The Americans with Disability Act (ADA)
John Doe
BUSI 526
October 1, 2011

The Americans with Disability Act (ADA)
Introduction
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) prohibits employers with 15 employees or more from discrimination on the basis of disability. The Act applies to all aspects of employment, including applications, hiring, training, discharge and compensation, among others (Dessler 2011). In 2008 the Act was amended creating the ADA Amendments Act of 2008. The amendment clarified the definition of disability and expanded coverage to impairments that limit routine life activities. Significantly, the amendment holds that adaptive aides and conditions that are in remission or are mitigated by medical therapy have no bearing on disability determination (USAB 2011). This paper will explore the origins of the ADA, its history, some of the controversies that surround it, new thinking about organizational theory and future trends.
History of the ADA

The ADA can be traced to the work of Frank and Lillian Galbreth, pioneers in organizational psychology and ergonomics. During the early 20th century this husband and wife team evaluated motion studies that were first done by Fredrick Taylor (Morgan 1998). The Galbreths went beyond Taylor’s work of simply examining techniques used by high performers and established training methods based on their findings. They used the cutting edge technology of motion pictures to examine how the human body was used for work tasks. They then developed principles, settings and adaptive aides that make workers physical movements more safe and efficient. Their findings created what we now call ergonomics – the study of how workplace and equipment can be designed for comfort, efficiency, safety, and productivity.

The Galbreths did much of their work during the First World War, when