On the Importance of the Americans With Disabilities Act at 30

Abstract

This article offers a glimpse of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) of 1990, as amended by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (“ADAAA”), at its 30th anniversary. It considers current issues before the courts, primarily legal cases from 2020 and 2021, and new questions in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, such the latitude of the ADA’s antidiscrimination protections and its definition of disability. It provides a quick primer on the basics of the ADA: employment discrimination under Title I, antidiscrimination mandates for state and local governments under Title II, and commands to places of accommodation offering services to the public under Title III. The ADA at 30 remains a beacon for a future in which all people, regardless of individual difference, will be welcomed as full and equal members of society.