AAPD needs your compelling, real-life stories of employment
discrimination on the basis of disability to help make our case to
Congress that the Supreme Court’s narrow interpretations of the
Americans with Disabilities Act have harmed people with
disabilities in employment and that it’s time to restore the
original scope and intent of the ADA! AAPD, in conjunction with
the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), will use
these personal stories in coming weeks to build bipartisan support
while educating members of Congress in a way which they can
readily understand and relate to about the need for a legislative
fix to the ADA.
Background:
- In recent years, a number of Supreme Court decisions have
significantly reduced the protections available to people with
disabilities within employment settings.
- Courts are quick to side with businesses and employers, deciding
against people with disabilities who challenge employment
discrimination 97% of the time, often before the person has even
had a chance to show that the employer treated them unfairly.
- Courts have created an absurd Catch-22 by allowing employers to
say a person is “too disabled” to do the job but not “disabled
enough” to be protected by the ADA.
- People with conditions like epilepsy, diabetes, HIV, cancer,
hearing loss, and mental illness who manage their disabilities
with medication, prosthetics, hearing aids, etc. – or
“mitigating measures” – are viewed as “too functional” to have
a disability and are denied the ADA’s protection from employment
discrimination.
- People denied a job or fired because an employer mistakenly
believes they cannot perform the job – or because the employer
does not want “people like that” in the workplace – are also
denied the ADA’s protection from employment discrimination.
This Is Not What Congress Intended When They Passed The ADA in 1990!
Who can help: ANYONE who has experienced employment discrimination
on the basis of his or her disability.
- Both those who have AND haven’t brought their claims to court
- Those who don't bother to go to court because they’ve been told
or believe they cannot prove they have a disability
- Veterans with disabilities
What you can do: Send an email summary of your story – what
happened, when it happened, and how it was resolved (if at all).
- Denials of reasonable accommodations
- Hiring discrimination
- Discriminatory firing and layoffs
- Harassment
When you should do it: We have an immediate need for these
stories, so please send these stories ASAP!
Where to send your stories: Please send your stories to Anne
Sommers, Policy Counsel at AAPD by email at aapdanne@earthlink.net.
(**We will not use your name or details of your story without
first receiving your express permission.**)
For more information, contact:
Anne C. Sommers. J.D.
Policy Counsel
American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD)
(202) 457-0046 (V/TTY)
800-840-8844 (V/TTY) toll-free
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