As our society approaches the next century, critical questions are emerging about the nature, composition, and qualiยฎcations of the American workforce of the 21st century. These questions include the following:
(i) Will our increasingly diversiยฎed and aging workforce include millions of qualiยฎed persons with disabilities? (ii) What will be the characteristics, capabilities, and qualiยฎcations of the workforce of persons with disabilities? (iii) What types of job training and support, and career opportunity and wages, will be available to the workforce of persons with disabilities? (iv) How will the dramatic changes that have occurred in the last quarter of the 20th century in the area of disability employment law aect related reforms in education, welfare, dispute resolution, and technology policy? 1
This special section of the Employment Discrimination issue of Behavioral Sciences & the Law examines issues related to persons with disabilities in the workforce.
REPLACING MYTHS AND ANECDOTES WITH FACTS AND DATA
Despite attempts to address these and related questions, there is little empirical evidence that American disability law and policy has contributed to substantial increases in the numbers of qualiยฎed persons with disabilities participating in the workplace. Systematic information, from a range of disciplines, on the work lives of persons with disabilities is lacking. The promise of the ADA and related antidiscrimination laws to prevent the exclusion from society of millions of qualiยฎed Americans with disabilities makes this lack of information troubling.