Search

The overall aim of this study was to describe experiences of discrimination due to inaccessibility among people using mobility devices. We conducted a thematic qualitative analysis of 88 complaints about wheeled mobility device use, inaccessibility, and discrimination submitted to the Swedish Equality Ombudsman (DO) during 2015 and 2016. The analysis resulted in three themes: instigating change by invoking laws and regulations and highlighting lack of compliance; demanding to be recognised, understood, and listened to; and struggling for equal access and social participation. Regulations and treaties were invoked as the basis for complaints by people using mobility devices regarding their lack of access to physical environments and impediments to their enjoyment of their full right to participate in and contribute to society. The complaints described feelings of discrimination, the disadvantages and exclusion due to physical inaccessibility, and experiences of being prevented from living one's life as others do. Complaints filed by people using mobility devices showed that they were denied access to a wide range of contexts, including offices, theatres, restaurants, schools, and public transportation, though they desired to live an active and social life outside their homes. Filing a complaint was a way to take action, highlight present inaccessibility, and express a hope for change. Difficulties experienced by people using wheeled mobility devices can reveal knowledge important for revising existing design and renovation standards for housing and public buildings. Documenting facilitators and barriers in different environments is important for giving voice to the needs of wheeled mobility device users and revealing standards that need to be strongly enforced or revised. People using wheeled mobility devices should be supported in finding solutions in inaccessible environments, both to fulfil their wishes and to enable their participation in society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides an executive summary of the American Psychological Association's (APA's) revised Guidelines for Assessment and Intervention With Persons With Disabilities. The revision was requested by the Committee on Disability Issues in Psychology and was approved by the APA Council of Representatives in February 2022. The task force updated and expanded the guidelines' empirical bases; squarely situated the guidelines in a changing sociocultural landscape (reflected in discussions of disability models, biases and barriers, language use, intersectionality, and respectful and fair assessment and intervention); and added many concrete suggestions for conceptualizing disability and working with disabled clients and their support systems. In this executive summary, we include key points from each of the 23 guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines Bey v. City of New York — a recent Second Circuit case where four Black firefights suffering from Pseudofolliculitis Barbae (a skin condition causing irritation when shaving which mostly affects Black men) challenged the New York City Fire Department's Clean Shave Policy — with an intersectional approach utilizing legal theories of racial, disability, and religious discrimination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autonomous vehicle (AV) technology can help disabled Americans achieve their desired level of mobility. However, realizing this potential depends on vehicle manufacturers, policymakers, and state and municipal agencies collaborating to accommodate the needs of disabled individuals at different stages of trip making through information system design, vehicle design, and infrastructure design. Integrating accessibility at this stage of the AV revolution would finally allow us an opportunity to develop a transportation system that treats accessibility as a guiding principle, not as an afterthought. This paper documents accessibility considerations for disabled individuals followed by a review of relevant Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations. The review of regulations is followed by a review of nine case studies, five corresponding to the on-demand microtransit service model and four corresponding to the paratransit service model. These case studies are essentially different prototypes currently being deployed on a pilot basis. Each of these specific case studies is then evaluated for its ability to provide potential accessibility features that would fulfill the requirement set forth by relevant ADA regulations in the absence of an operator/driver. Based on this review of relevant research, ADA regulations, and case studies, recommendations are provided for researchers, private firms, policymakers, and agencies involved in AV development and deployment. The recommendations include better collaboration and adoption of best practices to address the needs of individuals with different disability types (e.g., Cognitive, Visual, Auditory). ADA regulations should be used as one of the tools in addition to universal design principles and assistive technologies in order to maximize accessibility. • Explores how accessible autonomous vehicle (AAV) technology can co-evolve with disability regulation to meet needs through information systems, vehicle, and infrastructure design. • Evaluates case studies of emerging on-demand autonomous services to see how they meet relevant Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards in the US. • Offers that vehicle design might evolve to better meet standards in the areas of 1) Voice Controlled Systems and 2) Pick Up/Drop Off Point Orientation. • Challenges that, among other collaborative improvements, public agencies can digitize transit trip data to encourage greater multimodal integration of future AAV services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Americans with Disability Act sets forth the conditions under which management is compelled to respond to informal and formal requests for accommodations, one of which is that requests must relate to essential job functions. When requests do not relate to essential job functions, employer responsiveness becomes voluntary. The difference between compelled and voluntary management responsiveness to efforts by employees with disabilities to acquire workplace accommodations is import to the decision-making processes of employees with disabilitiess as is discussed here for the benefit of employees with disabilities, their supervisors, and advocates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a telephone survey of outpatient physicians in the U.S. to determine the extent to which they understand their legal obligations to patients under the American With Disabilities Act (ADA). Topics covered include their understanding of their responsibility in ensuring the provision of equitable care to patients with disability, their perceived risk of ADA lawsuits, and the associations among physician characteristics, their knowledge of ADA, and perceived lawsuit risk.

