National Disability Employment Awareness Month facts Published Oct. 27, 2017 By 412th Test Wing Public Affairs In recognition of National Disability Employment Awareness Month, the Edwards NDEAM Committee has provided a few facts from the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute. - In 2004, the United States Supreme Court heard Tennessee v. Lane, a case in which individuals sued the state of Tennessee for failing to ensure that courthouses were accessible to people with disabilities. One plaintiff was arrested when he refused to crawl or be carried upstairs. The state argued that they could not be sued under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Supreme Court was in favor of people with disabilities, however, and ruled that Tennessee could be sued for damages under Title II for failing to provide access to the courts. - The Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 mandates the removal of what is perceived to be the most significant obstacle to employment for people with disabilities — the physical design of the buildings and facilities — by requiring that all buildings designed, constructed, altered or leased with federal funds be made accessible. - In 1935, the League for the Physically Handicapped formed in New York City to protest discrimination by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The 300 members—most with disabilities caused by polio and cerebral palsy—had been denied WPA jobs because the Home Relief Bureau of New York City had stamped their applications “PH” for physically handicapped. League members held sit-ins and eventually generated thousands of jobs nationwide.