[infoshare] Bush Signs ADA Amendments Act into Law
- From: "Luis Guerra" <brl50sky@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "InfoShare" <InfoShare@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 25 Sep 2008 16:02:06 -0400
WASHINGTON (AP) - With his father looking on, President Bush on Thursday
signed legislation expanding the protections afforded by the landmark
Americans
with Disabilities Act to those who can use medication or other devices to
treat impairments.
The original law was enacted in 1990, when former President George H.W.
Bush, the current president's father, was in office. The act is widely
regarded
as one of the major features of civil rights legislation in the 20th century
because it ensured that the disabled have access to public buildings and
accommodations,
thus giving them better access to the workforce.
But since its passage, the Supreme Court has generally exempted from the
law's anti-discrimination protections those with partial physical
disabilities
or impairments that can be treated with medication or devices such as
hearing aids.
The bill Bush signed on Thursday in the Oval Office directs the courts to a
more generous application of the ADA's definition of disability, making it
clear
that Congress intended the law's coverage to be broad and to cover anyone
facing discrimination because of a disability. It took months of difficult
negotiations
with the business community to arrive at a compromise.
Bush signed the bill without public comment or fanfare.
URL:
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gwDBud2mHd6XGPWvr2oiXHOOalZwD93DS8OO0
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