Investigation and enforcement of a disability discrimination statute: Complaints of employment discrimination filed in new york state

This paper presents an analysis of 7,189 complaints of disabilitybased discrimination in employment filed with New York State and open between 1984-1994. The characteristics of the complainants, the employers, the complaints, and the resolutions are presented. The data show that the majority of disability discrimination complainants were not persons seeking jobs, but those who had jobs or were terminated from jobs. Approximately 40% of cases closed with a positive outcome for the complainant, with no discernible differences by type of disability. The New York State data are of interest not only because they indicate how a state civil rights law for disability operated before the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), but because they can suggest what the experience and the challenges may be in the enforcement of the ADA over time.