Over 30 years have gone by since President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. Since its passage, many Americans might find it difficult to imagine a world in which an individual with a disability is still denied equal access to day-to-day activities, opportunities, information, leisure activities, and communication. What might be even more difficult for people to imagine is a world where said person is also ineligible to be granted relief under the ADA. This, unfortunately, is the reality individuals in the Deaf and hard of hearing community continue to face today.
This Paper seeks to address the flaws of the ADA and its inability to ensure equal access to communication and information for Deaf and hard of hearing people. This Paper argues that the ADA is an ineffective legal basis to provide adequate relief in instances where those individuals face discrimination. Finally, it suggests amendments to the ADA to improve equal access to communication and information and ensure a greater number of potential plaintiffs are awarded redress.
Section II of this Paper will begin by providing information about the Deaf and hard of hearing community. It will examine hearing loss in the United States, Deaf culture and Deaf identity, Deaf history in a hearing world, and Deaf oppression. Next, Section II will discuss American Sign Language (ASL) and address the differences between ASL and English. Section II will also include a brief discussion about other methods of communication Deaf and hard of hearing people use to communicate with one another and with hearing people.
Section III of this Article will then discuss the ADA. It will examine the history of the ADA and the benefits the ADA has provided to the Deaf and hard of hearing community. After reviewing the benefits, this Paper will provide numerous examples that show how the ADA continuously fails, even today, to ensure Deaf and hard of hearing people have equal access to communication and information.
This Paper argues that the ADA has proven inadequate at preventing disability-based discrimination, reprimanding this discriminatory behavior, and providing the Deaf and hard of hearing community with adequate relief. The remedies suggested by this Paper focus on changes to the ADA necessary to combat the discrimination experienced by Deaf and hard of hearing people.