This article summarizes the facts and rulings of a recent representative federal appeals court decision concerning the legal claims of two school nurses who lost their positions after advocating on behalf of students with diabetes. Their primary claim was the anti-retaliation protection under the pair of federal laws prohibiting disability discrimination—Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The second of the two nurses additionally asserted protection under this pair of laws based on her own asserted disabilities. The discussion reveals the sometimes significant difference between legal requirements, as determined by appellate courts, and professional norms, as perceived by practitioners and professors in school nursing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the decision of U.S. Supreme Court in the case Olmstead v. L.C. which affirmed the right of disabled Americans to spend their days in integrated settings. It mentions decision applied the Americans with Disabilities Act's (ADA) "integration regulation," and characterized the segregation of disabled people as a form of discrimination. It also mentions development of community-based service systems across the U.S.

The article focuses on the panel discussion on decision on the U.S. Supreme Court in the case Olmstead v. L.C. and E.W. It mentions legal research and legislative history research on the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) and people with severe disabilities living in institutions. It also mentions background in the Fourteenth Amendment and motion for summary judgment.

The article focuses on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) associational disability provision. Topics discussed include the protections and limitations of this provision, the differences between the ADA and the Florida Civil Rights Act (FCRA) with respect to disability discrimination, and the various categories of associational disability discrimination claims.

This article examines a case in which the plaintiff filed suit complaining of a lack of physical accessibility issues under Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and professional judgement issues under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article claims in support of the idea that Title II applies to hosts providing public accommodations in the sharing economy. Topics discussed include the lawsuit against Airbnb alleging race discrimination, "Selden v. Airbnb, Inc.;" advancements in public accommodations that applies to the sharing economy; and regulation of landlords under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Fair Housing Act.

