Help for The Disabled

Hard as it may be to eradicate, discrimination against women and minorities in the workplace has been illegal in America for years. But for people with physical and mental disabilities, substantial obstacles to suitable employment have remained in place -- until now. On July 26, a major new law, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), went into effect for companies with 25 or more employees -- which means that 87% of U.S wage earners will be covered.

The statute, which bans discrimination against those who are blind, deaf, mentally retarded, hiv positive, physically impaired or have cancer or epilepsy, is designed to help more than 10 million Americans move into the mainstream of the working world. "This is the 20th century Emancipation Proclamation for people with disabilities," says Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, the law's chief sponsor.

Under the act, employers are forbidden to discriminate in hiring, promotions and firing. They are also compelled, if it is not too burdensome, to offer "reasonable accommodations" -- things like a ramp for a wheelchair or a sound amplifier on a phone -- to people with disabilities. The fuzziness of that language has prompted many of the 264,000 employers covered by the act to seek advice about their new obligations, especially since they face stiff financial penalties if they violate its provisions. Says Bobby Silverstein of the Senate Subcommittee on Disability Policy: "Companies are sending human- resources employees to seminars and sensitivity training, reading manuals and meeting with disabilities-rights advocates."

Smaller companies have been concerned about the costs of the new law and its potential for generating lawsuits. But Nancy Fulco, an attorney with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which supported the bill, argues that economic benefits will outweigh the costs. "The business community is in desperate need of qualified labor, and this opens up a huge untapped resource of workers," she says. The EEOC, which administers the ADA, estimates that the average cost of accommodating a disabled worker will be $260. The act is expected to save the government $220 million a year by helping people with disabilities get off public assistance and onto the tax rolls.