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Equal-Access Computing -- Accessible systems have become de rigueur, but IT must be involved in planning modifications to avoid security and usability issues.

Article Excerpt
Byline: Curtis Franklin Jr., Tim Wilson And Martin S. Ebel

In 1990, Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act "to establish a clear and comprehensive prohibition of discrimination on the basis of disability." Over the past decade, courts have sought to interpret the legislation's requirements, often-though not always-clarifying what is or isn't a disability, and what does or doesn't constitute the sort of reasonable accommodation Congress had on its collective mind.

One thing not in doubt is which companies must comply with the act: If your organization employs 15 or more people, ADA applies to you. Although some states, notably California, have their own statutes, rules and regulations concerning employees with disabilities, ADA provides plenty of incentive for IT to work with employees who fall within the legal definition of "disabled."

Why focus on ADA now? For one thing, nearly 15 years of court decisions have provided enough case law to guide IT. Second, a preoccupation with homeland security, GLBA (the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act), HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and SOX (the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002) has relegated ADA to the back burner for the past couple of years. That means most ADA compliance has been on a reactive basis-hardly a recipe for cost efficiency and technology standardization. Finally, forward-thinking companies are looking to beat the numbers: As the working population ages and baby boomers get ready to retire in droves, some experts predict profound implications for the U.S. work force (see "By the Numbers," page 65).

More than ever, companies need the flexibility to hire the best-qualified people. Your role is to incorporate ADA compliance into basic implementation and deployment decisions so modifications for legally disabled employees don't compromise security or functionality. For example, it wouldn't be a good idea to let any employees, disabled or otherwise, work from home before a suitable remote-access framework is in place. Nor would it be prudent to install hardware that circumvents specific authentication methods-for instance, a keyboard lacking a token reader, or a predictive-typing system that stores and completes passwords.

ADA in a Nutshell

Here's what you need to know about the law:

- Individuals qualify as disabled under ADA if they have a physical or mental impairment substantially limiting one or more major life activities, have a record of such an impairment or are regarded as having such an impairment. Major life activities include walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, working, sitting, lifting, standing, reaching and caring for oneself.

- Protection from discrimination requires the removal of those barriers presented by...

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