Importance of the ADA and the ADAAA
By Katie Hayborne
Since, January 1, 2009, the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) has been in effect. This act covers nearly everyone that has a mental or physical disability. This act was signed into law on September 25, 2008. "This law's importance is on whether or not an employee can perform the essential functions of a job with or without a reasonable accommodation"(Bennett & Randolph 3).
The original ADA or Americans with Disabilities act came out in 1990. Its goal is to eliminate discrimination against people with disabilities (Brown 1). This is important to my story because I have Asperger's Syndrome, ADHD, and Anxiety and am therefore covered by the ADA.
Since, January 1, 2009, the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) has been in effect. This act covers nearly everyone that has a mental or physical disability. This act was signed into law on September 25, 2008. "This law's importance is on whether or not an employee can perform the essential functions of a job with or without a reasonable accommodation"(Bennett & Randolph 3).
The original ADA or Americans with Disabilities act came out in 1990. Its goal is to eliminate discrimination against people with disabilities (Brown 1). This is important to my story because I have Asperger's Syndrome, ADHD, and Anxiety and am therefore covered by the ADA.
SSA ADA MARKETING IMAGE
Those who have physical or mental disabilities are covered under the ADA when they affect a major life activity. The ADA is important so people with disabilities can get equal opportunities for education and employment through services and resources they need in their daily lives. For instance, people in wheelchairs need assistance with mobility such as ramps on buses and wider doors on rest-rooms.
Learning, concentrating and communicating all constitute major life activities according to the ADA (Brown 2). When I worked at PETCO in the end of 2008, I was covered under the ADA and got a job as a bather in Midvale Fort Union. I was told I would be trained and would work full time as a bather. I would be bathing and brushing dogs and cats there. However, the main boss wouldn't accommodate me or allow me to work with my job coach in the grooming area and called me retarded when he found out I had Asperger's Syndrome.
Learning, concentrating and communicating all constitute major life activities according to the ADA (Brown 2). When I worked at PETCO in the end of 2008, I was covered under the ADA and got a job as a bather in Midvale Fort Union. I was told I would be trained and would work full time as a bather. I would be bathing and brushing dogs and cats there. However, the main boss wouldn't accommodate me or allow me to work with my job coach in the grooming area and called me retarded when he found out I had Asperger's Syndrome.
SYMBOLS FOR DIFFERENT DISABILITIES
The importance of the ADAA act is that its regulations emphasize the reality that employers need to focus on meeting the needs to accommodate individuals with disabilities. This is valuable to the ADA and ADAAA as employers and educators tend to focus on if the individual with an impairment has a qualifying disability. It is also important under the ADA and ADAAA, that discrimination has occurred or been suspected are brought into court. The regulations of the ADAAA are important for employers to know about. This is due to the emphasis that if an employee has a qualifying disability employers are obligated to reasonably accommodate the employee (Smith 33). The symbols show a wide variety of disabilities. It is the employer’s or educator’s duty to be aware of them and to treat these individuals with respect by being aware of the ADA and ADAAA and give them the accommodations they qualify for.
Under title number 1 of the ADA, you must be able to perform the essential functions of the employment position with or without reasonable accommodations with your disability. Essential functions are tasks like: reading, writing, and math, coming to work on time, driving for some jobs, and getting along with others in the work place (Brown, 3). In my case, I could perform the essential job functions of pet bather with the reasonable accommodation of initial help from the job coach, but PETCO would not allow me to have that accommodation.
Under the ADAAA, the question arises whether or not the impairment limits a major life activity. This question should not demand extensive analysis. Their lists include almost all life activities some that congress included are working, thinking, concentrating and communicating. The ADAAA also includes impairment that affects every major system of the body such as epilepsy. The ADAAA is more effective than the original ADA in that it gives employees and others involved with them accommodations that meet the needs of the individual with a disability and leaves less room for arguing about what is or is not considered a major life activity (Bennett & Randolph, 6-7).
Under title number 1 of the ADA, you must be able to perform the essential functions of the employment position with or without reasonable accommodations with your disability. Essential functions are tasks like: reading, writing, and math, coming to work on time, driving for some jobs, and getting along with others in the work place (Brown, 3). In my case, I could perform the essential job functions of pet bather with the reasonable accommodation of initial help from the job coach, but PETCO would not allow me to have that accommodation.
Under the ADAAA, the question arises whether or not the impairment limits a major life activity. This question should not demand extensive analysis. Their lists include almost all life activities some that congress included are working, thinking, concentrating and communicating. The ADAAA also includes impairment that affects every major system of the body such as epilepsy. The ADAAA is more effective than the original ADA in that it gives employees and others involved with them accommodations that meet the needs of the individual with a disability and leaves less room for arguing about what is or is not considered a major life activity (Bennett & Randolph, 6-7).
