QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON THE SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT TO S. 933, THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT OF 1989

1. What is the purpose of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1989? (ADA)?

	The purpose of the ADA is to provide, clear, strong, consistent, enforceable standards addressing all forms of discrimination against individuals on the basis of disability.

2. What is the scope of the  ADA?

	The ADA extends civil rights protections for people with- disabilities to cover such areas as employment in the private sector, public accommodations (such as theaters, hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, grocery stores), services provide by state and local governments, transportation, and
telecommunication relay services.

3. Why is the ADA necessary?

	The National Council on Disability (an independent Federal agency whose current membership consists of 15 persons appointed by President Reagan), the Civil Rights Commission, and two recent polls conducted by Lou Harris all conclude that discrimination -against individuals with disabilities in the areas listed above is still pervasive in our society. The historic Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not cover people with disabilities, and thus, they have no Federal protections against discrimination in these areas. Federal law only protects against discrimination in Federal employment (section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973), affirmative action by Federal contractors (section 503), discrimination by entities receiving Federal aid (section 504), and activities conducted by the Federal Government (section 504).

	Discrimination is sometimes the result of prejudice; sometimes it is the result of patronizing attitudes; and still other times it is the result of thoughtlessness or indifference. But whatever its origin, the results are the same: segregation, exclusion, or the denial of equal, effective and meaningful opportunities to participate in programs and activities.

	Discrimination affects all categories of people with disabilities, including those with mobility impairments, sensory impairments, mental retardation, and other physical and mental impairments. It affects those who have hidden disabilities such as cancer, diabetes, epilepsy, heart disease and mental illness; people who have a history of a disability but are no longer disabled; persons who have been incorrectly classified as having a disability; and those who do not have a disability but who are treated or perceived by others as having a disability.

4. Who developed the provisions in the ADA?

	In recent testimony before the Committee on Labor and Human Resources, former Senator Lowell Weicker, sponsor of last year’s version of the ADA described the genesis of this legislation, "with the enactment of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Congress said that no longer will Federal funds support or assist discrimination [on the basis of disability] and last year we reaffirmed that commitment in the Civil Rights Restoration Act... The legislation before this committee today completes the work begun in 1973 to secure the civil rights of Americans with disabilities."

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	The ADA of 1988 had bipartisan support (17 Democrats and 9 Republicans). In the House of Representatives, the bill was introduced by Representative Tony Coelho (D. CA) and had 124 cosponsors. The bill was developed by the National Council on Disability, whose membership includes Justin Dart, long-time stalwart of the Republican Party, and Jeremiah Milbank, the founder of the Eagle Forum. All of the fifteen members of the National Council on Disability were appointed by President Reagan. The ADA was the product of two reports, Toward Independence and On the Threshold of Independence.

5. Does the ADA enjoy bipartisan support?

	Yes. The ADA of 1989 was introduced on May 9, 1989 and was sponsored by Senator Tom Harkin (D. IA), Senator Edward Kennedy (D. MA), Senator Dave Durenberger (R. MN), Senator Jim Jeffords (R. VT), Senator John McCain (R. AZ) and others. The sponsors in the House include Steny Hoyer (D. MD), Major Owens (D. NY), and Silvio Conte (R. MA).

	Currently, 57 Senators have cosponsored the ADA (41 Democrats and 16 Republicans. ) The House bill has 223 cosponsors (196 Democrats and 27 Republicans.)

6. Who endorses the ADA?

	The ADA has been endorsed by more than 150 national organizations representing people with a wide variety of disabilities, including every major disability group. The ADA has also been endorsed by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, an umbrella organization representing 185 organizations active in the area of civil rights. Many religious groups have also endorsed the ADA.

7. Has the bill, as introduced, been subject to close scrutiny and review?

	Yes. In April 1988, Senator Lowell Weicker, (R-CT) introduced S. 2345, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1988. A joint hearing between the House and Senate was held on September 27, 1989 on S. 2345.

	S. 933 was introduced on May 9, 1989. Four hearings have been held in the Senate on S. 933, the last of which occurred on June 22, at which time Attorney General Dick Thornburgh testified on behalf of the Bush Administration.

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Extensive discussions have occurred between the Business and Disability communities and the Administration.

8. Does the Substitute Amendment take into consideration the cost burdens faced by small businesses?

	Yes. With respect to employment, the bill totally exempts all employers with fewer than 15 employees. For those employers with 15 or more employees, the bill provides an exemption from making accommodations to the needs of disabled applicants or employees that will result in undue hardship on the business. Thus, for example, a small employer who hires a person with a hearing impairment will only incur nominal costs such as purchasing a $50 amplifier to be placed on a telephone headset.

	The provisions in the bill regarding employment are not new; small employers doing business with the federal government or receiving federal aid have been complying with these provisions for almost 15 years. Every study has found that fear of costs has proven to be unfounded. In fact, the major conclusion of one study was the employers found that compliance was “no big deal.” Another survey found that most accommodations cost between $50 and $100 and the benefit of having an exemplary employee far outweighed these expenses.

	With respect to making the business facility accessible to customers who are disabled, the bill focuses on new construction, For example, Iowa law already mandates that new buildings be made accessible to the handicapped. This federal bill follows the lead of Iowa and other states in this regard. An establishment need only make changes to existing facilities if these changes are easily accomplishable and able to be carried out without much difficulty or expense. Other accommodations need not be provided if they impose an undue burden on the business.

