15th Anniversary of the Passage of Americans With Disabilities Act

Today marks the 15th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Signed into law in 1990 with broad bipartisan support, the ADA has done much to guarantee civil rights protections to people with disabilities, ensuring equal opportunity and access to employment, transportation, public spaces, and state and local government services.

“Today we celebrate the Americans with Disabilities Act as a victory for all Americans,” said Wade Henderson, executive director of Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), the nation’s oldest, largest, and most diverse civil and human rights coalition. “It has done much to change the landscape of America, increasing access for individuals with disabilities and making commonplace buses with chairlifts, ramps into hotels, and government buildings and wheelchair accessible restrooms. It has helped make America more just and more accessible and has meant that more Americans can live and work with dignity.”
The ADA is considered to be among the most significant of civil rights laws passed since the Civil Rights Act of 1964, from which it draws heavily. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 made discrimination based on race, religion, gender or national origin illegal in public places and in the workplace.

“There is no doubt that the ADA is one of the most important civil rights laws on the books,” said Henderson. “But like any law, unless it’s enforced, it might as well be just another piece of paper.”

Despite, and for some, because of its success, the ADA has become a target in courtrooms across the country. In 2004, it was narrowly upheld by the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision in Tennessee v. Lane, which forced the state of Tennessee to comply with ADA provisions that said government buildings, including courthouses, must be made accessible to all citizens. Just last year, a study conducted by the American Bar Association found that in the 327 ADA employment-related cases filed in federal courts last year, judges sided with businesses more than 94 percent of the time.

“The 15-year anniversary of the ADA is a reminder that we’ve made a lot of progress in guaranteeing the constitutional rights of people with disabilities but that we are far from finished,” added Henderson. “It is also a reminder of how critical the Supreme Court is in protecting the rights and freedoms of all Americans – including people with disabilities.”