Legal Issues

The following resources will lead nursing students and nurses with disabilities to information about federal laws related  to people with disabilities.  In 1973, the Rehabilitation Act Section 504 was passed.  It states: No otherwise qualified handicapped individual in the United States .  . .shall solely by reason of this handicap 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 (p.22678). In addition, section 504 states that qualified individuals cannot be subject to discrimination in educational programs.

  The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990. It prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by entities providing public and private preschool, elementary, secondary and postsecondary education. It also prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, state and local government, public accommodations, commercial facilities, transportation and telecommunications.

The American Association of People with Disabilities works for the full implementation and enforcement of disability nondiscrimination laws, particularly the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

The Job Accommodation Network (JAN)
is a free consulting service that provides information about job accommodations, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Office of the Americans with Disabilities Act
Civil Rights Division
U.S. Department of Justice

Information/ Fact sheet about job applicants and employees in the health care field. Questions and Answers about Health Care Workers and the Americans with Disabilities Act

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Employment of Health Care Workers with Disabilities

Reasonable Accommodation
Susan Matt, RN, MN, JD is a hard of hearing nurse attorney. The following article provides an excellent review of reasonable accommodation and essential functions of a job. Knowledge of the law can facilitate requests for opportunities equal to the general population. Membership in AMPHL is required to view the article.
Matt, S.B. (2003, May 1). Reasonable Accommodation: What Does the Law Really Require? Journal of the Association of Medical Professional with Hearing Losses, 1. Retrieved May 13, 2003.

Susan B. Matt, RN, MN
Nurse-Attorney providing general legal services to the public, including, but not limited to: disability accommodation consultation; marriage dissolution; adoption; and will drafting.

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Any individual who believes he or she has been discriminated against in employment may file an administrative charge with the EEOC.

Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education
Ten regional offices are able to answer questions on matters related to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

Region I: (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont)         (617) 289-0111

Region II: (New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands)                            (212) 637-6466

Region III (Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia) (215) 656-8541

Region IV (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee)      (404) 562-6350

Region V (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin)                         (312) 886-8434

Region VI (Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas)                              (214) 880-2459

Region VII (Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska)
(816) 880-4200

Region VIII (Arizona, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming) (303) 844-5695

Region IX (California, only)   (415) 556-4275

Region X (Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, American Samoa, Guam, Trust Territory of the Pacific)   (206) 220-7900

The U.S. Department of Education makes available more than 3,4000 documents related to the ADA, including those issued by Federal agencies with responsibilities under the law.