Me at PETCO
If I hadn't been discriminated against and been able to work with the job coach, I would have been able to complete tasks such as: grooming dogs, washing them, watching them and cutting their nails. An example of a problem that I faced once was when I had cut the dog’s nails too short. As a result of cutting the nails to short I got screamed at. I wish that the people at PETCO would have helped me deal with this problem when it arose. They could have shown me where I had gone wrong and used this as a teaching moment, but instead they made a problem out of it. It was difficult to cut the dog’s nails properly because I hadn't been trained to trim nails and the dog’s nails were black. Because the dog’s nails were black and hard to cut, I accidentally cut the quick which is the part of the flesh under the toe-nail which is what had caused the bleeding in the first place.
In stopping the bleeding: the people I worked with and I had to hold a kleenex against the nails and put powder on them to stop the bleeding. I also was yelled at by the main boss for cutting the nails too short and was upset for being singled-out .when they hadn't trained me to do this and where the situation was different because the dog’s nails were black. I was also rushed into cutting the nails quickly I also felt upset as I wasn't taught to cut dogs nails and because the boss had failed to accommodate me. The workers at PETCO should have helped me out by accommodating me with the help of a job coach and also by actually showing me and helping me by giving directions on how to cut dogs nails correctly. If they had accommodated me eventually I would have been able to cut dogs nails by myself.
Another example was when I tried grooming a big, scruffy-looking dog. The dog had mats that were hard to groom and it growled at me so I was worried about being bit. Since I had a hard time grooming the dog and was worried about getting bit, another girl took over and put a muzzle on the dog. Apparently when she had left the muzzle on, it was put on too tight causing the dog to get a bloody nose. Even though she had taken over grooming the dog, I was still blamed for the fact that the dog got a bloody nose. Another girl, Sunni, said to the boss, “It wasn't Katy’s fault; another girl put a muzzle on the dog and groomed it for her.” Yet the boss still wouldn't believe me so I got in trouble for it. In this situation a job coach could have helped advocate for me and would obviously trust that I was telling the truth. A job coach could have also helped me in this by teaching me what to do when faced with situations like this. Basically they would help me gain confidence and learn to be more assertive so I could advocate better for myself. I questioned why they wouldn't believe me! I am telling the truth - I didn't give the dog a bloody nose, like Sunni and I had previously told them.
Another example was when I tried grooming a big, scruffy-looking dog. The dog had mats that were hard to groom and it growled at me so I was worried about being bit. Since I had a hard time grooming the dog and was worried about getting bit, another girl took over and put a muzzle on the dog. Apparently when she had left the muzzle on, it was put on too tight causing the dog to get a bloody nose. Even though she had taken over grooming the dog, I was still blamed for the fact that the dog got a bloody nose. Another girl, Sunni, said to the boss, “It wasn't Katy’s fault; another girl put a muzzle on the dog and groomed it for her.” Yet the boss still wouldn't believe me so I got in trouble for it. In this situation a job coach could have helped advocate for me and would obviously trust that I was telling the truth. A job coach could have also helped me in this by teaching me what to do when faced with situations like this. Basically they would help me gain confidence and learn to be more assertive so I could advocate better for myself. I questioned why they wouldn't believe me! I am telling the truth - I didn't give the dog a bloody nose, like Sunni and I had previously told them.
A job coach could have helped me through all the chaos of the new job by redirecting me in situations like when I left a dog at the table because I was distracted by a customer yelling for an appointment. When this happened, I had looked away from the table and started walking away. I realized that was the wrong thing to do, so I came back to the table and then was yelled at because it was a safety hazard and was told that all eyes must be on the dog when at the table. Like I said, if the job coach could have helped me get someone else to attend to the customer I wouldn't have got distracted and would have remembered to stay at the table. Another way a job coach would have helped me is by teaching me all the rules of the job which would have helped prevent this situation from occurring in the first place. I felt bad that I left the dog at the table and started walking away but that was an honest mistake.
I didn't feel good getting blamed for things that the boss had accused me of or yelled at me for. I was confused and overwhelmed by all the chaos and noise of the job as I had to quickly move from bathing and washing the dogs to grooming them and drying them in their cages and then still clean up. Because my job coach and my old vocational rehab counselor Emily told me it would be better to quit, that is what I actually did end up doing. I didn't want to be blamed anymore or feel like I was treated unfairly. Quitting actually was the best thing I could do at the time to stop the discrimination from occurring.
