The Peace Corps is committed to providing equal opportunity to all employees, Volunteers, and applicants for employment and volunteer service.  The Peace Corps welcomes people from every background and does not discriminate against anyone based upon race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age (40 or over), disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, parental status, political affiliation, union membership, genetic information, or prior participation in protected activity including grievance proceedings.

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Americans with Disabilities Act

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was enacted by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President George H.W. Bush on July 26, 1990.  It was later amended with changes that became effective on January 1, 2009.

The ADA is the disability-related law with which many Americans are most familiar.  One part of the ADA, Title I, prohibits private employers, state and local governments, employment agencies and labor unions from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in job application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement, job assignments, pay, benefits, job training, and other employment practices.

This part of the law also requires that employers and other specified persons and organizations provide reasonable accommodation for a known disability of a qualified applicant or employee if it would not impose an "undue hardship" on the operations of the employer's business.

Other parts of the ADA apply to state and local government services and employment, public accommodations, transportation, and telecommunications.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has primary responsibility for enforcing the employment-related portions of the ADA.  Other Federal agencies, such as Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), also have responsibilities under those portions of the law.

More information about the ADA can be found at the U.S. Department of Justice ADA home page. 

The ADA Amendments Act

On September 25, 2008, the President George W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 ("ADA Amendments Act" or "Act").  The Act emphasizes that the definition of disability should be construed in favor of broad coverage of individuals to the maximum extent permitted by the terms of the ADA and generally shall not require extensive analysis.

The Act makes important changes to the definition of the term "disability" by rejecting the holdings in several Supreme Court decisions and portions of EEOC's ADA regulations.  The effect of these changes is to make it easier for an individual seeking protection under the ADA to establish that he or she has a disability within the meaning of the ADA.

Information on the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 can be found here.