Discrimination still hard to prove...
The ADA Act of 2008 is definitely a step forward, but the hard facts remain that discrimination on the job in IT is hard to prove. Most State governments in the USA allow "At Will Employment" where the employer can hire or fire any employee or any legal reason at any time.
Proving discrimination can be very difficult because the employer will invent some other excuse why the employee had to be fired... ie lack of work, company reorganization, job non-performance, lack of education, etc. For better or worse, the ADA Act of 2008 tries to encourage more mediation between the IT employer and IT employee so legal disputes do not tie up and clog the judicial court system.
Unfortunately, IT employers have a legal way to circumvent legal protections granted by the ADA... Companies now try to outsource IT jobs to other companies because contractors are not granted the same level of on-the-job legal protections, wages, and benefits at a client worksite as employees. IT Contractors are easier to hire/fire than IT employees because the threat of a contractor losing a services contract for contract non-performance can be related to ADA disabilities.
