Disabling the Split: Should Reasonable Accommodations Be Provided to “Regarded as” Disabled Individuals Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)?

People with disabilities constitute the largest minority in the United States, with over fifty-four million representatives and growing. 1 Of the twenty-nine million working age adults with disabilities, about two-thirds are unemployed, and about eighty percent of those two-thirds would like to work but have not been given the chance.2 Congress noted this unemployment after statistics showed "that disabled people are the poorest, least educated and largest minority in America." 3 As a result, Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 4 in 1990, which became effective in 1992.5 But disabled persons' desire to work "still may * J.D. (2006), Washington University School of Law.I would like to thank my parents for everything they have done for me.Without my parents, I would not be where I am today.I love you Mom and Dad.1.