Ready, Willing, Able to Work:
Capable or Disabled?

Moving quickly up the ladder on the most active list of job-related abuses are complaints of disability discrimination. Prohibited by various states for many years, and for federal contractors (by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973), discrimination based on disability became unlawful nationwide with the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1991 (ADA), which in some cases has even been applied to physical problems far beyond "traditional" disabilities. Under the right conditions, it may be unlawful to discriminate against an employee because he or she has AIDS, or is too fat, or may lack the "right" image for the job.