August, 2005
On July 26th, 1990, former President George Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act into law. We recently celebrated the 15th anniversary of the passage of this landmark civil rights legislation. Many advocates are finding this birthday hard to celebrate.
I just returned from a conference hosted by the National Council for Independent Living (NCIL). One of the workshop sessions detailed current efforts by the National Council on Disability (NCD) to develop an action plan for restoration of rights and protections weakened by a series of recent Supreme Court decisions involving or directly impacting the ADA.
The NCD has published a report entitled "Righting the ADA." The report analyzes the problems with these decisions and the misconceptions they have created about people with disabilities. It will form the basis for the action plan and legislation that is being drafted to restore the provisions of the law.
The recent resignation of Justice Sandra Day O' Connor from the Supreme Court has ignited a firestorm of controversy regarding how a single appointment could tip the scales on a variety of issues, not the least of which are abortion and eminent domain. My question is, where do the potential nominees stand on disability issues? Do they support the Court's prior decisions that have narrowed its protections significantly, or do they support the law as Congress originally intended it?
If you think that a law that passed 15 years ago is old news, you may be surprised to learn that the ADA Notification Act (HR 2804) has been reintroduced into Congress this year. While you may not remember the law, you will probably remember the media spectacle, the day Mr. Eastwood went to Congress.
HR 2804 mirrors prior federal legislation that would have required a 90-day notice period before a person with a disability could sue a public accommodation, (hotel, restaurant, retail store, etc) for an access violation. The premise here is that a business can fix the violation before being taken to court. Why should a business be given an extra 90 days to compile with 15-year-old requirements? Why should it be assumed that a business that is notified would actually remedy the violation? Are there any other civil rights laws that require 90 days notice prior to a lawsuit?
You can probably tell from all these questions that I don't really consider this particular birthday to be all that happy. I can only hope that the continued efforts of organizations like the NCD and NCIL will restore the protections available for people with disabilities under this Act. Then, we will truly have reason to celebrate.
For more information on the National Council on Disability log on to www.ncd.gov
The final report entitled "Righting the ADA" is available at www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2004/pdf/righting_ada.pdf
For information on the National Council on Independent Living go to www.ncil.org