United States' courts have played a limited, yet key, role in shaping health equity in three areas of law: racial discrimination, disability discrimination, and constitutional rights. Executive and administrative action has been much more instrumental than judicial decisions in advancing racial equality in health care. Courts have been reluctant to intervene on racial justice because overt discrimination has largely disappeared, and the Supreme Court has interpreted civil rights laws in a fashion that restricts judicial authority to address more subtle or diffused forms of disparate impact. In contrast, courts have been more active in limiting disability discrimination by expanding the conditions that are considered disabling and by articulating and applying the operative concepts "reasonable accommodation" and "other qualified" in the context of both treatment and insurance coverage decisions. Finally, regarding constitutional rights, courts have had limited opportunity to intervene because, outside of specially protected arenas such as reproduction, constitutional law gives government wide discretion to define health and safety goals and methods. Thus, courts have had only a limited role in shaping health equity in the United States. It remains to be seen whether this will change under the Affordable Care Act or whatever health reform measure might replace it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Essay enriches the social model of disability by analyzing the interaction between disability and gender. The modern disability rights movement is built upon the social model, which understands disability not as an inherent personal deficiency but as the result of the environment with which an impairment interacts. The social model is reflected in the accommodation mandate of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1991 (ADA), which holds employers responsible for the limiting aspects of their workplace designs. This Essay shows that the environmental limitations imposed upon impairments result not only from the physical aspects of a workplace but also from identity-based stereotypes, biases, and oppressions that affect how disability is experienced and perceived. Specifically, this Essay furthers the social mode. by challenging the existing gender neutral view of the causes and consequences of disability. The analysis reveals how ignoring gender has enabled masculine norms to become embedded in the ADA's substantive and procedural approaches to defining and remedying disability discrimination in the workplace. As a result of this inattention to gender, women with disabilities have suffered serious social and economic consequences. This Essay demonstrates, more generally, how ignoring other social identities renders nonprototypic members of the disabled community legally invisible, and it reveals how attending to other social identities may advance the social model of disability, deepen our understanding of disability discrimination, and empower disability rights law to serve a more diverse group of individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper interrogates the language of the legal precedents of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and their function, including the 1891 Immigration Law and the series of ‘ugly laws’ that spanned from the late nineteenth century until the early twentieth century. Legislative language is used to construct and deploy static definitions of normalcy and disability, relying on ‘objective’ evidence couched in medical and scientific discourse. The purpose of this paper is to uncover the legislative precedents of the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA) that were motivated by the eugenicist imperative to strengthen the image of a productive and robust nation. I begin by outlining eugenicist logic and demonstrate how it functions within a semiotic system. Then, I will introduce the process by which eugenicist logic works within legal semiotics. Lastly, I will provide three examples of how this process functions in the legislative language and implementation of the 1891 Immigration Act, the ‘ugly laws’ and the ADAAA. Ultimately, I will demonstrate how all three provide evidence of a pattern of semiotic systems that pathologize human difference and manages these differences so as to segregate and disenfranchise in the name of nationalism. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Federal legislation, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504, and the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, mandates that individuals with disabilities be integrated in all aspects of life from education to employment to independent living. A recent development involves a settlement reached between the United States and the State of Rhode Island/City of Providence regarding sheltered workshops. States must ensure the availability of a continuum of alternative settings that span from restrictive (e.g., sheltered workshops) to fully integrated, community-based, competitive employment. The use of sheltered workshops as categorical, permanent, segregated practice is discriminatory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mental illness and disability affect millions of individuals yearly in the U.S. The most important legislation protecting the mentally disabled in the workplace in the U.S. over the last half century has been the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and its associated legislation and guidance. Although the employee should first request reasonable accommodation with the employer, evaluation by a mental health professional is one of the initial steps for individuals who report significant psychiatric symptoms that are impairing their functioning at work in the U.S.. Important regulations and laws in the United States that are essential knowledge to performing thorough mental disability evaluations include the ADA and Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA), Social Security Disability, Workers' Compensation, and private disability insurance. These laws differ in applicability and in their definitions of disability. Social Security Disability is applicable to workers who have long-term impairments regardless of whether the disability arose on or off the job, while Worker's Compensation is specific to persons with work-related illness and injuries that occur on the job (Reno, Williams, & Sengupta, ). The Social Security definition of a disabled person is a person who is not "able to engage in any substantial gainful activity because of a medically-determinable physical or mental impairment(s): that is expected to result in death, or that has lasted or is expected to last for a continuous period of at least 12 months" (Social Security Red Book, ). However, the Workers' Compensation definition of what illnesses/injuries are compensated, the level of benefits and who provides the insurance are state-specific. Due to these differences in definition of disability, it is essential for the mental health professional performing a mental disability evaluation to clarify with the referral source or referring agency which legislation and laws they feel are directly relevant to the specific situation before starting the evaluation. While the ADA and ADA Amendments Act of 2008 have had the greatest impact on the improvement of conditions for mentally disabled individuals in employment over the last 25 years, they have also been the most challenging by far for mental health experts to understand and apply (Cook, ). Interestingly, the ADA has had a much quicker effect on improving access to services for the medically disabled as compared with the mentally disabled in the U.S. (Ullman, Johnsen, Moss, & Burris, ). This article reviews the history and status of current ADA- and ADAAA-related law and employment as well as Canadian disability law and global progress towards universal disability legislation as evidenced by the 2006 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the impact of medical marijuana legalization on the employments laws in places such as Florida, and it mentions the passage of Florida's Amendment 2 to the constitution which allows people with debilitating medical conditions to use medicinal marijuana as prescribed by a Florida physician. Florida's medical marijuana law known as Charlotte's Web law is addressed, along with similar laws in Colorado and California. Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act is assessed.

The article discusses what the author refers to as the gendered nature of disability discrimination in America as of 2017, and it mentions the intersectional discrimination that some disabled women encounter. Legal protections under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act are examined, along with data regarding the number of claims filed by men and women at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Legal remedies and Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act are assessed.

The article discusses several legal cases which challenge the accessibility of commercial and public websites and mobile applications (apps) under Title III of the U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), and it mentions how the websites and apps (web technologies) of various law firms and their private sector clients may violate Title III of the ADA. According to the article, many people with disabilities rely on assistive technology to navigate web technologies and services.

