The U.S Department of Labor is recognizing the 50th anniversary of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the first federal law to address access and equity for people with disabilities, on its September 26 anniversary. The Rehab Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in programs conducted and funded by the Federal government. It also requires affirmative action in employment by the federal government and by government contractors and prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in programs conducted by federal agencies, in programs receiving federal financial assistance, in federal employment, and in the employment practices of federal contractors.
Learn more about the law’s impact in this video produced by the Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy.