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11 – 20 of over 6000This article intervenes in the debate, among US disability rights advocates, about physician-assisted suicide (PAS). Through an ethnographic study, I situate this debate in the…
Abstract
This article intervenes in the debate, among US disability rights advocates, about physician-assisted suicide (PAS). Through an ethnographic study, I situate this debate in the context of the dominant form of end-of-life care in the US hospice. Based on this analysis, I argue that PAS should be an issue of secondary concern to disability rights advocates, and that their primary concern, at the end-of-life, should be the improvement of US hospice care. By thus “putting the ‘right to die’ in its place,” they can achieve consensus among themselves and leverage this consensus to achieve the most substantial advancement of disability rights.
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Thitima Suriyasak and Brian H. Kleiner
Discusses the US, Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and gives the eligibility details for employees and employers alike. Weighs up the pros and cons and concludes that there…
Abstract
Discusses the US, Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and gives the eligibility details for employees and employers alike. Weighs up the pros and cons and concludes that there are advantages for both sides and that these far outweigh the negative sides. Sums up that a lack of discrimination should be pursued by both employees and employers to create a more ideal working environment.
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Zahid Hussain, Lubna Javed Rizvi and Hamid Sheikh
This paper is aimed to fulfil two purposes. First, this paper aims to review the literature and examine step by step evolution of the Equality Act 2010. Second, this paper will…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper is aimed to fulfil two purposes. First, this paper aims to review the literature and examine step by step evolution of the Equality Act 2010. Second, this paper will reflect on the guidelines issued for employers by the Equality and Human Rights Commission to address how to manage the risks arising during the current crisis and as organisations continue with planning for eventual return to the workplace and for those who are currently working remotely.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper has incorporated an integrative literature review reviews approach that aimed to synthesises secondary data about the literature to serve the aims of the paper in an integrated way.
Findings
The introduction of the Equality Act (2010) has made it much more difficult to discriminate against individuals as its coverage is much wider in comparison to any previous legislation. At that point, there were still many exceptions, which permitted discrimination and unequal treatment towards others. Over time, however, the law has become much more strict and developed to counter any discrimination in its attempt to try and eliminate it.
Originality/value
This paper has reflected on both pre- and post-covid developments of The Equality Act (2010) – and discrimination issues for employers.
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Ho Kwan Cheung, Eden King, Alex Lindsey, Ashley Membere, Hannah M. Markell and Molly Kilcullen
Even more than 50 years after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination toward a number of groups in employment settings in the United States, workplace discrimination…
Abstract
Even more than 50 years after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination toward a number of groups in employment settings in the United States, workplace discrimination remains a persistent problem in organizations. This chapter provides a comprehensive review and analysis of contemporary theory and evidence on the nature, causes, and consequences of discrimination before synthesizing potential methods for its reduction. We note the strengths and weaknesses of this scholarship and highlight meaningful future directions. In so doing, we hope to both inform and inspire organizational and scholarly efforts to understand and eliminate workplace discrimination.
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Biological understandings of mental illness are promoted by both anti-stigma campaigners and increasingly by activists protesting against social security cuts. The purpose of this…
Abstract
Purpose
Biological understandings of mental illness are promoted by both anti-stigma campaigners and increasingly by activists protesting against social security cuts. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the pitfalls of the “illness” conceptualisation for reducing discrimination, comments on divisions between those arguing for a right to work and those who seek a right not to work, and proposes bridge building and more effective messages, drawing on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Design/methodology/approach
Review of relevant evidence on the effectiveness or lack of it of the “mental illness is an illness like any other” message in anti-stigma work, and discussion of grey literature from campaigners and bloggers.
Findings
There is a growing body of evidence that the “illness like any other” message entrenches rather than reduces stigma and discrimination: this message should not be used in anti-discrimination work. At the same time some social security bloggers and campaigners have argued they are “sick” in order to resist efforts to compel them to seek work or face sanctions; whilst older disability rights campaigners have argued for the right to work. The paper argues for new bridge building and use of evidence based messages in campaigning.
Research limitations/implications
This paper is based on review of evidence on the impact of using the “illness” message to reduce stigma and discrimination; and on discussion of campaigns and blogs. It is not based on a systematic review of campaigns.
Practical implications
There is a need for campaigns that support rights holistically – the right to a decent standard of living and the right to work. This requires bridge building between activists, which could usefully be rooted in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The “illness” conceptualisation is harmful to the effort to reduce stigma and discrimination. Mental health staff can act as allies to those they serve in securing all these rights.