Society benefits when every person has the education and skills to contribute to the best of their abilities. Education is fundamental to that ability to contribute. Access to education is a social determinant of health that can predict a student's future health, contributions, and financial opportunity even into adulthood and a potential future family. This article introduces a case study of a student with a disability and with discussion and application of statutes requiring a free and appropriate public education. The discussion includes history of support for students with disabilities, the school nurse role, and principles of nursing support, including resources for practice. Finally, a brief description provides information about important professionals who can contribute as members of the school team. Supporting students with disabilities in schools provides the foundation for their ability to function and contribute as adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article looks at a study which focuses on Deaf seniors' recent experiences with oppression and how they dealt with those experiences, and their perspectives toward their recent oppression. It mentions that Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), which protects deaf clients' rights and entitlement to be provided with effective communication. It also mentions that agencies receiving federal funds are obligated to provide interpreters for deaf patients.

The empirical literature on the impact of psychiatric disability on employment outcomes has consistently shown that individuals with psychiatric disabilities are more likely than those without to experience adverse labor market outcomes. One strategy invoked to address barriers to employment has been reasonable job accommodations, developed originally through the Americans With Disabilities Act legislation. However, little is known about the factors associated with the request for reasonable job accommodations among those with serious psychiatric disabilities. Data for this study come from a longitudinal multisite demonstration project funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Accommodations were reported by individuals with serious mental health disabilities who became employed. Results from logistic regression analysis found that those who disclosed their disability to their employers, who were more severely disabled, and who had positive social relationships were more likely to request accommodations. This study advances our knowledge of the factors that influence the decision of individuals with serious mental health disabilities to seek accommodation in the work environment and offers a framework for guiding rehabilitation counselors in ways that might help to enhance employment outcomes for this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges establishing marriage equality for same-sex couples marks a major shift in recognizing gay, lesbian, and bisexual people as a central part of the fabric of American society. Obergefell also marks the passing of the torch from "LGB" to "T"; the next civil rights frontier belongs to transgender people, for whom key barriers still remain. In January 2015, a transgender woman filed an equal protection challenge to a provision of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), which explicitly excludes several medical conditions closely associated with transgender people. In support of this challenge, lawyers for the plaintiff (and co-authors of this Article) advance a novel argument: transgender people are a "suspect" or "quasi-suspect" class entitled to heightened scrutiny. The authors further argue that the ADA's transgender exclusions are unconstitutional no matter what level of scrutiny applies because moral animus against transgender people is not a legitimate basis for lawmaking. This equal protection challenge paves the way for the extension of disability rights protection to transgender people under the Rehabilitation Act, Fair Housing Act, and state anti-disability discrimination laws that mirror the ADA. It also marks a new break for equality law--reaching far beyond disability rights to all laws that single out transgender people for disparate treatment. This challenge also informs the broader theoretical debate over the relationship between identity and impairment, and diagnosis and discrimination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Morriss v. BNSF Ry. Co., the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held an employer may refuse to hire a morbidly obese individual because of his weight, and not run afoul of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)—as long as the individual’s obesity does not have a physiological cause and as long as the employer does not perceive the individual as suffering from a current physical impairment. In addition, the court held that an employer could not be held liable under the “regarded-as” prong of the ADA if it denies employment to a morbidly obese individual based solely on fear that the individual will develop a physical disability in the future. The court’s holding in Morriss will make it difficult for morbidly obese individuals to bring a claim for employment discrimination under the ADA, while providing employers practical tips on how to avoid liability with employment policies and practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although medical care delivery by one's personal physician is the paradigmatic American healthcare arrangement, in the workplace setting, many Americans undergo medical evaluations to assess their fitness for duty or degree of impairment. This Article explores the complex and evolving legal status of occupational medical evaluations. Beginning with the legal and ethical frameworks of occupational medical practice, the Article then examines the effects of increasingly detailed legal regulation under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act on employees, employers, and physicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Access to the Internet is increasingly critical for health information retrieval, access to certain government benefits and services, connectivity to friends and family members, and an array of commercial and social services that directly affect health. Yet older adults, particularly those with disabilities, are at risk of being left behind in this growing age- and disability-based digital divide. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was designed to guarantee older adults and persons with disabilities equal access to employment, retail, and other places of public accommodation. Yet older Internet users sometimes face challenges when they try to access the Internet because of disabilities associated with age. Current legal interpretations of the ADA, however, do not consider the Internet to be an entity covered by law. In this article, we examine the current state of Internet accessibility protection in the United States through the lens of the ADA, sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, state laws and industry guidelines. We then compare U.S. rules to those of OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development) countries, notably in the European Union, Canada, Japan, Australia, and the Nordic countries. Our policy recommendations follow from our analyses of these laws and guidelines, and we conclude that the biggest challenge in bridging the age- and disability-based digital divide is the need to extend accessibility requirements to private, not just governmental, entities and organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on strengthening of the disability protection for food-allergic students through the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA). Topics discussed include gaps in school-based food allergy management practices; practices for daily management of student food allergies; and educational rights provided by federal and state law.

