THE DENVER POST
Saturday, September 9, 1989

[Headline] New disabled-rights bill will challenge society

By Charles Green
Knight-Ridder News Service

WASHINGTON — When Congress banned discrimination against blacks 25 years ago, the premise of the legislation was straightforward: Blacks and other racial minorities were supposed to be treated like everyone else.

Now, as Congress moves to prohibit bias against the physically and mentally disabled, it is finding that discrimination is not so easy to define.

ls it discriminatory, for instance, for a department store to stock merchandise that is out of reach of a customer in a wheelchair?

Is it discriminatory for an employer to reject blind job applicants who would need someone to occasionally read memos and papers to them?

Is it discriminatory for a child-care center to refuse to hire someone infected with the AIDS virus?

Those are some of the questions that government regulators and the courts are likely to be addressing once the Americans with Disabilities Act, which passed the Senate Thursday night, becomes law.

“In terms of its impact on American society, this is going to bring an equal if not greater change to society than the Civil Rights Act of 1964,” predicted the bill’s chief Senate sponsor, Democrat Tom Harkin of Iowa.

But reconciling the sweeping promises of the new legislation with the economic realities of modern American life won't be easy. “I’m not sure we're not going to be revisiting this legislation" after its effects are better known, predicted Sen. Dale Bumpers, D-Ark., chairman of the Senate Small Business Committee.

The legislation still must clear the House and be signed by President Bush, but few obstacles are expected. Bush has already endorsed the measure and House sponsors predict swift consideration, starting with hearings next week.

The bill holds both enormous promise for the estimated 43 million disabled Americans and countless questions for the employers, business establishments and transit operators that would have to comply with it.

The bill’s promise stems from its rationale: that disabled Americans can participate more fully in society if barriers to their participation are removed.

“It will be the legal and philosophical foundation on which to build a truly equal opportunity society," said Justin Dart, chairman of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities.

“Equal opportunity for the disabled is wonderful. Nobody is going to argue with that, but the practical realities are that there will be large costs associated with that,” said Nancy Fulco, an attorney with the Chamber of Commerce of the United States.

And, as Fulco noted, Congress wants businesses to pick up the costs. Thus far, it has included no financial assistance or tax breaks to help firms comply with the expense of complying with the disabilities bill.

The bill requires employers to make workplace changes to accommodate disabled employees unless they would cause an “undue hardship." But the determination of “hardship” is left for regulators and the courts to decide.

Likewise, businesses must be made accessible to disabled customers so long as the alterations are “readily achievable,” another standard that will be left for regulators and courts to determine.

The changes won't be required at once. Many provisions will not take effect for two years after enactment. Even so, it could take years for businesses to sort out what’s required and for the disabled to begin feeling the impact of the law.

“There's no doubt in my mind that the first time some businesses find out about this is when they‘re slapped with a lawsuit," said Fulco. "Small businesses will have to hire an attorney to tell them what they should be doing or not doing.“

Created on

Friday 12 July 2013

Posted on

Wednesday 22 July 2015

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43 million, ADA, discrimination, mental disabilities

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