Overcoming Barriers to Employment: The Meaning of Reasonable Accommodation and Undue Hardship in the Americans with Disabilities Act

Individuals with disabilities have long faced substantial barriers in the job market. Although a large majority of Americans with disabilities would like to have jobs, two-thirds of disabled individuals between the ages of sixteen and sixty-four are unable to find employment.' This discrepancy results not so much from active hostility on the part of the nondisabled population as it does from deeply ingrained, often unconscious assumptions about the limits imposed by disability. Simple neglect and, to a certain extent, fear of individuals who are different also contribute to this discrepancy.2 Individuals with disabilities also suffer from a lack of educational opportunities available to them, which further limits their employment opportunities.3 Although education of individuals with disabilities has improved in recent years, education of the general public about disabilities has not. As a result, the barriers of myth and ignorance that make employers reluctant to hire individuals with disabilities remain in place. The consequences are substantial economic hardship and a disproportionate dependence on government aid.4 The inability to find work also extracts a high personal cost. In a society that largely defines people by their occupations, refusing to hire individuals or relegating them to entrylevel jobs on the basis of their disabilities makes a social statement that these individuals are considered less than fully human.5