Abstract: May 21, 2018, marks the tenth anniversary of the signing into law of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. The Congressional deliberations for GINA were long and difficult. The original bill was introduced in 1995, and for many years, it did not look as if the bill would ever emerge from committee. Several of its provisions raised concerns for insurers, employers, and other stakeholders. After thirteen years, the controversial provisions were either deleted, revised, or clarified. At this ten‐year mark, it is appropriate to take stock of GINA. In light of GINA's glacial legislative history, it is reasonable to start thinking about the necessity, wisdom, and feasibility of amending GINA or enacting new legislation to address unresolved or emerging issues of genetic discrimination and trends in genetics, genomics, precision medicine, and related technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the legal considerations and relevant terminologies regarding the presence of animals in the ambulatory cancer center. Topics mention including federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), description about service animal and advances of emotional support animal (ESA) to the individual.

The article discusses disability discrimination in relation to involuntary civil commitments in America, and it mentions legal remedies, stereotypes about mental illness, and prejudice in the U.S. Discriminatory decisions are addressed, along with interpretations of the U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and American federal laws. A dangerousness legal standard is examined, along with mental health laws, psychiatric opinions, and expert witnesses in the U.S.

The author discusses why the U.S. courts must classify the individuals with severe food allergies as having a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act (ADAA). Topics discussed include need of accommodations and protections of these individuals under ADAA, prevalence and severity of food allergies in the U.S., and history of disability law.

The article examine the legislative framework governing disabled education in the U.S. Topics discussed include prejudice and exclusion faced by people with disabilities; introduction of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act; and higher education of disabled peoples in the country.

Students with disabilities are a growing population in higher education (National Center for Education Statistics, 2009). Providing accommodations for students with disabilities can raise ethical and social justice questions and pose challenges for social work faculty, administrators, and field instructors. Social work educators must balance the legal mandates for nondiscrimination and reasonable accommodation against ethical obligations around protection of clients and preparation for practice. This article presents case examples in the context of legal analysis to help social work educators make difficult decisions about student academic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Hearing loss impacts 17 percent of the U.S. population. Recent changes to the Americans with Disabilities Act may require updates to how libraries accommodate people with hearing loss. Assistive listening technologies, such as Hearing Loop, open up more opportunities for libraries to engage with and better serve individuals with hearing loss. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses several changes to the laws which govern service animals, therapy animals, and pets as of February 2014, focusing on administrative regulations and case law on topics such as the U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and landlord-tenant law. The U.S. Fair Housing Act of 1968 is addressed, along with court cases which examine issues such as state quarantines, people with disabilities, and a brewery's no-animals policy.

The article focuses on the legal rights of people with diabetes as employees in the U.S. It notes that under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, employers are required to follow rules to ensure that workers with diabetes are treated fairly. It also notes the role of diabetes health care providers (NCP) in anticipating and identifying workplace discrimination problems.

The article focuses on the Tennessee Disability Act which regards obesity as a disability. Topics discussed include the obesity epidemic in the U.S., the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the definitions and causes of obesity. Also mentioned are the recognition of obesity as disability by the Americans with Disabilities Act As Amended (ADAAA), treatment for obesity, and the obesity-related court case Cook v. Rhode Island Department of Mental Health, Retardation, and Hospitals.

The article discusses the legal aspects of wheelchair ramps and cyberspace in relation to Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act as of May 2013, focusing on various legal interpretations of the phrase "place of public accommodation," as well as efforts to prevent discrimination against people on the basis of disability. It states that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit determined that streaming video company Netflix's website is not a place of public accommodation.

