Disability and the Displaced Worker

With the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), the employment of persons with disabilities has taken center stage in policy debates. The passage of the ADA could not have come at a more propitious time, since the employment situation of persons with disabilities, particularly older workers, has been worsening dramatically for over two decades. In the traditional view, this worsening employment necessarily follows the aging of the population which puts more of us at risk for chronic disease and impairment. In an alternative view that gained prominence with the election of Reagan, disability compensation programs increase malingering by providing persons with disabilities entice persons with disabilities a secure cushion of income. 

In this controversial new book, Yelin dispels both these views. He links the growing work disability problem to the decline of manufacturing employment which forced older workers with disabilities out of the laborforce as part of a first fired phenomenon. He further links disability to changes in all forms of work that made secure full-time employment with a wide range of benefits a thing of the past. Yelin argues that work disability policy and industrial policy must be joined to create a heightened demand for the skills and job experiences of older workers with disabilities.  Employers must create work environments that provide persons with disabilities the flexlibility to fit their illnesses and work together.