Former Iowa Senator and ADA Sponsor Tom Harkin leads Disabiltity Pride Parade
If I asked you what is the largest protected class under civil rights law in the US, what would be your answer? African Americans or Hispanic citizens perhaps?
Would the very large minority group made up of those who have a legally recognized disability even be on your radar? Probably not, as I can find no one writing about this group on Daily Kos.
Here are the 2010 numbers from the US Census Bureau
54 million
Number of people who have a disability. They represent 19 percent of the civilian noninstitutionalized population.
That makes this group almost the same proportion of citizens as the Hispanic population in the United States.
Here is a further statistical breakdown by age:
5 percent of children 5 to 17 have disabilities.
10 percent of people 18 to 64 have disabilities.
38 percent of adults 65 and older have disabilities.
Source: 2008 American Community Survey
With a rapidly aging society as the Baby Boomer cohort reaches retirement age and its members develop disabilities as part of the normal aging process, this group is expected to increase in numbers in the future.
Twenty-five years ago, our nation committed itself to the elimination of discrimination against people with disabilities—through the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division plays critical role in enforcing the ADA, working towards a future in which all the doors are open to equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, integration and economic self-sufficiency for persons with disabilities.
Disability Rights advocates celebrate ADA Anniversary in NY.
The ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, State and local government, public accommodations, commercial facilities, transportation, and telecommunications.
To be protected by the ADA, one must have a disability or have a relationship or association with an individual with a disability. An individual with a disability is defined by the ADA as a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, or a person who has a history or record of such an impairment.
The ADA does not specifically name all of the impairments that are covered.
Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 prohibits private employers, state and local governments, employment agencies and labor unions from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in job application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, job training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. The ADA covers employers with 15 or more employees, including state and local governments. It also applies to employment agencies and to labor organizations. The ADA’s nondiscrimination standards also apply to federal sector employees under section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended, and its implementing rules.
According to the EEOC, An individual with a disability is a person who:
Has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities;
Has a record of such an impairment; or
Is regarded as having such an impairment.
The ADA has other Titles and has impacted public transit, telecommunications, education, and accessible construction. For a full discussion of these areas see
http://www.eeoc.gov/.... Together with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, an education law), it has also created greater opportunities for those in primary and secondary schools and those pursuing higher education.
This is from the US DOJ site on how the ADA benefits Older adults.
This is a diverse group in many ways. Their one certain commonality is that they will experience at least some physiological and cognitive changes and, perhaps, disability as they age. The 2000 U.S. Census found that 41.9% of adults 65 years and older identified themselves as having a disability. For the remaining percentage of those 65 and older, the changes may be less severe but are likely to affect everyday life nonetheless.
Whether older adults have disabilities or not, they benefit from accessible features and customer service practices in stores, museums, restaurants, printed publications, and online shopping, among others
The Americans with Disabilities Act can be said to protect
those with disabilities from the beginning to the end of life.
As the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act approaches this month, a new project focuses on people within the disability community who share their stories.
The effort known as the Disability Visibility Project kicked off last spring as a community partnership with StoryCorps, a national nonprofit that allows everyday people to record casual, one-on-one conversations in an effort to preserve history. The recordings have been featured on NPR’s “Morning Edition.”