Quotes on Regulation

The Simplicity of the Americans With Disabilities Act

In 1996, John Stossel, journalist for the television news program "20/20", interviewed Gilbert Casellas, the chairman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on the topic of the Americans with Disabilities Act. At one point their exchange went like this:

Casellas: "The law's fairly clear, it's fairly simple."

Stossel: "If you come to me applying for a job, and your arm's in a sling, can I ask you why your arm is in a sling?"

Casellas: "You can ask -- you know what? I'm going to ask you to stop the tape ... we're getting into a complicated area ..."

Stossel: "You run the EEOC, and you don't even understand [the rules]? How's some employer in Iowa supposed to know them?"