The Evolution of the ADA | OAS Episode 210

The Americans With Disabilities Act was signed into law in 1990, but who and what it covers has evolved over the decades. Behavioral health issues, long COVID or other conditions that substantially limit one or more major life activities can fall under the ADA. 

Joining the podcast are Eve Hill, one of the nation’s top disability rights lawyers and the policy and legislative counsel for the U.S. Department of Labor’s State Exchange on Employment & Disability or SEED, and Nevada Assemblywoman Tracy Brown-May, who has worked on numerous initiatives to aid those with disabilities. Both joined the podcast to discuss the current state of the ADA.

Hill explained how interpretation of the law has changed since the early ’90s when she started her law career, how it has been further altered by legislation and the substantial role state legislators can take in their states around the issue. Note that’s Hill’s personal observations do not represent those of the U.S. Department of Labor.

Brown-May explained how her background working with people with disabilities has informed her legislative efforts and her experience with fellow lawmakers who come to her for advice on how to address a disability-related issue in legislation.

Resources

• Assemblywoman Tract Brown-May, Nevada Legislature
• Eve Hill, Brown, Goldstein and Levy
• State Exchange on Employment & Disability, U.S. Department of Labor