In stopping the bleeding: the people I worked with and I had to hold a kleenex against the nails and put powder on them to stop the bleeding. I also was yelled at by the main boss for cutting the nails too short and was upset for being singled-out .when they hadn't trained me to do this and where the situation was different because the dog’s nails were black. I was also rushed into cutting the nails quickly I also felt upset as I wasn't taught to cut dogs nails and because the boss had failed to accommodate me. The workers at PETCO should have helped me out by accommodating me with the help of a job coach and also by actually showing me and helping me by giving directions on how to cut dogs nails correctly. If they had accommodated me eventually I would have been able to cut dogs nails by myself.
Another example was when I tried grooming a big, scruffy-looking dog. The dog had mats that were hard to groom and it growled at me so I was worried about being bit. Since I had a hard time grooming the dog and was worried about getting bit, another girl took over and put a muzzle on the dog. Apparently when she had left the muzzle on, it was put on too tight causing the dog to get a bloody nose. Even though she had taken over grooming the dog, I was still blamed for the fact that the dog got a bloody nose. Another girl, Sunni, said to the boss, “It wasn't Katy’s fault; another girl put a muzzle on the dog and groomed it for her.” Yet the boss still wouldn't believe me so I got in trouble for it. In this situation a job coach could have helped advocate for me and would obviously trust that I was telling the truth. A job coach could have also helped me in this by teaching me what to do when faced with situations like this. Basically they would help me gain confidence and learn to be more assertive so I could advocate better for myself. I questioned why they wouldn't believe me! I am telling the truth - I didn't give the dog a bloody nose, like Sunni and I had previously told them.
Another example was when I tried grooming a big, scruffy-looking dog. The dog had mats that were hard to groom and it growled at me so I was worried about being bit. Since I had a hard time grooming the dog and was worried about getting bit, another girl took over and put a muzzle on the dog. Apparently when she had left the muzzle on, it was put on too tight causing the dog to get a bloody nose. Even though she had taken over grooming the dog, I was still blamed for the fact that the dog got a bloody nose. Another girl, Sunni, said to the boss, “It wasn't Katy’s fault; another girl put a muzzle on the dog and groomed it for her.” Yet the boss still wouldn't believe me so I got in trouble for it. In this situation a job coach could have helped advocate for me and would obviously trust that I was telling the truth. A job coach could have also helped me in this by teaching me what to do when faced with situations like this. Basically they would help me gain confidence and learn to be more assertive so I could advocate better for myself. I questioned why they wouldn't believe me! I am telling the truth - I didn't give the dog a bloody nose, like Sunni and I had previously told them.
A job coach could have helped me through all the chaos of the new job by redirecting me in situations like when I left a dog at the table because I was distracted by a customer yelling for an appointment. When this happened, I had looked away from the table and started walking away. I realized that was the wrong thing to do, so I came back to the table and then was yelled at because it was a safety hazard and was told that all eyes must be on the dog when at the table. Like I said, if the job coach could have helped me get someone else to attend to the customer I wouldn't have got distracted and would have remembered to stay at the table. Another way a job coach would have helped me is by teaching me all the rules of the job which would have helped prevent this situation from occurring in the first place. I felt bad that I left the dog at the table and started walking away but that was an honest mistake.
I didn't feel good getting blamed for things that the boss had accused me of or yelled at me for. I was confused and overwhelmed by all the chaos and noise of the job as I had to quickly move from bathing and washing the dogs to grooming them and drying them in their cages and then still clean up. Because my job coach and my old vocational rehab counselor Emily told me it would be better to quit, that is what I actually did end up doing. I didn't want to be blamed anymore or feel like I was treated unfairly. Quitting actually was the best thing I could do at the time to stop the discrimination from occurring.
OAE STUDENTS BY DISABILITY
I want people with Asperger’s (ADHD) and other disabilities and teachers and educators to take a way from this that people with disabilities have rights too just like everyone else and they shouldn't have to quit a job or fail a class because someone doesn't give them the accommodations or rights they deserve. This is important to me because if I had known more about the ADA or ADAAA, I could have written a report and reported them for discrimination, but since it has been 3 years it is too late for that at this time. I also know that if I am ever discriminated again like I had been that I will know what to do next time. Also when I become an educator I will be aware of the ADA and the ADAAA and will be able to accommodate those with special needs by being aware of their accommodations and accepting them. In a way, my experience with discrimination helped me gain more awareness about what my rights are under the ADA and ADAAA so that I can fight for them better next time.