While the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) has been in place for more than 20 years, many non-profit agencies think it does not apply to them, or are confused about which aspects of the law do.

Here are some facts about the ADA:

• The ADA gives rights of equal access to places of public accommodation, including non-profit organizations.
• Places of public accommodation must give persons with disabilities equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from their services.
• Small employers are not subject to ADA. This includes those with fewer than 15 employees.
• Employers with 15 or more employees may not ask whether a person is disabled when interviewing for a position, and must make reasonable accommodations for a worker’s disability.
• Making accommodations can be as simple as providing a foot stool to a volunteer with a disability, allowing a volunteer with lupus to take rest breaks or changing the orientation of a desk to accommodate a wheelchair.
• Temporary conditions, such as broken limbs or illnesses, are not covered under the ADA.
• You may choose a non-disabled volunteer over a disabled volunteer, according to qualifications.

About 20% of the U.S. population is disabled, and if you have not yet welcomed volunteers with disabilities into your agency, you may be missing out on a wealth of talent and skill.

Tags: Managing Volunteers, Recruiting Volunteers

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 18th, 2011 at and is filed under Volunteer Management. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.