Sections of the Rehabilitation Act
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Section 501 prohibits federal agents from discriminating against qualified individuals
with a disability. It also encourages businesses to hire qualified individuals and
obligates these businesses to offer employment advancements to individuals whose work
meets the necessary requirements. |
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Section 503 is similar to Section 501, but it deals specifically with the hiring, placement, and advancement of people with disabilities and includes federal contractors and subcontractors. In 2014, a new rule was added that sets a “utilization goal.” This utilization goal states that all workforces and job categories should aim to have at least 7% of their employee populations be individuals with a disability and whether they are qualified for their respective positions. |
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Section 504 is widely considered to be the first statute to declare civil rights for individuals with disabilities. It states specifically that: "No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States […] shall, solely by reason of her or his disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance or any program or activity conducted by any Executive agency or by the United States Postal Service."
Section 504 further defines individuals with disabilities as "persons with a physical
or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities."
For purposes of employment, Section 504 also clarifies that qualified individuals
with disabilities "are persons who, with Reasonable Accommodation, can perform the
essential functions of the job for which they have applied or have been hired to perform."
In addition to federal programs and agencies, the law includes programs that receive
federal funding, which subsidizes airports, colleges and universities, federally assisted
housing, and public libraries, among others. Section 504 further implicates any "local
educational agency, system of vocational education, or other school system," which
means that K-12 schools are prohibited from denying public education or extracurricular
activity participation because of a child's disability. Section 504 in fact expands
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to protect a broader range of children
with disabilities.
This section was not a part of the Act when it was signed. For twenty-five days, between
April 5 and April 28, 1977, hundreds of disabled and handicapped activists organized
sit-ins, protested, and occupied government buildings around the country to pressure
the U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, Joseph Califano, to enact Section
504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and publish regulations to guide its enforcement.
Their efforts were successful when Secretary Califano enacted the regulations for
Section 504 on April 28, 1977.
This was the most-powerful federal protection for disabled people in the United States before the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. This section dictates that reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities exist and that there is program accessibility and effective communication with people who have hearing and vision disabilities. This section also ensures that people with disabilities are provided with accessible new construction and alterations. Each federal agency has its own section in this section. For example, the 504 of the Department of Health and Human Services makes sure that doctors’ offices and clinics are accessible, and the United States Department of Education makes sure that students with disabilities receive the kind of education services to be successful in school.
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This section supplements Section 501 and deals with governing remedies and attorney’s fees. |
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With the advent of the Internet, an amendment (Section 508) was signed into law in 1998, expanding the Rehabilitation Act to include equal access to electronic and information technology. Section 508 requires federal agencies to make their information and communication technology (ICT) accessible to people with disabilities. An accessible information technology is one that can be operated in many ways and does not rely on a single sense or ability of the user. Section 508 does not apply only to federal agencies; it also impacts any company that does business with a federal agency. This includes private contractors, the financial industry, healthcare, many legal organizations, and others.
Information and Communication Technology refers to technologies that provide access
to information through telecommunications. For example, ICT includes but is not limited
to:
- Telephones, smart phones and mobile devices
- Televisions, DVD players and videotaped productions
- Internet and Intranet websites
- PDF documents
- Content on DVDs and CDs
- Online training
- Webinars and teleconferencing
- Technical support call centers
- Remote access websites and tools
- Tablet, laptop and desktop computers
- Software and operating systems
- User guides for software and tools
- Copiers, printers and fax machines
Technology plays an increasingly important role in education at all levels. Schools and colleges now routinely use computers in traditional classrooms, electronic book readers that supplement or replace paper textbooks, online classes, and online registration and class scheduling. Section 504 and 508 require schools and colleges to ensure that the technology they use is fully accessible to individuals with disabilities or to provide equal access to the educational benefits and opportunities afforded by the technology.
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