The Americans with Disabilities Act Compliance - Essay Example

ADA Compliance The Americans with Disabilities Act, ADA (1990) entails civil rights law, which hinders discrimination according to disability. ADA requires the management of organizations to provide appropriate accommodations to the staffs with disabilities. The act also ensures adequate accessibility by the disabled persons, to the public accommodations. ADA caters for both physical and mental aspects of disabilities. The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission illustrates several disability conditions covered under ADA.

These conditions include; intellectual disabilities, HIV infection, deafness, mobility impairments, multiple sclerosis, depressive disorder, compulsive disorder, and blindness (Hamilton, 2013). Staffs should be trained on ADA compliance. The training is diverse, and ensures that employees with disabilities are comfortable in the work environment. The training should focus on the rights of the employees with disabilities. One right that disabled employees must be given, especially by the management staffs, is promotion opportunities for qualified individuals including the disabled.

The employees must also be trained on flexible work arrangements, so as to effectively accommodate staffs with disabilities. For example, assisting employees to telecommute, and hence, work at home effectively using telecommunication devices like internet enabled computers (Schall, 2011). The work experience of the disabled staffs can be empathetically improved by all employees. The employees should participate in teamwork. Teamwork encourages equal participation, especially during decision making.

The disabled staffs, who embrace team spirit, have adequate opportunities of engaging in communication that will improve the productivity of the organization. The disabled staffs should be effectively considered in the succession planning of the organization. Succession planning ensures that the disabled staffs are continuously equipped with the appropriate skills, knowledge and experience, so that they occupy management and leadership positions when required. Communication techniques in the organization should be friendly to the disabled employees.

Sign language, Braille communication, and visual aids should be integrated in the formal communication system of the organization. Effective implementation of ADA in the workplace has challenges. One challenge entails financial resources. Ensuring sufficient ADA compliance requires financial budgetary allocations. Organizations which experience financial challenges or losses, cannot effectively adopt ADA practices; for example, developing adequate accommodations for all disabled employees. Another challenge is that ADA quietly reduces the employment levels of people with disabilities (Switzer, 2013).

Employers in some cases do not prefer employing disabled people, because of related legal and financial risks. The probability of being sued for not complying with ADA is very high. The legal cases are very costly and can reduce the reputation and image of the company. Employers should put more effort towards addressing the challenges. The employers should adequately budget for the programs that benefits the disabled employees, like accommodation and trainings. Budgetary allocations ensure the availability of enough funds, to cater for the welfare and career growth of the disabled employees (Schall, 2011).

The employers should also seek expert services, on how to effectively manage the disabled employees in compliance with the laws of the United States. The legal and employment experts have adequate competencies to advice organizations on the best practices regarding working conditions of the employees with disabilities. References Hamilton, Krieger. (2013). Backlash Against the ADA: Reinterpreting Disability Rights Ann Arbor. Michigan: University of Michigan Press. Schall, Carol. (2011). “The Americans with Disabilities Act—Are We Keeping Our Promise?

An Analysis of the Effect of the ADA on the Employment of Persons with Disabilities.” Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, v10 n3 pp. 191–203. Switzer, Jacqueline. (2013). Disabled Rights: American Disability Policy and the Fight for Equality. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.