Did the ADA Evolve into Our Ramp to Full Employment? An Analysis of 18 Years of the Americans with Disabilities Act

In 1990, Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act(ADA) to improve the labor market opportunities of people with disabilities. Immediately following the enactment of the ADA, the employment rate of people with disabilities declined. However, the long-term employment consequences of the ADA have not been studied. Interest in the long-term post-ADA employment trends of people with disabilities derives from the weakening of the ADA’s employment provisions by U.S. Courts. The weakening of these provisions has decreased the cost to employers of hiring disabled employees. This paper uses variation in state disability laws and data from twenty-three years of the Current Population Survey to determine the long-term impact of the ADA on the employment of people with disabilities.