Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act is a section of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that protects certain rights of people with disabilities. The law prohibited federally funded programs and activities from perpetrating discriminatory actions against individuals with mental or physical disabilities. The language of Section 504 drew from the language of previous civil rights laws protecting women and black citizens. It was one of the first pieces of legislation that recognized a societal responsibility toward all disabled persons. Disabled individuals had been treated as second-class citizens throughout much of American history and routinely experienced discriminatory behavior. Section 504 addressed discrimination against disabled persons in the public sector. These protections were later applied to private-sector businesses with the passage of 1990’s Americans with Disabilities Act, which borrowed a great deal of its language from Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Background

Legislation providing protections to disabled individuals was not introduced into US federal law until the early twentieth century. Before then, disabled people were often subjected to unfair stereotyping that resulted in their mistreatment. In 1916, Congress passed the National Defense Act, which included a section that authorized direction of federal funds to rehabilitation programs for soldiers. This was the first time the federal government and the country at large recognized the need to help disabled veterans who had bravely served in the military.

Disabled veterans were the primary focus of early disability rights legislation. In 1917, the Smith-Hughes Act led to the creation of the Federal Board of Vocational Education and established state-organized programs designed to provide vocational education opportunities to disabled veterans. Such vocational and rehabilitative opportunities were eventually extended to all people with disabilities in the Civilian Rehabilitation Act of 1920, also referred to as the Smith-Fess Act. Comprehensive disability programs and protections were further expanded upon in the Social Security Act of 1935. Over the next several decades, more laws and amendments related to disability rehabilitation were added to federal legislation.

In 1973, Congress passed a law called the Rehabilitation Act, legislation that provided federal funding for vocational rehabilitation services for individuals with disabilities. The law addressed the issue of equal access for disabled individuals in relation to barriers in employment, architecture, and transportation. The law also promoted equal employment opportunities for disabled persons through affirmative action and ensured legal protections provided under Title V of the US Code of Law, which protected government employees from discrimination.

The Rehabilitation Act included four sections focusing on specific issues. Section 501 revised the federal government’s hiring practices. Section 502 established a board to simultaneously address architectural and transportation barriers for disabled individuals and enforce standards created under the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968. Section 503 barred businesses with federal government contracts or subcontractors from discriminating against individuals with physical or mental disabilities. Section 504 prohibited employers and organizations receiving federal funds from discounting or refusing disabled persons an equal opportunity to receive program benefits and services. Finally, Section 508 discussed improving disabled persons’ access to communication and computer technology, although this section of the law saw few results until decades later.

Overview

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act was designed to ensure disabled individuals were given equal access to programs and services provided by educational and rehabilitative facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes, mental health centers, schools, and human service programs. The law forbids such institutions from denying a disabled person services or benefits because of his or her disability. Such disabilities include a range of mental and physical debilitations such as blindness, deafness, and mental illness. It also established definitions and standards for terms such as “individuals with disabilities,” “qualified individuals with disabilities,” and “reasonable accommodation.”

Under Section 504, “individuals with disabilities” refers to those with physical or mental impairment that hinders one or more major life activities. People with a history of physical and mental impairment are also covered under this definition. Major life activities include being able to care for oneself, seeing, hearing, walking, breathing, speaking, working, learning, and performing manual tasks. Section 504 extends its protections to “qualified individuals with disabilities,” which means that the disabled individual is able to perform the essential functions of a job with reasonable accommodation. “Reasonable accommodation” refers to steps an employer is required to take to ensure a person’s disability is accommodated for without those steps causing the employer excessive hardship.

Section 504 specifically protects disabled individuals from discrimination by organizations and employers that receive federal funding. Such organizations and employers include federally funded health care and human service institutions as well as federally subsidized schools and universities. Housing that takes advantage of federal programs is also subject to Section 504 regulations. Several discriminatory actions are prohibited under this section. Denial of a qualified disabled individual’s equal opportunity to participate in or benefit from these services is illegal. Denying a qualified disabled individual access to benefits, opportunities, or services due to physical barriers is also prohibited. Section 504 also forbids denial of employment opportunities—including hiring, training, fringe benefits, and promotions—to qualified or entitled disabled persons. Individuals who experience discrimination as outlined by Section 504 are eligible for compensatory damages.

Despite the passage of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504 regulations experienced years of obstruction and attempted rewrites as federal and state legislators worried over the costs of such extensive requirements. It was several years before Section 504 was officially enforced within the public sector. During this period, a number of disability rights groups organized protests and filed lawsuits to force legislators to implement Section 504 regulations. In 1977, a disability rights protest known as the 504 Sit-in saw activists occupying several federal buildings for close to a full month. The demonstrations were designed to push lawmakers to enact the long overdue regulations within Section 504. The protests effectively brought an end to the Section 504 delays, and the regulations were implemented without any changes shortly after.

Bibliography

“Disability Legislation History.” Colorado State University, disabilitycenter.colostate.edu/awareness/disability-history/. Accessed 11 Dec. 2018.

“Discrimination on the Basis of Disability.” Department of Health and Human Services, www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-individuals/disability/index.html. Accessed 11 Dec. 2018.

“Free Appropriate Public Education for Students with Disabilities: Requirements under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.” US Department of Education, www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/edlite-FAPE504.html. Accessed 11 Dec. 2018.

“A Guide to Disability Rights Laws.” US Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, www.ada.gov/cguide.htm#anchor65610. Accessed 11 Dec. 2018.

“Protecting Students with Disabilities.” US Department of Education, www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/504faq.html. Accessed 11 Dec. 2018.

“Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973.” US Department of Labor, www.dol.gov/oasam/regs/statutes/sec504.htm. Accessed 11 Dec. 2018.

“Short History of the 504 Sit In.” Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, dredf.org/504-sit-in-20th-anniversary/short-history-of-the-504-sit-in/. Accessed 11 Dec. 2018.

“Your Rights under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.” US Department of Health and Human Services, www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/ocr/civilrights/resources/factsheets/504.pdf. Accessed 11 Dec. 2018.