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Linda Suh Danielle Wolf Period 5 – AP U.S. Government. Georgia and the ADA. It All Started With Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 …. Rehabilitation Act of 1973. G uarantees certain rights to people with disabilities F irst civil-rights statute for workers with disabilities
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Linda Suh Danielle Wolf Period 5 – AP U.S. Government Georgia and the ADA
It All Started With Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973…
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 • Guarantees certain rights to people with disabilities • First civil-rights statute for workers with disabilities • Helped to pave way for the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 • Protected handicaps against discrimination under any program/activity receiving Federal financial aid, under the Executive branch, or under the U.S. Postal Service
Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) • Signed into law on July 26, 1990 by President George H. W. Bush (a.k.a. Bush Sr.) • Wide-ranging civil rights law that prohibits(under certain circumstances)discrimination based on disability • Substance abusers excluded
The difference between the two? • ADA = more detailed, better protection • Rehabilitation Act = simple, less protection
Title I • Businessescan’t discriminate against a qualified individual with a disability Meaning… • Handicaps can be promoted if qualified • Accommodations for the disabled need to be met • Equal employment opportunities
Title II • State or local governments, departments, and agencies can’t deny handicaps the benefits of their services, programs, or activities
Title III • Public accommodations (transportation, stores, restaurants, hotels, schools etc.) can’t discriminateagainst handicaps Examples… • Elevators big enough for wheelchair access • Ramps • Wheelchair lifts for buses
Title IV • telecommunications companies must ensure equal services for consumers with disabilities (especially the deaf, people with hearing problems and/or speech problems)
Who administers and enforces it all? • Federal government (Department of Justice) plays central role in enforcing the standards established in the ADA Other organizations with power… • Department of Education equal education • Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) equal employment • Department of Transportation equal access • Federal Communications Commission equal services
Now, where does Georgia come in? TONY GOODMAN SUES THE STATE OF GEORGIA • Paraplegic inmate in a GA prison His claims… • His cell is too small for him to maneuver his wheelchair • Lacks accessible toilet/shower • Prison guards don’t help him at all • Lacks access to recreational facilities and prison law library
U.S. Prison System • operated by both the federal and state governmentsbecause incarceration is a concurrent power under the U.S. Constitution
11th Amendment • grants sovereign immunity to the states (states can’t be sued in federal court by a citizen of another statewithout the state's consent) protects States’ rights Why was it added to the Constitution? • Result of Chisholm v. Georgia
Chisholm v. Georgia (1792) • South Carolina merchant, Captain Robert Farquhar, sold supplies to Georgia during the Revolutionary War • Georgia later refused to pay for the goods because Farquhar was a British loyalist • After Farquhar died, Alexander Chisholm, the South Carolinian executor of his estate, sued Georgia for Farquhar’s money Georgia refused to appear in court • Federal court intervened and ordered Georgia to pay Chisholm the money damages
Continued… • Many protested to Federal court’s action • Congress felt that the Supreme Court had over stepped its bounds 11th amendment created Significance? STATES’ RIGHTS PRESERVED!
ADA Criticisms • People will abuse ADA protection • Example: - Man applied for a job as a subway train conductor for the NYC Transit Authority - Weighed 410 pounds and too fat to fit in the small cab of a typical subway train - Suing under the ADA claims train must make "reasonable accommodation" for his alleged disability
Now That’s just Ludacris! (ludicrous) Sha-sha-shake yo money maker
Supreme Court’s Decision in Goodman’s Case It ruled that… Congress has authority to apply the ADA to state prisons Significance? decision gives Congress more authority than the states thought a victory for Tony Goodman, who had lost his ADA claims in the lower courts
ADA…threat to states’ rights? Yes! (Goodman & United States v. Georgia) - ADA calls for equal protection and under the 14th amendment, Congress has power to enforce equal protection in whatever way it wants THEREFORE… If Congress wanted, it could still override the states’ decisions in the name of equal protection!
Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama v. Garrett (2000) • 2 cases in 1 - Patricia Garrett, a nurse, sued Univ. of Alabama's medical center for insisting on transferring her for her long absences while being treated for breast cancer - Milton Ash, a security guard with severe asthma, was not given duties that would alleviate his asthma • AL argued that Congress lacks power to require states to pay money damages for violations of ADA decision reversed; Congress DOES have power under 14th amendment
Tennessee v. Lane (2004) • George Lane and Beverly Jones (both handicaps) sued Tennessee because theycouldn’t go to the 2nd floor of the courtrooms no elevators for them! • TN Attorney General dismissed caseby arguing that Congress did not have the authority to subject the state of TN to suit The U.S. District Court denied the state's motion; Congress DOES have power
How does this relate to the Goodman case? • Goodman case, Garrett case, and Lane/Jones case all gave Congress the power to override states’ rights to sovereign immunity based on 14th amendment threat to states’ rights
So ultimately… The federal government has more power than the state governments. Sorry Charlie…
