The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is important legislation designed
to prohibit discrimination against disabled persons, but most state and lo
cal governments covered by the Act were already prohibited from discriminat
ion against the disabled by provisions of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973. This article reports the results of a national survey designe
d to measure the perceptions of personnel managers from state government de
partments and agencies regarding the impact of the ADA on public personnel
management practices given concurrent coverage of the Rehabilitation Act. A
majority of the managers from organizations subject to the Rehabilitation
Act reported that the ADA had no significant effects on their organizations
. Substantial proportions of respondents agreed, however, that the ADA did
have certain more narrowly defined effects on public personnel practices. P
ossible explanations for the perceived effects of the ADA despite coverage
by the Rehabilitation Act are considered.