Originality/value
This is the only recent paper to analyse the evidence that the “illness like any other” message is harmful in anti-stigma work, together with its implications for the recent phenomenon of mental health campaigners moving from opposition to the medical model, to a new argument that they are “too sick” to work. This paper suggests ways forward for everyone with an interest in combatting stigma and discrimination.
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Frank J. Cavico, Stephen C. Muffler and Bahaudin G. Mujtaba
The article aims to provide a discussion of societal norms concerning “attractiveness,” the existence of appearance discrimination in employment, the presence of “preferring the…
Abstract
Purpose
The article aims to provide a discussion of societal norms concerning “attractiveness,” the existence of appearance discrimination in employment, the presence of “preferring the pretty”, and then the authors examine important civil rights laws that relate to such forms of discrimination. Finally, the authors apply ethical theories to determine whether such discrimination can be seen as moral or immoral.
Design/methodology/approach
It is a legal paper which covers all the laws related to discrimination based on look. Court cases and Americans laws related to this concept are reviewed and critically discussed.
Findings
The paper finds that appearance‐based discrimination is not illegal in the USA so long as it does not violate civil rights laws.
Research limitations/implications
This research is limited to Federal and State laws in the USA and may not be relevant in other countries as the local laws might vary.
Practical implications
Managers and employees can protect themselves in the workplace from illegal discriminatory practices.
Social implications
Employees know their rights and enhance their understanding of laws related to appearance, attractiveness, and why companies look to hire those who are considered “handsome”, “pretty” and “beautiful”.
Originality/value
This is an original and comprehensive paper by the authors.
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The representation of ‘the child’ within children's services and the representations of ‘risk’ and its management have implications for disabled people hoping to qualify for and…
Abstract
The representation of ‘the child’ within children's services and the representations of ‘risk’ and its management have implications for disabled people hoping to qualify for and work within certain professions. This article assesses the relevance for children's services of findings from the Disability Rights Commission's Formal Investigation into the impact of professional regulation on disabled people studying and working within three public sector professions in Britain ‐ nursing, social work and teaching. Many professional regulations include varied and vague requirements for ‘fitness’. These are interpreted and implemented differently, often informed by unexamined negative assumptions around disability. Disabled people, particularly those with ‘hidden disabilities’, can be discouraged from disclosing their conditions. This deprives them of the support and adjustments necessary for them to practise safely and effectively. Professional regulation can thus paradoxically induce a false sense of security. The various professions are urged to review and update their regulations, guidance and policies in order to ensure concordance with recent developments in disability and wider antidiscrimination legislation.
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Annette Lawson, Renee Francis, Philippa Russell and Janet Veitch
Governments mediate, through their architecture of machinery and policy, access to rights and, by extension, to services. There is limited but growing recognition in both the UK…
Abstract
Governments mediate, through their architecture of machinery and policy, access to rights and, by extension, to services. There is limited but growing recognition in both the UK and other European governments that individuals' power to negotiate this access is limited by the structural inequality of groups in certain named categories of disadvantage (inter alia, people with disabilities), and they are adapting their machinery to provide the support they require to ‘level the playing field’. However, intersectionality (identities which cut across these recognised categories of disadvantage) prevents those affected from using such mechanisms effectively. Those whose disability impairs their mental awareness and understanding face an additional barrier. The paper explores how this limits the rights of those with both learning disabilities and mental illness, and looks at some of the ways in which this problem is being addressed.
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This chapter examines how personal testimonies at four town hall listening sessions on the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) proposed regulations reflect and affect the institutional…
Abstract
Purpose
This chapter examines how personal testimonies at four town hall listening sessions on the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) proposed regulations reflect and affect the institutional narrative of “who counts” as disabled, and “what counts” as a reasonable accommodation in the United States.
Methods/Approach
I use the full transcripts of four town hall meetings to analyze the stories told.
Findings
Despite changes to public policy intended to broaden the meaning and scope of “disability,” narrative analysis demonstrates how difficult it is to change the fixed and narrow institutionalized beliefs about who counts as “really disabled” and therefore in “real need” of accommodations.
Implications/Value
This study suggests a theoretical framework for conceptualizing disability; highlights the importance of narratives in public policy; and suggests the need for more complex understandings of what constitutes reasonable accommodation of disability in the workplace. The study illustrates the value of a narrative approach to understanding disability policy and policymaking more generally.
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