You Manage It! 3: Ethics/Social Responsibility Interpreting the Americans with Disabilities Act: The Hot Frontier of Diversity Management
The disabled are making big inroads in the diversity efforts of corporate America, partly because the population is getting older, but also because of a growing awareness of the American with Disabilities Act, which is leading to a rapid increase in disability lawsuits. A few recent examples of legal challenges under the act for the period 2009–2014 are listed as follows:
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▪ Phillis Dewitt says she was fired by Proctor Hospital in Peoria, Illinois, as a result of her disabled husband’s extensive medical bills for cancer treatment. Ms. Dewitt, then a clinical nursing manager at Proctor Hospital, says her supervisor pulled her aside and told her the hospital was self-insured and “could not continue to sustain the substantial medical bills incurred” by her husband, Anthony, whose treatment had cost the hospital $177,826 the year before.
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▪ Resources for Human Development (RHD) employed Lisa Harrison as prevention/intervention specialist, working with the young children of mothers being treated for addiction. While she is now deceased, her family claims that RHD perceived Harrison as being disabled because of her obesity and that RHD fired her as a result.
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▪ Chipotle Mexican Grill boasts on its Web site that it offers quality food served quickly in restaurants with a “distinct interior design” more commonly found in the world of fine dining. But a federal appeals court in California has ruled that the chain’s “distinct interior design” is also illegal. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that two restaurants in San Diego violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) because the counters where the staff prepared tacos and burritos were too high and blocked the view for people in wheelchairs.
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▪ A deaf woman, who claims she hasn’t been able to sell items on eBay Inc.’s e-commerce Web site, has filed a lawsuit saying the Internet giant violates federal and California state laws that protect disabled people against discrimination. The plaintiff, Melissa Earil of Nevada, Missouri, alleges that she cannot communicate vocally by telephone and hasn’t been able to verify her identity with eBay.
Critical Thinking Questions
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4-23. Why would employers want to fire employees whose dependents are having serious health problems? Should this practice be illegal? What do you think would be the reaction of employees with healthy dependents who suspect this might be happening? Explain.
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4-24. Although the cases discussed above are all very different, what do they have in common? Explain.
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4-25. Apart from the potential legal outcomes of the lawsuits discussed, are any larger ethical issues involved? Explain.
Team Exercise
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4-26 The class divides into teams of three to five students. Some teams are given the assignment of defending the position of one side (the plantiff). Other teams are asked to argue in favor of the other side (the defendant). All teams should present arguments to support their respective position, with the instructor serving as a moderator. At the end of the discussion, the instructor may take a straw vote as to which side had the more persuasive arguments and then provide his or her own view on the issue.
Experiential Exercise: Team
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4-27. One student role-plays Phillis Dewitt and another student role-plays a top manager of Proctor Hospital. (Alternatively, one student may play the role of Lisa Harrison’s family and another the HRD staff.) The role play should last approximately 10 minutes and may be repeated with another pair of students playing the same roles. The class will then discuss the issues raised during the role play, with the instructor serving as mediator.
Experiential Exercise: Individual
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4-28. As noted in the case, the number of lawsuits under ADA is on the rise. Develop a 5- to 15-page (at instructor’s discretion) position paper where you argue in favor of one side or the other for any of the lawsuits listed above.