The American Disabilities Act Of 1990

The American Disabilities Act of 1990 has said to be the most far-reaching impact on the United States workplace since the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Yet most of the Americans are not sure about the meaning of key terms used in the Act. There are many studies that unravel the confusion about the term disability and clarify what conditions are covered and what are not. The American Disabilities Act of 1990 defines the term disability as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual or a record of such impairment or being regarded as having such an impairment.

The American Disabilities Act of 1990 completely covers more than just people who are deaf, blind, or use wheelchairs. The act also covers those people who have physical conditions, such as medical disorders, cosmetic disfigurement and severe damage or loss to a body part or system. Examples of the disorders include paralysis, epilepsy, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, HIV infection, or severe forms of arthritis, hypertension or carpal tunnel syndrome and also alcoholism; people with mental health disorders such as mental illness or retardation, learning disabilities and psychological disorders such as major depression, bipolar (manic-depressive) disorder, dyslexia, and mental retardation.

While dealing with American Disabilities Act issues, people should avoid engaging in medical diagnosis. As an alternative people should focus on the effect a disability has on a person's life. This actually takes people to major life activities. Nothing strange here -- breathing, seeing, speaking, hearing, walking, performing manual tasks, learning, caring for oneself, working, etc. Thus people have been talking about actual impairments. The American Disabilities Act of 1990 also covers a person with a record of any such impairment. For instance cancer that is now in remission, a recovering alcoholic, or a person who has recovered from mental illness. A person who is considered as having impairment particularly if people were to act based on fears, myths, or stereotypes; such as although AIDS is a disability, homosexuality is not; however, if an employer were to treat gay persons as if they had AIDS, that would be covered under American Disabilities Act of 1990.

A person who is related with people with disabilities for example, a person whose spouse has a disability and the employer is concerned about excessive absenteeism or health insurance costs; or someone who does volunteer work for people with AIDS and there's an unwarranted fear of infection; not all the physical or mental conditions are covered, however, these followings are not protected under American Disabilities Act of 1990; minor, non-chronic conditions of short duration, such as a sprain, broken limb, or flu. Individual people who currently engage in the illegal use of drugs; advanced age or pregnancy; compulsive gambling, kleptomania and pyromania; Homosexuality, bisexuality, transvestitism, sexual behavior disorders job performance limitations due strictly to environmental, cultural or economic factors such as poverty. For instance inability to read due to dyslexia is covered; but if due to lack of education, it is not covered job performance problems due strictly to personality or character traits, such as irresponsibility, bad temper, computer phobia, shyness.

• Emma Bullock
• 12/02/2009, 6:59 PM
• 0 Comments