ADA and Disability Rights

Abstract

Chapter 16 includes a group of cases that relate to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. Most of the cases involve Title II of the Act, specifically that no individual with a disability can be denied services by public entities. The disabilities claimed in the cases vary broadly, from HIV to carpal tunnel syndrome to schizophrenia, but they are all critical in defining accommodations for individuals with disabilities. Settings of alleged discrimination highlighted include workplace, housing, involuntary treatment, hospitalization and police encounters. Olmstead v. Zimring is particularly relevant to psychiatry because it addressed the concern about institutional warehousing of mentally disabled individuals. Other cases in this section include City of Cleburne, Texas v. Leburne Living Center, Carter v. General Motors, Bragdon v. Abbott, Pennsylvania v. Yeskey, Toyota v. Williams, Hargrave v. Vermont, U.S. v. Georgia, Disability Rights of New Jersey, Inc. v. Commissioner, New Jersey, and Sheehan v. City of San Francisco.