SURGE IN DISABLED EMPLOYMENT IS GREAT NEWS

One of the landmark civil rights laws in U.S. history was 1990’s Americans with Disabilities Act. Expanding on the protections in the 1964 Civil Rights Act, it banned discrimination against individuals with disabilities in nearly all areas of public life. With 41 million Americans reporting disabilities in that year’s census — one-third of them citing profound issues with mobility and self-care — the ADA was a decisive step toward a better nation.

More than three decades later — with the number of Americans with some type of disability now at 61 million — the ADA has helped many. Yet disabled individuals still face many basic obstacles, especially in finding good jobs with ready transportation. That’s why one of the pandemic’s most welcome effects has been to spur acceptance of remote work. As a result, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that in November the unemployment rate for disabled individuals seeking work fell to 5.8 percent. That’s the lowest rate since such stats were first tracked in 2008 and less than half the rate seen in 2020, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday. A record 7.3 million disabled residents were employed.

With the U.S. facing major worker shortages in many fields, disabled workers may continue to find jobs much easier to come by. But if enough employers demand a return to working from offices — and say this requirement meets the “reasonable accommodation” standard for disabled employees — recent gains could vanish. Here’s hoping that it’s this threat that disappears when the federal courts or Congress or both step in to say forcing such workers to stop telecommuting — in nearly all circumstances — is unfair and unacceptable.