Compared to their nondisabled counterparts, Americans with disabilities face significant discriminatory hurdles in finding and keeping employment. Today it is estimated that only one-third of Americans with disabilities who are qualified to work can find jobs. Although the employment rate for persons without disabilities fluctuates around 80.5%, the rate is just 20.6% for those who require personal assistance to perform a life activity.
The effects of employment discrimination against Americans with disabilities hardly constitute groundbreaking news. Indeed, prejudice in the workplace was one of the central motivating factors behind Congress's passage of America's two foremost disability rights laws: § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (§ 504) and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). The ADA, which was regarded by its promoters as a civil rights bill for disabled persons, dedicated an entire section, Title I, to protecting qualifying Americans from discrimination by their employers...