Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 & Wage Discrimination
The Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, or ADA, helped remove many of the barriers to employment previously experienced by the disabled. It was enacted to eliminate discrimination of disabled people, provide enforceable standards, ensure the participation of the federal government as the enforcer of the regulations enacted and to grant Congress the power to enforce the 14th Amendment and regulate commerce as it pertains to removing the day-to-day discrimination disabled people face.
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Scope
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Almost any employer in an industry that affects commerce and employs 15 or more people for each day of 20 or more calendar weeks, in either the current or preceding year, are subject to the law. The United States, an Indian tribe, any corporation wholly owned by the United States or a bona fide private membership club that has a 501(c) tax status are exempt from the law. A disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment that has the effect of substantially limiting one or more major life activities. A qualified disabled person is one who has a disability but who, with or without a reasonable accommodation, is able to perform the essential functions of the job they hold or wish to hold. The employer decides the job's essential functions.
General Benefits
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ADA ensures that a disabled person cannot be discriminated against on the basis of his disability in matters related to job application procedures, hiring, job training, discharge or advancement. Disabled persons must also get paid wages comparable to their counterparts. Female disabled employees are entitled to equal wages under the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, which considers each paycheck to be a separate violation of the law and gives employees 180 days from the receipt of unequal pay to file a complaint.
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Reasonable Accommodation
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Employers must give disabled employees reasonable accommodations to enable them to perform the job. A reasonable accommodation can mean flexible hours, restructuring the job, making facilities accessible and usable for the disabled employee, adjusting or modifying training materials or policies, acquiring or modifying equipment or devices, but not if it places an undue burden on employers. An undue burden is placed if the accommodation would be too costly for the financial resources of the employer or would interfere with the operation of the business.
Penalties
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If your employer violates this law, the court can require that he provide the accommodation requested, make the facility accessible, award monetary damages or assess a civil penalty up to $50,000 for the first offense and up to $100,000 for a subsequent offense. Punitive damages cannot be assessed.
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