Diversity Management: ADA and Maintaining Diverse Workforce in Orgs

This essay examines the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and its subsequent amendments (ADAAA) in 2008, focusing on its role in promoting diversity management, particularly within the workplace. The ADA, a civil rights law, prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in various aspects of public life, ensuring equal rights and opportunities. The essay highlights the importance of ADA in providing legal rights that prevent discrimination and promote equal opportunities for individuals with disabilities. It emphasizes how the implementation of ADA, especially Title I, assists organizations in maintaining a diverse workforce by providing accommodations and adjustments for qualified applicants with disabilities. The essay references the University of Nebraska Medical Center's approach to accommodating individuals with physical disabilities to increase workforce diversity and mentions necessary workplace modifications, such as wheelchair accessibility, to support employees with mobility disabilities. The document concludes that a diversified workforce contributes to increased overall work efficiency.

Running head: DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT
Diversity Management
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) came into enforcement on 1990. The
ADA is a civil right that prevents discrimination against the individuals with disabilities in
different domains of public life like jobs, transportations, schools, colleges and other private
or public places, which have open access to public. The aim of this law is to provide people
with disabilities equal rights and opportunities just like any other healthy person. During the
year 2008, The ADA was revised as Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act
(ADAAA) and was enforced on 2009 January. ADAAA made significant changes in the
definition and “disability”. This change in the definition of disability was applicable to all the
titles of ADA. Title I (Employment) is about employment practices of the private companies
with more than 15 employees and registered under the state or local governments and other
employment agencies (Employmentz. The Title II (State and Local Government) includes
specific programs and activities of the local or the state government and Title III (Public
Accommodations) includes private bodies, which are considered under public
accommodation (National Network Information, Guidance and Training on the Americans
with Disabilities, 2018).
The importance of ADA is it helps to provide detailed legal rights, which promotes
non-discrimination of the individuals with disabilities under any public or private setup. This
helps to ensure that the people living with disabilities get equal opportunity to succeed in
their life like any other normal healthy individual (National Network Information, Guidance
and Training on the Americans with Disabilities, 2018).

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Application of ADA to maintain diverse workforce in an organization
The implementation of ADA helps an organization to uphold a diverse workforce. This can
be done through the effective implementation of the Title 1, which promoted assistance to the
people with disabilities to access the employment opportunities and other benefits, which are
available for the other healthy individuals. This assistance will come from proper
accommodations of the qualified applications and subsequent adjustments of the setup at the
work environment. This portion of the ADA is enforced and regulated by the U.S Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission. The title II, ADA prohibits discrimination of the
qualified individuals with disabilities in programs, services and other public activities. It
mainly covers the administrative process that are required to be followed including evaluation
of self and planning and reasonable modifications of the practices and policies wherever
necessary (National Network Information, Guidance and Training on the Americans with
Disabilities, 2018).
The University of Nebraska Medical Center encourage accommodating individuals
with physical disabilities in order to increase the diversity of the workforce. Increase in the
diversified workforce helped to increase the overall work-efficiency of the team (Beck &
Schenker-Wicki, 2013). However, In order to assist individuals with disability, the workplace
surrounds and the environment must be changed accordingly. For example, in order to
encourage people with mobility disability to take active part as an employee of an
originations availability of the wheel chairs, walkers, traction resistant floors and increased
availability of lift or escalators must be mandate (Burke et al., 2013).

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References
Beck, M., & Schenker-Wicki, A. (2013). Cooperating with external partners: the importance
of diversity for innovation performance. University of Zurich, Institute of Business
Administration, UZH Business Working Paper, (331).
Burke, J., Bezyak, J., Fraser, R. T., Pete, J., Ditchman, N., & Chan, F. (2013). Employers'
attitudes towards hiring and retaining people with disabilities: A review of the
literature. The Australian Journal of Rehabilitation Counselling, 19(1), 21-38.
National Network Information, Guidance and Training on the Americans with Disabilities.
(2018). What is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)?. Access date: 4th of
December 2018. Retrieved from: https://adata.org/learn-about-ada