If our bureaucrats in Washington, our regulators—maybe that’s a better word—write the regulations too stringently and too tough, there are aspects of this bill that could make it very difficult for the free enterprise system.
Rather than merely prohibiting discrimination against the disabled, the bill compels employers to make significant expenditures and extensive physical alterations to their facilities to accommodate an unlimited variety job applicants.
The cost to the nation and the economy is going to be dramatic. This goes way beyond the bounds of reason.
[ADA will cost] millions of dollars annually.
Under the guise of civil rights for the disabled, the Senate had passed a disaster for U.S. business.
Since access would now be a civil right, moreover, the cost would not be relevant--even if that means eliminating bus service or closing down businesses that cannot afford either compliance or the legal expenses of defending themselves in court. In addition, the bill would also, for the first time, grant homosexuals the right to sue over discrimination.
The ADA also mandates job accommodation financed by employers. Employers will be forced to restructure existing facilities, restructure jobs, hire readers, signers, and assistants in order to accommodate over 900 physical and mental impairments. This converts a civil rights measure into a mandated benefits program for the disabled. It is time we ask ourselves what `reasonable accommodation' means for American businesses. The real cost to the nation would be higher costs of production, fewer jobs, lower real wage rates, lower levels of output and income, and a weaker competitive position for the U.S. business in the world market place.
The House of Representatives has “chosen to put the unreasonable damage awards and attorney’s fees above the needs of employers and employees.”
We don’t want a lot of innocent small-business people who are trying to do the right thing to be hauled into court.
Small firms who have hired persons with disabilities have found in most cases that the extra effort makes good economic sense. I have no doubt that, faced with the demands of the marketplace, many other small firms will soon learn the same lesson.
