Originally from Alternatives to the High Cost of Litigation

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Into its fourth decade, the Americans with Disabilities Act has taken its place alongside the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as a successful step in addressing discriminatory conduct in the United States. The law prohibits discrimination in hiring and on the job, in governmental and public activities, transportation, at public accommodations like hotels, restaurants, and theaters, and ensures access to telecommunications systems for speech and hearing impaired individuals.

To ensure workplace, retail, and public accommodations access, the law needs enforcement. The 1990 signing of the ADA into law by President George H.W. Bush also created a litigation industry of complaints, individual and class suits, and processes to install the “reasonable accommodation” that the statute calls for in addressing workplace and facilities access issues.

And that, in turn, secured a big role for mediation’s use in dealing with public and private disputes. While ADA violations are resolved in many different ways, negotiation steps and mediation are at the forefront. Alternative dispute resolution techniques have been adapted, and there are sticking points—capacity to mediate is discussed below and at right—but the processes are bedrock.