American Disability Act and Affirmative Action Act

American Disability Act and Affirmative Action Act

Critique of Modern Civil Rights Acts

The quest to ensure that every American's civil rights are guaranteed is still being waged today. New populations of disadvantaged are continuing to be guaranteed by modern legislation the same every day benefits the majority of the population often takes for granted. Acts like the American Disability Act and the Affirmative Action Act are continuing to provide for the American people to ensure that everyone gets the same benefits and rights; although some of these acts have been more successful than others.

The American Disability Act was a monumental piece of legislation aimed at helping protect the rights of vulnerable populations. For generations, there was little vocational protection for the disabled in the work environment. This often led to wrongful termination and even a complete lack of hiring people with disabilities. In 1990, the president Bush passed the American Disability Act. It took civil rights to a new population, the disabled (U.S. Equal Opportunities Commission, 2008). Much later in 2008, the Act was amended. It helped extended further protection to a wider base of the disabled population. It helped cover both government and political entities to ensure that there were opportunities for disabled individuals in vocational employment. Moreover, the piece of legislation helped guarantee basic services for individuals that have to deal with the issues of living with a disability. This helped extend public transportation services and businesses to have accommodations that allow disabled individuals to use their services, just like the rest of the population. Individuals with disabilities are now ensured that they will be able to use the same public and commercial services as everyone else. The Act has helped service professionals best provide for the well being of individuals with disabilities. Service professionals can now have disabled individuals come to their offices because public properties must have accommodations that can help such individuals get there. Moreover, it ensures that this population can find employment, which will undoubtedly help individuals find and afford a better quality of life. Great progress has been made, with a huge portion of the disabled population working and enjoying the day-to-day generalities that many people without vulnerabilities take for granted.

The next piece of legislation seen in this examination is the Affirmative Action plan, which was part of the Civil Rights Act in 1964. It was established under Executive Order 10925 and signed by the infamous president John F. Kennedy (). Essentially, the law was aimed at helping protect the rights of minority groups to secure employment and to not find themselves discriminated against within that employment. The piece of legislation tried to coerce private and public institutions to hire a certain number of minority individuals as a sign that they were respecting the new laws of the Civil Rights Act. Later, there were amendments to the law which secured the same vocational rights for women, ensuring that they cold not be discriminated against based on their sex. Today, this same protection also extends to public institutions as well, ensuring that universities have a certain, specified number of minorities present to provide for a diverse population within the institution. Individual states have also begun imitating the initial federal order, ensuring that affirmative action was executed on the more regional scale as well. Affirmative Action does help provide a number of slots for minority groups in terms of employment and educational opportunities. This has made it easier for service professionals to secure opportunities for those who may have been denied them in the past. However, this has seen intense criticism since its passing. Many have been critical to the fact that it discriminates against other groups because it forces public institutions to hire or choose minority individuals over more qualified white individuals. This only further generates issues, as it does not provide so much for an equal playing ground, but a situation which may only be growing further resentment between the racial groups.