Reflection on Thursday's class

During class on Thursday, we went over some of the major legal issues involved with HR management. I really enjoyed the group activity we did where we split up the laws between groups and presented them. Since our group did ours on the Americans with Disabilities Act this naturally left an impression on me.

Reading about the ADA really gave me a new perspective on the provisions employers have to take to ensure discrimination is not taking place. There are three parts to the definition of a disability as described by the ADA. The first part refers to individuals who actually have serious disabilities, such as epilepsy, paralysis, blindness, etc. The second part refers to individuals who have a history of disability like cancer patients in remission, or someone with a history of mental illness. The third part refers to people's subjective reactions to a disability they may have, such as a disfigured face. This may not inhibit their physical performance, but could cause other social or mental limitations.

The most interesting part of the ADA is what is not included in it. Currently obesity, substance abuse, eye color, hair color, and lefthandedness are not included. However, in class we talked about substance abuse and how you can't fire someone for being an alcoholic, just for poor performance if that affects it. This seemed to be a touchy subject for some in the class, and I certainly hadn't thought about some of the angles that were discussed.

I think the ADA is an important act that helps many people, however I can see how some employers could struggle with this. One thing I am learning quickly in this class is how strict the process of HR management is and how much it affects people.