Work for Americans with Disabilities

The available data indicate that less than a third of disabled working-age adults are employed, and, when they are, they are paid lower wages. Their incomes are low even after including transfer payments. The problem of identifying a disabled person and the nature of the labor market are reviewed in this article. It is argued that in addition to imposing functional limitations, disability steals time and shortens life expectancy. The Americans with Disabilities Act is intended to improve the plight of the disabled by mandating equal employment rights, a rights approach that worked well for race and gender but will not do for the task at hand. People with disabilities do not constitute an identifiable minority. They move into and out of a state of being disabled and exhibit different degrees of limitation and different life expectancies. The aim of eliminating labor market discrimination is important, but equal access to jobs and public places will not significantly improve the well-being of disabled persons unless it is integrated into a larger disability policy program including rehabilitation, medical care, and income transfers.