The Rehabilitation Act of 1973

By Andrew Hazard

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a federal law in the United States which forbids disability-based discrimination in any program run by a federal agency, financially assisted by the federal government, or where federal contractors are employed. In order to promote independence and employment among disabled individuals, the law upholds that they have equal opportunity, access to reasonable accommodations, and the ability to use assistive technology. This law has been a landmark law in better integrating disabled people into wider society and reducing stigmas surrounding them. This article will examine the provisions of the Rehabilitation Act to see how it addresses the plight of relevant people. Additionally, it will determine the kind of effect the act has had on disabled people.

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was the first major US federal law to address discrimination against people with disabilities. Prior to 1973, there was the “Vocational Rehabilitation Act,” a preexisting collection of laws that were becoming outdated in their content. The 1973 act sought to revise the handling of employment for disabled individuals on the federal level. This included the allowance of vocational rehabilitation service grants to states, which prioritized people affected by the most severe disabilities [4]. It also authorized relevant research and training programs, as well as created the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) to oversee the implementation of the act’s provisions, among other purposes it sought to fulfill.

The specific aims of and rights provided by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 are outlined in the four main sections of the act. Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act prohibits discrimination against disabled individuals when it comes to employment, whether the person in question is an employee or an applicant. In short, this puts in place a policy of affirmative action [1]. Section 503 prohibits disability-related discrimination by federal contractors and subcontractors when considering who to employ. This section also makes it a necessity for employers to take genuine measures to hire, promote and retain disabled people. This applies to all contracts valued over $10,000 [2]. Section 504 guarantees disabled individuals equal opportunity to obtain program benefits and services. Federally funded organizations and employers, as well as executive agencies and the United States Postal Service, are not allowed to exclude or deny access to these benefits. Every federal agency has its own set of regulations, under section 504, that it must enforce. Standard regulations often incorporate “reasonable accommodation for employees with disabilities; program accessibility; effective communication with people who have hearing or vision disabilities; and accessible new construction and alterations” [2]. Finally, Section 508 obliges federal agencies, particularly the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), to make sure that disabled individuals are able to access government-operated electronic and information technology [1].

The Rehabilitation Act has also received several amendments since its enactment in 1973. An amendment made in 1974 expanded the definition of a “handicapped individual” to cover those with physical or mental impairments that limited their ability to engage in major life activities in general, not just employment [3]. The new definition removed the tie to solely vocational rehabilitation services, instead focusing on a person’s impairment status and history. It also made it applicable to transportation and architectural barriers which needed modification to ensure accessibility by disabled individuals. A 1986 amendment, in line with Public Law 99-506, further refined the Rehabilitation Act to offer services that focus on the specific needs of people with the most severe disabilities. Additionally, the 1986 amendment identified “supported employment” as a legally recognized outcome of rehabilitation. The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 brought forth another amendment to the Rehabilitation Act, so that the two acts would be better aligned in their mutual goal of assisting people in their return to the workforce. In an effort to connect rehabilitation programs to workforce development systems on the local and state level, the amendment created a national disability council, with members of the council being appointed by the President [3].

The provisions and amendments of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 greatly increased the ability of disabled people to be employed by the federal government. While it is true that this act only considers discrimination in a very specific type of environment, that being federal employment, the Rehabilitation Act later inspired the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This uses the same standards as the Rehabilitation Act for determining discrimination based on disability. However, these standards are applied on a much broader scale, encompassing employment in general, government on the state and local level, public accessibility, transportation, telecommunications, and other aspects of life [2]. The Rehabilitation Act also established the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, now known as the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), a US government agency (under the Administration for Community Living) that provides assistance to research related to the rehabilitation of people with disabilities [4]. NIDILRR-funded research is overseen by the National Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC) who verifies that such research makes it to organizations that put it into effect.

In conclusion, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 remains one of the most important pieces of legislation relating to the discrimination of people living with physical and mental disabilities. It was the first law to prohibit employment discrimination of relevant individuals, and expanded the legal definition of what constituted a disability, allowing many more people to benefit. While the act was rather limited in its scope, it laid the groundwork for future legislation relating to disabilities; namely the ADA, which expanded protection against discrimination based on disability to other aspects of modern public life. It also encouraged the creation of programs to conduct further research on disabilities and the subsequent funding of that research. If it were not for the Rehabilitation Act, disabled people might not have had as much protection against discrimination in the present.

References

[1] U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Rehabilitation Act of 1973. eeoc.gov. https://www.eeoc.gov/rehabilitation-act-1973. 

[2] U.S. Department of Justice - Civil Rights Division. Guide to Disability Rights Laws. ADA.gov. https://www.ada.gov/resources/disability-rights-guide/. 

[3] United States Congress. (1973). Rehabilitation Act of 1973 [As Amended Through P.L. 114–95, Enacted December 10, 2015]. 29 U.S.C. § 701 et seq. https://rsa.ed.gov/sites/default/files/downloads/rehabilitation-act-of-1973-amended-by-wioa.pdf. 

[4] Williams, Bob. (2016). The Rehabilitation Act of 1973: Independence Bound. Administration for Community Living (ACL). https://acl.gov/news-and-events/acl-blog/rehabilitation-act-1973-independence-bound.