The Americans with Disabilities Act has been a substantial boon to those with physical disabilities – who can now ask employers to do such things as install ramps for wheelchairs and make office equipment accessible to people who are deaf or have limited vision – so long as these accommodations are “reasonable”. What constitutes such a standard of reasonableness has, as one might expect, been a matter of much debate, some civil, some informal, some taking place within courtrooms. Employers have tended to argue that many of the accommodations requested by those arguing for disability rights are not reasonable because of the financial cost involved while those who advocate making workplaces accessible argue that not only is it the right thing to do but that employers will benefit in the end because they will gain the expertise – and loyalty – of qualified workers (Rogers etal., 1997).
