Honoring the 20th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act

Goodwill/Easter Seals is proud to provide people with disabilities with job training and support.

On July 26, 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law. It was the first-ever civil rights law for people with disabilities. As Americans, we take pride in our nation’s commitment to equality. As such, we celebrate this landmark civil rights law, which was a collaborative effort of the U.S. government, federal and state agencies, people with and without disabilities, and many others.

On that day 20 years ago, President Bush said, “Let the shameful walls of exclusion finally come tumbling down.”[1] The ADA guaranteed better access to goods, resources and services, such as employment opportunities for people with disabilities, and prohibited employment discrimination. The legislation aimed to ensure equal opportunity, as well as independence, full participation in society and economic self-sufficiency for people with disabilities.

Though individuals with disabilities have made great strides since the ADA was signed into law, Goodwill/Easter Seals Minnesota believes that more needs to be done to help people with disabilities find jobs and become independent. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, people with disabilities have a more than 14-percent unemployment rate compared to 9.4 percent of people without disabilities.[2] People with disabilities make up approximately 22 percent of the U.S. workforce, compared to nearly 71 percent of people without disabilities.

Goodwill/Easter Seals has served people with disabilities in Minnesota for 91number of years. We provide the job training and employment support people need to assist them in finding jobs, advancing their careers and taking care of themselves and their families. Goodwill/Easter Seals helps individuals build their careers so they can feel the pride and independence that comes from a hard day’s work.

People with disabilities shouldn’t be defined by what they can’t do but instead by the skills and talents they bring to the workplace. Contrary to popular belief, many workers’ disabilities go unnoticed in the workplace because those workers need little or no accommodations to perform their jobs.

On this anniversary of the signing of the ADA, Goodwill/Easter Seals reminds people that the law was intended to do much more than requiring wheelchair ramps and assistive technology. People with disabilities are making enormous contributions to the community, and Goodwill/Easter Seals urges employers to think about how people with disabilities can be an asset to their organizations.

Michael Wirth-Davis

President & CEO

Goodwill/Easter Seals Minnesota

[1]http://adaanniversary.org/2010/ap02_ada_findings_history/ap02_ada_findings_history_09_natl.html

[2] http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t06.htm