How The American Disability Act (ADA) has protected the disabled workers?
How The American Disability Act (ADA) has protected the disabled workers?
The American Disability Act
(ADA) has increased the probability that disabled workers can be
included in the workforce. No longer can businesses choose to not hire a
job applicant because of autism, past episodes of cancer, or any major
or long-term factor that hinders any major life activity (eg: vision,
learning, walking, etc.). The passing of this law essentially made it
more difficult for companies to pass over candidates with health
complications that obstruct these candidates from executing major life
activities like most people without a disability.
Prior
to the ADA, it was acceptable for people with the incredible potential
to be overlooked. What if the NFL barred Tim Tebow from playing in the
league because he was dyslexic? Then, the thousands of people who
received medical care at the Tebow CURE hospital might not be alive
today. Tim Tebow's job in the NFL gave him the money necessary to create
the Tim Tebow Foundation and
ultimately the hospital in the Philippines. The ADA protected Tebow from
discrimination based on a learning disability, allowing him to tap into
his athletic potential, earn a sizeable salary, and create medical
organizations to help improve the lives of thousands of people. Another
example in popular culture of how the ADA has helped people with
disabilities can be seen in the new drama on ABC dubbed The Good Doctor.
Protagonist Shaun Murphy is an autistic surgeon. Despite Dr. Murphy's
social impairments, Dr. Murphy is a brilliant medical professional, able
to diagnose medical complications in seconds. The amount of lives Dr.
Murphy can improve through proper medical diagnosis is astronomical, and
his boss does his best to properly accommodate to Dr. Murphy's social
needs for that reason. Prior to the ADA, Dr. Murphy could have been
rejected from the hospital, as the director of the hospital has an
obvious bias against Dr. Murphy. If a major television company can
create a television drama that hinges on the ADA, then it must mean that
this law has had an enormous impact on disabled workers in the
workforce.
One
specific improvement the ADA allowed for was that it gave people in
wheelchairs the same opportunities for public transportation which can
significantly better these people's performance in the workplace. Prior
to the ADA, people with severe motor deficiencies had to abandon their
wheelchairs if they wanted to ride a bus or train. Now, imagine being in
this situation: a skilled, independently acting professional who must
be carried around like an infant because of a neuromuscular deficiency
or a spinal injury. It would make a person hate oneself for something
that is out of one's control. I will bet that the proclivity to think
negatively about oneself was probably extraordinarily high for disabled
workers before the ADA existed. This negative thought pattern would
logically decrease work productivity, (if the person with disabilities
even had a job), increase negative affect, and plummet life
satisfaction. With public transportation incorporating mechanisms to
house wheelchaired individuals, this allows professionals to maintain a
relatively normal social image, have a better self-confidence, and work
more efficiently and passionately in the workplace.
The
ADA is not only directly beneficial for people with disabilities, it is
also indirectly beneficial because of how it helps businesses generate
revenue. For instance, handicap accessible walkways and elevators not
only allow physically handicapped individuals an easier means of
navigation, but it also helps all types of people: people pushing
strollers, people navigating a heavy cart, people who have chronic back
pain, etc. The inclusivity of physically handicap accessible structures
encourages more people to go to a certain place, such as a University or
a theme park, and the increased attendance generates surplus revenue to
cover the costs to create these structures. In other words, complying
with the ADA positively impacts those who do not have a disability and
those who experience the disability. Another example of this is the
hiring of sign language interpreters. Since the 2008 financial crisis,
United States citizens have been recovering from significant
unemployment levels. Augmenting this, technology automation has also led
to a decrease in available jobs. Thankfully, the need for sign language
interpreters has not become automated, and the hiring of these
individuals, although costly for a corporation or not-for-profit
institution, pays dividends to the deaf community in the workforce.
Actress Marlee Matlin, the only deaf actress to win the Best Actress in a Leading Role
Academy Award, demonstrates the need to accommodate people with
disabilities. Matlin's success shows that some people with incredible
talent need help to overcome their barriers so that they can share that
potential with the world. Giving necessary resources to people with
disabilities allows this to happen, and it not only benefits the people
with disabilities, but it also benefits the community around those
people, as thousands of people have enjoyed Matlin's performance in Children of a Lesser God.
Prior
to the ADA, a person with a disability could barely find a job, a place
to eat, or a means to get to either a place to work or a place to dine.
People with disabilities could not efficiently navigate the cities, and
if they got to the place of interest, they would have to also overcome
the social embarrassment associated with their disability. Now, people
with disabilities have more opportunities. The ADA promises to enforce
that all people with disabilities should have an equal chance of getting
a job and achieving their goals in life. The ADA allows people with
disabilities to have the same access to public facilities and
transportation as everyone else, thereby giving these people a life that
is relatively normal and full of potential. Granted, people with
disabilities are still statistically more unemployed than their
regularly functioning counterparts, and public transportation and
facilities are still not completely handicap accessible, but progress
has been made. People with disabilities have countless more
opportunities today than they did before 1990, and the increase in
national organizations that are fighting for the rights of people with
disabilities is a promising sign that the importance of ADA will not
fade as time passes.
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