Workers with disabilities - Research Paper Example

?Workers with Disabilities Executive Summary The protection of the human rights of the people suffering from disabilities and their employment has been taken up very seriously by the Federal Government of the United States. The government has passed numerous regulations and also set up many committees to safeguard the interest of the disabled. The legislations aim to ensure that both the public and the private organizations accommodate the eligible and qualified disabled individuals in their system. The workers suffering from disabilities can perform well if provided with opportunities and appropriate accommodations by their employing organizations. However, there are instances of biasness and discrimination against such individuals on the basis of their disabilities. Thus, regardless of the vast economic development throughout the world and the enormous progress made in the field of anti-discrimination against individuals on the basis of their race, nationality, gender, color as well as disabilities, the workers with disabilities continue to face workplace or employment discrimination till date. The study attempts to analyze the current situation and legal precedence prevalent regarding the prevention of workplace discrimination on the base of disabilities. For this purpose, the study discusses the Federal Laws in practice to prohibit such kind of discriminations amongst the individuals. The study also discusses the role played by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in providing a fair environment to all individuals irrespective of their disabilities. The role of the EEOC on instances of alleged discrimination by the employees has also been discussed. The study confers about the history of the formation of the prevalent federal regulations against disability discrimination. The study is significant because in spite of the numerous regulations implemented by the Government of US and enormous effort made by the Government, there is still large number of discrimination cases visible. Therefore, the study is significant to understand the past context and the present scenario of workplace discrimination against the disabled population. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Introduction 5 Workers with Disabilities Continue To Face Workplace/Employment Discrimination 6 History of the Anti-Disability Discrimination Movement 8 Current Federal Laws Prohibiting Job Discrimination against the Disabled Workers 11 Conclusion 13 References 15 Introduction Disability is a very wide concept and hence there are various perceptions and definitions of disability. The Oxford dictionary defines disability as a “physical incapacity that is either congenital or caused by injury or disease limiting an individual’s ability to work” (Mathaphuna, 2007). The Americans with Disability Act defines disability as “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of an individual, a record of such an impairment and being regarded as having such an impairment” (The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2011). The disabled people all over the world generally face a lot of discrimination in their workplace, though they are otherwise competent in their work. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which was formed in 1965 under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, imposed laws prohibiting the discrimination by the employers amongst their employees on the basis of race, religion, nationality, color, gender, age or disability. The EEOC had enforced regulations against any kind of discrimination in hiring, promotion, dismissal, salary and all the other relevant terms as well as conditions of employment. The government of United States realized the significance of guarding the interests of the disabled people and checking unjust treatment of the disabled employees. The American with Disability Act (ADA) was hence passed in 1990, to minimize the workplace discrimination against the disabled workers. The Act banned discrimination against the individuals who suffered from any kind of disability and also necessitated the managers to contain disabled employees in their organizations. The discrimination could be in terms of hiring, dismissal and compensation (The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2009). Workers with Disabilities Continue To Face Workplace/Employment Discrimination Discrimination faced by the disabled workers are usually involved in all the facets of their office life, which consist of their recruitment, promotions, remuneration, other benefits, pension savings, and leaves among others. The Americans with Disabilities Act offers the disabled individuals a lot of protections against discrimination. The Title I and Title V of the ADA take care of the prevention of discrimination against the employees in the public as well as the private sector. Even though discrimination of disabled persons at their workplace had been made illegal, there are instances of such occurrences which can be evidenced by the large number of complaints received by the EEOC. In the year 2010, the EEOC received more than 25,000 complaints of accusations filed under the ADA. It could be observed that the number of complaints under the ADA charges increased by around 15%, in comparison to the preceding year’s figure of 21,451. The rate of increase in disability discrimination charges was the highest of all the categories of charges under the EEOC (The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2010). Unemployment as well as underemployment had been the major hurdle against the self-dependency and the quality of existence wanted by millions of Americans who are suffering from disabilities. This is in spite of the progress United States has made in the last few decades to enable the citizens with disabilities to completely participate in the community. The vast economic growth and considerable developments in professional rehabilitation practice, and assistive equipments, in addition to the regulations defending the rights of the disabled human resources have not been able to increase the ‘labor market activity rate’ for the disabled adults, which have remained constant at 1/3 (McMahon, 2005). According to a UNESCO report at the World Summit on Social Development in 1995, in the UK and the US around 67% of the people in the age group 15-64 suffering from disabilities are without a job. This is in contrast to the scenario concerning the non-disabled people, where only 32% of the people belonging to the identical age group were jobless (Hurst, 1995). This discloses the prevalent disparity and discrimination amongst the millions of disabled population in the US. History of the Anti-Disability Discrimination Movement Personalities such as Helen Keller and Franklin Roosevelt had proved to the world that they were not less competent in