	With respect to new construction, a small business need not install an elevator if the building is fewer than three stories or fewer than 3000 square feet per floor, unless the building is a shopping center, a shopping mall, or the professional office of a health care provider or the Attorney General determines that a particular category of such buildings should have elevators based on usage.

9. Will there be sufficient time for businesses to be educated before they must be in compliance with the ADA?

	Yes. The ADA allows for regulations to be issued one year after the date of enactment. The employment provisions of the ADA become effective 24 months after the date of enactment and the remaining provisions become effective 18 months after enactment, with the exception of the purchase of fixed-route buses, which must comply with the ADA upon the date of enactment.

	10. May an employer fire an employee who uses or sells drugs at the worksite or poses a direct threat to the heal or safety of others?

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	Yes. An employer may prohibit the use of alcohol or illegal drugs at the workplace by all employees. He or she may require that employees not be under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs at the workplace; may require that employees conform their behavior to requirements established pursuant to the Drug-Free Workplace Act; and may hold a drug user or alcoholic to the same qualification standards for employment or job performance and behavior to which it holds other individuals even if any unsatisfactory performance or behavior is related to the drug use of alcoholism of such individuals.

	The ADA treats drug addicts in the same way that they are treated under section 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Drug Free Workplace Act. However, the bill ensures that an employer will not fire a person who is falsely accused of being an addict or a person who may have been an addict or an alcoholic sometime in the past but who has been rehabilitated.

ll. Are people with AIDS covered by the ADA?

	Yes. However, the ADA makes it clear that a person with a contagious disease or infection may be excluded or denied a job or benefit if the covered entity can demonstrate that the person poses a significant risk of transmitting the infection to others through the receipt of a position or benefit. If no reasonable accommodation on the part of the employer or service provider can eliminate such a risk, the individual may be denied the position or benefit.

	The policy in the ADA is equivalent to the policy recently adopted by the Congress in the Civil Rights Restoration Act (the Harkin/Humphrey Amendment) and the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988. The policy is also consistent with the policy developed by the Office of Personnel Management under the Reagan Administration and the Reagan Administration’s Presidential Commission on the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Epidemic. It is also consistent with statements by President Bush, C. Everett Koop (the former Surgeon General), the National Institute of Medicine, the American Medical Association, the American Public Health Association, and the American Nurses’ Association.

Is the ADA a gay rights bill, protecting homosexuals from discrimination?

	No. The ADA does not create any rights of protections against discrimination for homosexuals. Thus, a covered entity is not precluded by the ADA from discriminating against a person solely on the basis of homosexuality. The bill is modeled after section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Fair Housing Act, as recently amended. These statutes have never been interpreted to afford homosexuals protections from discrimination.

13. Will the ADA bankrupt the private/intercity bus industry?

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	No. For over-the-road coaches, the ADA provides an effective date of 5 years from the date of enactment for large carriers and 6 years for small providers. During this time, the Architectural Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, in conjunction with an advisory board consisting of 50 percent disabled consumers and 50 percent transportation providers, will conduct an interim study. Also during this time, private/intercity bus operators must modify their policies to assist persons who use wheelchairs onto and off the bus and store batteries.

	For charter bus service providers, if using over-the-road buses, 5 and 6 year effective dates apply. Further, if operating a demand responsive type system (not using over-the-road buses) every new vehicle need not be accessible if operator can demonstrate it is providing equivalent services.

	For hotel-type shuttles, the hotel need not make each vehicle with greater than 16 seat capacity accessible if the service provider can demonstrate that it is already meeting the demand with current vehicles or through alternative arrangements.

14. Does the Substitute Amendment establish new or accept existing remedies which have been applied to minorities?

	With respect to employment, the ADA accepts the remedies found in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. (injunctive relief and back pay) No right to compensatory or punitive damages.

	With respect to public accommodations, the ADA provides for injunctive relief comparable to Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In addition, the Attorney General is authorized to bring pattern or practice suits and seek penalties akin to those provided for in the Fair Housing Amendments Act (up to $50,000 for first offense and up to $100,000 for second offenses. )

15. Will compliance with the ADA hurt or help the economy?

	Lou Harris recently found that “not working” is perhaps the truest definition of what it means to be disabled in America. Ending discrimination will have the direct impact of reducing the Federal government’s expenditure of $57 billion annually on disability benefits and programs that are premised on dependency of the individual with a disability. It will also have the immediate effect of making people with disabilities into consumers and taxpayers.

	The Department of Labor concluded that its rule implementing section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (nondiscrimination by recipients of Federal aid) would have a substantial beneficial effect in the form of reduced need for veterans benefits, rehabilitation, disability, medical and food stamp payments. Furthermore, “when individuals move from being recipients of various types of welfare payments to skilled taxpaying workers, there are obviously many benefits not only for the individuals but for the whole society." 45 Fed. Reg. 66,721 (1980)

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	Persons with developmental disabilities are still being placed in institutions because of the lack of placement in the community and the availability of jobs. In Iowa, it costs $200 per day to place a person in an institution, which is $73,000 per year. if a person is institutionalized for 20 years, the cost to society is $1.46 million; for 40 years, the cost is $2.92 million, etc. Many of these persons, with appropriate early intervention and special education services and training can lead
independent lives in the community and hold down a job. In this way, they can become taxpayers and consumers and reduce these staggering costs to society.

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