People living with disabilities often struggle to secure the appropriate care. Luckily, there are resources that can provide assistance disability services Melbourne.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) maintains a list of conditions that automatically qualify for disability benefits, such as physical injuries and mental health conditions. They will also assess other cases on an individual basis.
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)
As part of its mandate, the ADA requires covered entities to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified job candidates and employees with disabilities. This could involve making adjustments to jobs or work environments to allow someone with a disability apply for jobs, perform their duties effectively or enjoy benefits offered to other employees.
As with its civil rights predecessors, disability activism organized a campaign to push Congress to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Organizers staged sit-ins at Health and Education Welfare buildings, filed lawsuits against Congress committees, testified before congressional committees, held demonstrations and rallied their members.
President George H.W. Bush signed into law the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in July 1990. Republican Senator Lowell Weicker from Connecticut and Democratic Representative Tony Coelho from Illinois introduced legislation for this legislation and both spoke about their personal experiences with disabilities during their speeches on disability legislation. Likewise, during one hearing of this bill a Deaf man who had been paralyzed in Vietnam provided testimony regarding discrimination he experienced there.
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973
The Rehabilitation Act is a federal law that grants state vocational rehabilitation agencies grants for helping those with disabilities secure employment, support services and independent living. Furthermore, this Act prohibits discrimination against employees or applicants with disabilities who apply for jobs under contracts with federal governments and requires affirmative action policies from employers who contract with these government bodies.
Section 504 prohibits disability-related discrimination in programs conducted or receiving financial assistance from federal agencies, and employment practices of executive agencies. Each agency issues and administers its own Section 504 regulations tailored to their programs; however, all must adhere to common requirements.
Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act mandates that companies receiving federal contracts take proactive steps to hire, retain and promote qualified individuals with disabilities - at least 7% (depending on workforce size) must represent individuals with disabilities in their workforce - with recruitment applicants and current employees encouraged to voluntarily self-identify as having disabilities.
The Social Security Act of 1935
President Roosevelt sought the assistance of Frances Perkins, his Secretary of Labor and member of his cabinet, during the Great Depression to develop an old-age insurance plan which eventually resulted in his New Deal domestic program: Social Security Act 1935.
By the end of this decade, Social Security had emerged as one of the most successful government programs ever implemented, providing retirement benefits as well as disability and family welfare provisions.
In 1994, Congress enacted legislation to establish SSA as an independent agency and create a permanent 7-member Advisory Board instead of temporary Councils, which had served as Social Security's governing body since 1930s. Additionally, this law created a new disability benefit and prohibited periods of disability from diminishing retirement or survivor benefits; additionally it offered incentives to help disabled people return to work more easily.
The Family Medical Leave Act
Employees living with serious health conditions or caring for loved ones with disabilities can take advantage of the Family Medical Leave Act by taking up to 12 weeks unpaid time off work without jeopardizing short-term disability or paid sick days benefits. This coverage covers illness and injury; taking such leave does not alter employee rights to short-term disability payments or paid sick days.
To be eligible for FMLA leave, an employee must have a permanent and debilitating health condition that meets the definition of a serious health condition and last more than three days without interruption.
ADA defines disability as any mental or physical impairment that significantly limits a major life activity, whether temporary or permanent, that affects one or more major bodily functions or systems - for instance vision, hearing, speech, walking, breathing heart lungs immune reproductive organs nervous system and gastrointestinal tract. No matter the cause or how it happened; impairment can happen.
