Critique of ADA and Affirmative Action To critique the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) and Affirmative Action, it is imperative that one knows that the Americans with Disabilities Act is a law and Affirmative Action is a policy. The Americans with Disability Act is a law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, public transportation, public accommodation, communication, and in governmental activities. Affirmative Action is a policy (regulation depends on the state) that is designed to provide equal opportunity (such as employment, education, and other endeavors) to groups that are discriminated and/or minorities (race/color, religion/beliefs/creed, gender, sexual orientation, and/or national origin). Within the ADA and Affirmative Action, there are pros and cons that exist.
Pros of the American Disability Act
The Americans with Disability Act has helped protect the civil rights of persons with disabilities. The passing of this law has helped many disabled individuals receive recompense for the discrimination that they faced. In 1997, Wal-Mart was found guilty of discrimination by refusing to hire an individual based on the fact that he was in a wheelchair. As part of its evidence, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission introduced a videotape showing the charging party performing many physically challenging activities during his daily life (EEOC, 2012). As a result, he was granted $225,000 which consisted of back pay, compensatory damages, and punitive damages. Another incident occurred in 1993 where a security firm discharged their executive director because he had terminal brain cancer, although he was performing the necessary duties of his job (EEOC, 2012). As a result he was rewarded $220,000 in back pay, compensatory damages, and punitive damages as well.
Due to the ADA, many employers have jobs available for people with disabilities. Disney and Target are two prime examples of the positive impact that this law has for people with disabilities. As a teenager, I worked side by side with people who were developmentally delayed and hearing impaired. I also had experience working with deaf employees at Target in my early 20s. As a result of the ADA, public transportation, voting booths, buildings, offices, and different public entities have accommodations for people with disabilities. For example, buses have designated areas for wheelchairs; customer service via telephone has devices to assist customers who are hearing impaired and elevators and banks have devices for hearing and visually impaired people. Because of ADA, the public school system, colleges, and universities accommodate people with disabilities. Services such as special education, resource specialist, and disability services at colleges and universities are examples of the positive influence of this law.
Cons of ADA
Although the ADA requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities, unless it would cause undue hardship (ADA, 1990), this seems to be very costly. ADA’s undue hardship is defined as an action requiring significant difficulty or expense, when considered in light of factors set forth in the reasonable accommodation clause (ADA, 1990). Reasonable accommodations may include making existing facilities used by employees readily accessible to and usable with disabilities; and job restructuring, modifying work schedules, modification of devices, appropriate adjustments of examinations, training materials, or polices (ADA, 1990). Complying with this section of the ADA would seem to have a costly fiscal impact. Some companies may not have the funding to comply. Reorganizing, restructuring, remodeling, etc is not only costly but also very time consuming.
Pros of Affirmative Action Affirmative Action has provided many minorities with opportunities that they would not have received if Affirmative Action was not in place. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was a beneficiary of Affirmative Action as an undergraduate at Holy Cross College (Cohen & Solomon, 1995). At Holy Cross College, Clarence Thomas received a scholarship set aside for racial minorities. He was admitted to Yale Law School in 1971 as part of an aggressive (and successful) affirmative-action program with a clear goal: 10 percent minority enrollment (Cohen & Solomon, 1995). Another example of how Affirmative Action has helped minorities was the 1980 Fullilove v. Klutznick case that gave Congress the power to require state and local construction projects, using federal funds, to reserve ten percent of those funds to purchase goods or services from minority business enterprises, in order to remedy past societal discrimination (Americans for A Fair Chance, 2012).
Cons of Affirmative Action Many people view Affirmative Action as a form of reverse discrimination. Some people, including myself (in very specific situations), view the use of affirmative action as being used for the sake of being socially or politically correct. For example, I know of employers who have hired minorities just to keep the company diverse to avoid lawsuits and issues within the company and the community. Many people have argued that Affirmative Action gives preference to minority groups instead of the skills, accomplishments, and qualifications of the individuals. Some view Affirmative Action as forcing employers to hire minorities which will eventually lead to violence. Some do not believe that Affirmative Action helps end discrimination.
References
ADA. (1990). American With Disabilities Act of 1990. Retrieved from http://www.ada.gov/archive/adastat91.htm#Anchor-Sec-11481
Americans For a Fair Chance. (2012). Legal Cases Related to Affirmative Action. Retrieved from http://www.civilrights.org/equal-opportunity/fact-sheets/fact_sheet_packet.pdf
Cohen, J., & Solomon, N. (1995). Clarence Thomas: Poster Boy For Affirmative Action. Retrieved from http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19950626&slug=2128294
EEOC. (2010). The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Retrieved from http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/fs-ada.html
EEOC. (2012). The Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990. Retrieved from http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/history/35th/1990s/ada.html