Disabilities Act still has a long way to go

This year marks the 18th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which was signed into law by President George H. W. Bush in July 1990.

The legislation not only reinforced anti-discrimination laws mandated by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, i.e., people are not to be discriminated against on the basis of disability in programs conducted by federal agencies, in programs receiving federal financial assistance, in federal employment and in the employment practices of federal contractors, the ADA expanded the Rehabilitation Act by prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, state and local government, public accommodations, commercial facilities, transportation and telecommunications. It also applies to the U.S. Congress, unlike most other civil rights legislation.

The importance of the ADA has not been totally realized by our society, but because of an aging American demographic and the fact that there are 56 million Americans with disabilities in the United States, America will need to rethink how workers are recruited and retained if the 36 million people who are expected to leave their jobs by 2014 are going to be replaced.

Additionally, in 2006, there were 23.7 million veterans in the United States and 6.1 million had disabilities, according to Jonathan Kaufman, president and founder of DisabiityWorks.

Kaufman goes on to state that more than 30,000 soldiers have been wounded or injured since the start of the Iraq war. The injuries to these soldiers, like disabilities in the general population, cover the gamut relative to severity and how the disability may or may not limit one’s ability in the workplace.

More and more organizations will begin to view workers with disabilities as assets and once they do, they will come to realize how much diversity exists within the disabled community.

It is not a monolithic group, but consists of college-educated people, aging baby boomers, seniors, disabled veterans and people with cognitive or developmental disabilities.

The University of Texas Medical Branch will recognize the signing of the ADA on Tuesday with a celebration that will feature Kaufman. Born with cerebral palsy, he studied at Sarah Lawrence College and Oxford University, where he began to focus his attention on disability lifestyles, work and policy issues.

He helped to spearhead the graduate program in disability studies at the City University of New York and was one of the people intimately involved in creating The Adaptations Program at SUNY.

He has recently launched his own daily nationally syndicated radio talk show — “Disaboom Radio” — and is a widely sought after speaker.

Kaufman will be speaking at UTMB at noon Tuesday in the Levin dining room providing insight regarding what UTMB needs to do to enhance the university’s status as a disability-friendly campus and how UTMB can best design programs that will encourage people with a disability to come to UTMB to work.

This promises to be a very thought-provoking seminar. Seats are limited for this activity. If you are interested in attending, contact Georgia Leisey at geleisey(at)utmb.edu to reserve your seat.

Melvin Williams is director of the office of equal opportunity and diversity at the University of Texas Medical Branch.