" because people with disabilities who lived relatively comfortable lives would no longer be covered under the ADA.
The groups that formed the alliance praised the amendment, which was voted out of the House Judiciary Committee and the House Education and Labor Committee overwhelmingly on June 18. "Its good for business and its good for people with disabilities…and its very good for our country," said Tom Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Tony Coelho, a former U.S. Congressman and the primary author of the Americans with Disabilities Act, said that the amendment "strikes the right balance" between protecting the rights of people with disabilities and obligations and responsibilities of employers.
The House will vote on the amendment in the coming weeks. Senate action is pending.
The groups that form the alliance include: the American Association of People with Disabilities; the American Diabetes Association; the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law; the Epilepsy Foundation; the HR Policy Association; LCCR; the National Association of Manufacturers; the National Disability Rights Network; the National Council on Independent Living; the Society for Human Resource Management; and the U.S Chamber of Commerce.
