Office for Disability Services
Disability Laws and Their Impact
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) is a federal law that guarantees protection from discrimination for qualified individuals on the basis of disability. The ADA upholds and extends prior laws to include services in the public and private sector, communications, transportation, and employment practices. The law states that "No covered entity shall discriminate against a qualified individual with a disability because of the disability of such individual."
The United States Congress found that there are over 43,000,000 Americans that have one or more physical disabilities and this number is increasing as the population is growing older. Historically, society has tended to isolate and segregate individuals with disabilities, and in spite of recent improvements, discrimination against individuals with disabilities continues to be a serious and pervasive social problem.
The ADA defines disability as: a) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, such as walking, seeing, or learning; b) a record of having such an impairment; or c) being regarded as having such an impairment. This definition includes obvious physical disabilities as well as a broad range of hidden disabilities such as psychological disorders, chronic health impairments (such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), cancer, HIV/AIDS, alcoholism, and learning disabilities.
A qualified person with a disability is an individual who meets the skill, experience, education, and other job-related requirements of a position held or desired, and who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of a job.
Reasonable accommodation is a modification or adjustment which will make a facility or program accessible, enabling a qualified individual with a disability to enjoy equal opportunities. The ADA requires reasonable accommodations as a means of overcoming unnecessary barriers that prevent or restrict opportunities for otherwise qualified individuals with disabilities.
The Congress states that, "The nation's proper goals regarding individuals with disabilities are to assure equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency."
Ohio University is committed to providing opportunities for qualified disabled persons in education, employment, and promotion by means of reasonable accommodation. Further, while the University carries out its policies of program accessibility, the elimination of architectural and attitudinal barriers will be vigorously pursued.