An essay is presented on legal issues related to the electronic transportation device segway in the U.S. and discusses the revised regulation of the U.S. Department of Justice related to mobility devices for persons with mobility disabilities under the U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act. It also discusses the issue of putting a ban on segways and expands on the decision of courts of appeals in court cases related to segways in the U.S.

Two conflicting stories have consumed the academic debate regard-ing the impact of deinstitutionalization litigation. The first, which has risen almost to the level of conventional wisdom, is that deinstitutionali-zation was a disaster. The second story challenges the suggestion that deinstitutionalization has uniformly been unsuccessful, as well as the causal link critics seek to draw with the growth of the homeless popula-tion. This Article, which embraces the second story, assesses the current wave of deinstitutionalization litigation. It contends that things will be different this time. The particular outcomes of the first wave of deinstitu-tionalization litigation, this Article contends, resulted from the interaction between the political dynamics surrounding that litigation and the legal claims asserted by deinstitutionalization advocates. But both those dynamics and those legal claims have changed significantly. Precisely because the first wave of deinstitutionalization litigation was so successful in moving residents out of large state institutions, the efforts of deinstitutionalization advocates have turned to ensuring the availability of adequate services in the community. This has shifted the fiscal politics of the field in ways that destabilize old political alliances but create the potential for new ones. At the same time, deinstitutionalization advocates have moved from the due process theories on which they relied in the 1970s and 1980s to an anti-discrimination theory relying on the ADA. That theory imposes a powerful incentive on states to create and fund adequate community services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of employment laws pertaining to individuals with learning disabilities in Canada and dyslexia in the UK were investigated via the extant research literature. Currently, there is very little research in this area despite Canada and the UK having laws in effect for decades. Surprisingly, their laws have been revamped despite an absence of data that measures impact and effectiveness. This finding is not unlike the Americans with Disabilities Act, reauthorized as the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments in 2008, without substantive research to guide legal policies and practices going forward. Investigation in this area is needed to seek the positive and negative effects of legislation on those with learning disabilities in Canada and dyslexia in the UK, a high incidence population that finds most employment opportunities in competitive employment. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article documents the employment discrimination experienced by Americans with a record of disability but no current disability, utilizing the Integrated Mission System of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Decisions by the EEOC in favor of charging parties with historical disabilities disproportionately exceeded those in favor of charging parties with current disabilities. This finding suggests that discrimination against persons who have only a record of disability persists in the workplace, and that this additional aspect of the definition of the term 'disability' is viable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the Integrated Mission System (IMS) of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for allegations of discrimination involving Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), allegations made by individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and by individuals with intellectual disabilities (IDs) are compared and contrasted. Key dimensions of workplace discrimination examined include: demographic characteristics of the charging parties; the industry designation, location and size of employers against whom allegations were filed; the nature of workplace discrimination alleged to have occurred; and the EEOC outcome/resolution of these allegations. The characteristics of ASD allegations are then compared and contrasted with those of ID allegations. The findings of this study imply that typical ASD and ID allegations are characteristically quite similar to each other. Differences that were found between the two groups of allegations indicate that charging parties with ASD are more likely to be a bit younger than those with ID, and are more likely to be male. Additionally, ASD allegations of discrimination were more likely than ID to have been made against Information, Educational Services, and Arts/Entertainment/Recreation industry employers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ADA Title I allegations are investigated and closed by the EEOC either with or without merit. Allegations resolved with merit indicate that actual disability employment discrimination took place against the person filing the allegation (the charging party) and those resolved without merit indicate that no discrimination took place. This study examined the drivers or predictors of merit in allegations filed by charging parties with mental illness (e.g., anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and unknown mental illness). Results indicated that the primary driver for ADA Title I allegations is [discrimination] Issue and corroborated the lower merit rate for mental illness allegations (19.83%) as compared to non mental illness allegations (23.39%). Further analysis of the Merit and Non Merit Resolution Types by non parametric tests of proportion between allegations filed by charging parties with mental illness and those filed by charging parties without mental illness also corroborated the lower mental illness allegation merit rate. The lower merit rate for mental illness allegations may indicate that: 1) there is less actual employment discrimination occurring against persons with mental illness; 2) that allegations filed by persons with mental illness are inherently difficult to prove; and/or 3) that the merit rate for mental illness allegations might be higher if they were not potentially under-reported. Implications, conclusions, and directions for future research are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]