The Mythic 43 Million Americans with Disabilities

Although Congress stated in its first statutory finding that it intended the Americans with DisabilitiesA ct (ADA) to protect at least 43 million Americans from disability discrimination, the Supreme Court has interpreted this statute so that it covers no more than 13.5 million Americans. More importantly, this Article demonstrates through the use of Census Bureau data that the ADA's employment discrimination provisions have been eviscerated to the point that the ADA protects virtually no Americans who are both disabled and able to work. This Article places that problem in the larger context of the Court undermining Congress's efforts to protect discrete and insular minorities from employment discrimination. Although Congress has sometimes responded to that hostility by enacting "restoration legislation," this Article argues that such restoration efforts should be unnecessary.

The Court should correct its errors and engage in a respectful relationship with Congress so that Congress can move on to new items on its legislative agenda rather than revisit prior items.