Essay - Americans with Disabilities Act the Americans with Disabilities Act (Ada)...

Americans with Disabilities Act

The Americans ***** Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law last July 26, 1990. As a bill, the ADA enjoyed strong support from then President George Bushy. It w*****s overwhelmingly approved by both houses of Congress, garnering only six nay votes in the Senate and only 28 in the House of Representatives (Hudgins 1997).

Part of the reason why the ADA ***** strong bipartisan ***** was its focus on individual civil rights. While previous laws have made it unlawful to discriminate against *****s on ***** basis of race, gender or religi*****, the ADA has made it illegal to discriminate ***** people based on *****ir disabil*****y. Under the new law, a person's dis*****bility -- whether physical or mental -- should not be a basis f***** decisions regarding employment. Furthermore, people who have disabilities should also e allowed access ***** public places, like schools, theaters and shopping malls ("Disability and the ***** with Disabilities Act" 2000).

The goal of this law is to ensure that people with ***** should still have access to equal rights ***** opportunities. Thus, a disability including blindness, deafness, deformity, paralysis, the loss of limbs and muscular disorders should not be barred from pursuing a fulfilling and happy life ("Disability and the Americans with ***** Act" 2000).

***** this, ***** first freedom safeguarded by the ADA is to protect the right of all individuals -- including the handicapped and disabled -- to seek employment opportunities. Prospective employers are thus banned from considering a person's disability as a consideration in hiring, promotion and compensation. Furthermore, employers are also required to make *****able accommodations for the needs of ***** employees in planning their workspace (Hudgins 1997). This includes changes such ***** widening aisles and building ramps for wheelchair-bound employees.

Critics have charged that the vagueness of ***** ***** provisions ***** disability ***** "reasonable accommodations" have given rise to frivolous lawsuits. They argue that ***** ***** will add ***** the costs of insurance, creating hardships for many small businesses. *****, many worry that the ADA would cause employer hostility, making it more difficult for disabled ***** to find employment. After all, cr*****ics of the law point out that ***** big employers like McDonalds already go out of their way to employ physically- and mentally-disabled employees. For many employers, the trick lies in finding a balance between "reasonable *****" ***** sound business practices ("High Court's ***** Ruling Leaves Some Accommodations Questions Unanswered" 2004).

*****, ***** *****suits filed be***** ***** ADA violations are decidedly not frivolous. Victims of employer discrimination can file complaints ***** ***** Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC will ***** take ***** cases to court on the plaintiff's **********. Since the ADA had taken effect, ***** EEOC ***** filed numerous lawsuits on behalf of employees ***** have been treated unfairly because of their disability.

In 1994, for example, Eric Baker of West Columbia, South Carolina ***** suit after his employer, the Waffle House, fired him from his position as a grill operator after suffering from