The Extent and Effect of Employer Compliance with the Accommodations Mandates of the Americans with Disabilities Act

Using data from several waves of the National Institute on Agings Health and Retirement Study, the author of this article evaluates whether employers have complied with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that they (a) accommodate workers who become disabled while in their employ and (b) not pass on the costs of that treatment in the form of lower wages. The author also examines the impact of accommodations on improved job attachment. Study results suggest that workers were accommodated slightly more after the passage of the ADA than before, though in certain specific ways only. Workers appear to have paid for their accommodations in the form of lower wages. Finally, the author shows that accommodation has been very effective at increasing job attachment for individuals with disabilities, but this effectiveness has lessened with time since the ADA's passage.