their work due to their physical disability. Helen Keller was the foremost deaf and blind individual to graduate from college. She had published her autobiography, ‘The Story of my Life’ in 1903. Helen Keller became the principal finance raiser of the American Foundation for the Blind, which was established in the year 1921. In the year 1933, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was declared as the president of the United States of America. Franklin Roosevelt was the first gravely physically disabled individual to be designated as the head of the Federal government. He suffered from polio that paralyzed his leg muscles and also his lower abdomen. In the year 1935, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act, which provided federal old-age reimbursements and also offered grants to the states for providing aid to blind persons as well as disabled kids. The Social Security Act also extended to the previously existing occupational rehabilitation programs that were set up by earlier regulations. Franklin Roosevelt was very apprehensive about the disabled individuals and had hence provided Helen Keller the maximum Federal support for the betterment of the blind. The Social Security Act was amended in 1950, to set up a national state program to support the permanently and completely disabled individuals. In the year 1952, the President's Committee on Employment of the Physically Handicapped was set up in the form of a permanent organization. This committee reported directly to the President and the Congress. In the same year, Henry Vicardi established a job training as well as placement program named Abilities, Inc., for the disabled people, by means of a personal loan. During 1954, in the Brown versus Board of Education of Topeka, the U.S. Supreme Court passed the judgment that separate educational institutes for the black and the white children were essentially unequal and undemocratic. This crucial Supreme Court decision became an igniting force for the African-American civil rights movement. The civil rights movement in turn became a chief motivation for the disability rights movement in the US. Following this, the Congress passed the Amendments for the Vocational Rehabilitation, which approved federal grants to develop programs existing for the physically disabled people. The Director of the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, Mary Switzer made use of this right to finance over 100 university-based programs for the rehabilitation of the physically disables (Federal Transit Administration, 1997). Gini Laurie was appointed as the editor of the Toomeyville Gazette in 1958, which was in due course renamed as the Rehabilitation Gazette. This publication became an initial voice for the disability civil rights, self-sufficient living as well as cross-disability systematization. The gazette published articles by disabled individuals on all facets of their disability experience. The American National Standards Institute, Inc. (ANSI) issued standard stipulations for the construction of buildings that would be accessible to, and utilizable by, the physically disabled. The standard set by the ANSI developed into the foundation for all the succeeding architectural access policies. With the passage of time the President's Committee on Employment of the Physically Handicapped augmented their interest in the employment problems and concerns of the disabled people. Eventually, the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964, which prohibited bias on the basis of any individual’s race in communal accommodations and service opportunities. The Civil Rights Act developed into a model for ensuing disability rights regulations in the US. The deaf and hearing-impaired people were highly benefitted from the invention of the ‘acoustic coupler’ by Robert H. Weitbrecht. The acoustic coupler was a type of telephone modem, which enabled teletypewriter communications to be transmitted through standard telephone connections. This development led to the widespread utilization of teletypewriters for the hearing-impaired people, as it gave them access to the telephone. This followed by the publication of the first dictionary on American Sign Language, which established the legality of the American Sign Language. In the year 1968, the Architectural Barriers Act was formulated, which required that buildings and facilities build by the federal government be made accessible to the physical disabled people. This act is by and large believed to be the primary federal disability rights regulation. In the 1970, Judith Heumann formed a movement called the ‘Disabled in Action’, following her triumphant employment discrimination court case against the New York's public school structure. The movement arranged demonstrations and also filed lawsuit in support of disability rights, in all the major cities of the US (Federal Transit Administration, 1997). In the Wyatt versus Stickney case in 1971, the US District Court of Alabama passed the verdict that the disabled people have the legitimate right ‘to receive personal medical treatment as that would provide them a reasonable chance to be restored to health or to improve their condition.’ According to the ruling, disabled people could not be merely locked in custodial organizations devoid of treatment and education. In 1972, in both the lawsuits of Mills versus Board of Education and the PARC versus Pennsylvania, the respective US District Courts passed the ruling that the disabled children could not be exempted from the public schools. Similarly, in the case of Southeastern Community College versus Davis, the US Supreme Court passed the verdict that under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the institutes that were granted federal funds should make sensible modifications in their structure to allow the participation of qualified and eligible disabled persons (Federal Transit Administration, 1997). The Americans with Disabilities Act was formulated and passed in 1990. The law provided complete legal citizenship to the disabled Americans. This act mandated private and public organizations not to discriminate against eligible disabled candidates and employees and also if required, to provide them with sensible modifications in the system. In spite of the progress made in the anti discrimination movements, there were many instances when individuals were discriminated merely on the basis of their disabilities. For instance, the Stanford University School of Medicine refused to conduct a heart-lung transplant on Sandra Jensen, since she was suffering from Down syndrome. The University subsequently undertook the transplant after much force from the disability human rights protesters (Federal Transit Administration, 1997). Current Federal Laws Prohibiting Job Discrimination against the Disabled Workers There are many federal laws and acts in the US, which