| The Rehabilitation Act and Education for Disabled Students. |
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| The Rehabilitation Act was passed to allow full participation in society by individuals with disabilities. The Rehabilitation Act, along with other federal laws such as the Civil Rights Law of 1964, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, guarantees equal access to education for disabled students. More... |
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| Disparate Treatment in the Employment of the Disabled |
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| Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) prohibits discrimination in the workplace on the basis of an employee or a job applicant's disability. Specifically, the ADA protects a "qualified individual with a disability." In considering a disparate treatment claim by an employee with a disability, courts seek to determine whether the disabled employee was treated less favorably than other employees who were not disabled. More... |
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| Voter Intimidation |
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| Since the passage of the Voting Rights Act, obvious methods of voter discrimination were replaced by subtler--but arguably more effective--tactics meant to "disenfranchise" minority voters through intimidation. Although historically limited to African-American voters, incidents of voter intimidation are now being reported with greater frequency in Latino communities. Voter intimidation occurs when individual voters or, more likely, a group of voters decide not to vote because they have been threatened or mislead. For example, minority citizens who are eligible to register to vote may be given incorrect information about registration requirements. Voters may be confused or harassed to the point that they do not wish to appear at the polling places.
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| The Freedom of Religion and "Charitable Choice" |
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| Increasingly, more social services are being provided by nonprofit organizations, including many religious or faith-based groups. Proponents say that such "charitable choice" makes it possible for more clients to receive services. Opponents counter that such federal approval--and funding--is an impermissible sponsorship of religion, which is prohibited by the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Although issues of religion and government seem to have come only recently to the forefront with President George W. Bush's "faith-based initiatives," the concept of charitable choice was made part of the federal welfare reform law passed in 1996.
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| Same Sex Survivor Benefits |
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| The same sex marriage battle continues to intensify. State and federal legislators have proposed "Defense of Marriage" laws, some of which have become laws. In November 2004, voters in 11 states passed state constitutional amendments banning same sex marriage. Conservative, religious, liberal, and civil rights groups continue the debate over whether same sex couples should be permitted to enter into legal marriage. Those in favor of same sex marriages say that same sex couples seek "marriage equality" for the same reasons that everyone else does: to protect their relationships and to receive the same benefits and recognition as heterosexual couples and their families. Among those benefits are survivor or death benefits.
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