The Mythic 43 Million Americans With Disabilities

William & Mary Law Review, Vol. 49, 2007

Ohio State Public Law Working Paper No. 90

Center for Interdisciplinary Law and Policy Studies Working Paper No. 61

67 Pages Posted: 6 Apr 2007

See all articles by Ruth Colker

Ruth Colker

Ohio State University (OSU) - Michael E. Moritz College of Law

Abstract

Although Congress stated in its first statutory finding that it intended the Americans with Disabilities Act 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, by using Census data, this article demonstrates that the ADA covers virtually no Americans who are both disabled and able to work, eviscerating the employment discrimination provisions of the ADA.

This article places that problem in the larger context of the Court undermining Congress' 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.

Keywords: anti-subordination, Sutton, Kirkingsburg, Murphy, civil rights canon

JEL Classification: I12, J71, J78, K23

Suggested Citation

Colker, Ruth, The Mythic 43 Million Americans With Disabilities. William & Mary Law Review, Vol. 49, 2007, Ohio State Public Law Working Paper No. 90, Center for Interdisciplinary Law and Policy Studies Working Paper No. 61, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=978505

Ruth Colker (Contact Author)

Ohio State University (OSU) - Michael E. Moritz College of Law ( email )

55 West 12th Avenue
Columbus, OH 43210
United States
(614) 292-0900 (Phone)
(614) 292-2035 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/faculty/professor/ruth-colker/

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
107
Abstract Views
1,038
Rank
459,927
PlumX Metrics