safeguard the rights of the worthy and eligible people who suffer from disabilities. The aspiring candidates or the employees of many of the private companies, state as well as local governments, education institutes, employment bureaus and labor associations are guarded under the Federal Law against discrimination on disability at the workplace. Title I as well as the Title V of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, defend competent individuals against discrimination on the foundation of disability in job advertisement, appointment, promotion, release, reimbursement, fringe benefits, occupational training, categorization, recommendation, and other facets of employment. Disability discrimination by an organization comprises of not providing rational accommodation to the identified physical or mental restrictions of an otherwise competent and qualified person with a disability who is an aspirant candidate or a member of staff, with the exception of unjustifiable hardship. The aspiring candidates or the employees of the organizations that hold ‘Federal Government contracts or subcontracts’ are guarded by the Federal law against discrimination due to disabilities. The Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, guards the competent and skilled persons from discrimination on the foundation of disability in all the facets of employment including hiring, salary, promotion, transfer, and recommendation among others. Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act also necessitates that the Federal contractors undertake positive action to provide work for competent and eligible persons. The Rehabilitation Act also requires the contractor under the Federal Government to promote and advance the employed eligible persons with disabilities at all stages of service, even at the executive rank (United States Department of Labor, 2009). The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission carries out inquiries of suspected discrimination against the employees; it then makes conclusions on the basis of collected evidence. The Commission then attempts appeasement when it has been determined that discrimination had actually taken place and also files court cases if required. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission also carries out voluntary support programs for all the companies, unions, as well as the community organizations to facilitate them to become an equal employer. The Commission also has responsibility to supervise in addition to examine and settle all the compliance as well as enforcement actions of the American organizations. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission aims to provide equivalent employment opportunity to all the workers and also the applicants to the organizations and free them from discrimination due to any form of disabilities (The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, n.d.). Conclusion The government of United States had put up necessary organizing bodies and employed necessary regulations to counter discriminations against the disabled individuals at their workplace. However, all these initiatives have not resulted in the increase the employment rate of the disabled and there are still numerous complaints filed at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against alleged discrimination charges. This might be due to the absence of adequate scientific determination of the requirements and also the hurdles faced by the disabled workers, which consequently results in the employer’s failure to adjust those requirements to ensure a comfortable and unbiased work environment to the people suffering from disabilities (Mathaphuna, 2007). Moreover, the expenditures of the employers related to reasonable accommodation for the disabled employees were probably much higher than the expenditure due to legal actions for unjust dismissal of qualified disabled individuals. Thus, the accommodation expenditure had been an equally significant factor for the organizations as the apprehension of legal actions in such cases (Acemoglu & Angrist, 2001). In order to decrease the amount of discrimination, there should be more programs to facilitate the various organizations to evolve into equal opportunity employers as well as to spread awareness amongst the disables about their fundamental rights. The people suffering from disabilities and consequently facing discrimination should be aware of their rights and also the regulations and legislations supporting them. The fair knowledge of the concerned regulations would enable them to approach the EEOC, in case of any biasness by their employers, and thus help them to receive their due rights and opportunities. References Acemoglu, D. & Angrist, J. D., (2001) Consequences of Employment Protection? The Case of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Federal Transit Administration, (1997). Disability Rights Movement Timeline. Civil Rights and Accessibility. Retrieved Online on September 05, 2011 from http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/ada/civil_rights_4064.html Hurst, R., (1995). Overcoming Obstacles in the Integration of Disabled People. UNESCO Sponsored Report. Mathaphuna, M. L., (2007). The Needs And Barriers As Experienced By Employees With Physical Disabilities In The Workplace. University of Pretoria. McMahon, B. T., (2005). An Overview of the National EEOC ADA Research Project. Work, Vol. 25, Iss. 1, Pp. 1-7. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, (No Date). About EEOC. Home. Retrieved Online on September 05, 2011 from http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/ The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, (2011). The Americans With Disabilities Act: Applying Performance And Conduct Standards To Employees With Disabilities. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Retrieved Online on September 05, 2011 from http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/performance-conduct.html The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, (2009) Federal Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Laws. What Are the Federal Laws Prohibiting Job Discrimination. Retrieved Online on September 05, 2011 from http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/qanda.html The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, (2010). Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) Charges (includes concurrent charges with Title VII, ADEA, and EPA) FY 1997- FY 2010. Enforcement and Litigation Statistics. Retrieved Online on September 05, 2011 from http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/enforcement/ada-charges.cfm United States Department of Labor, (2009). Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law. Compliance. Retrieved Online on September 05, 2011 from http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/posters/pdf/eeopost.pdf Read More