Edward J. LYNCH, Jr.
(1933-1995)
Edward J. Lynch, Jr. was a lawyer in the United States Office for Civil Rights in the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (later the Department of Education). In that capacity he was instrumental in drafting the regulations for the first civil rights protection for people with disabilities – Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. He also worked on legal issues for the President’s Committee on Mental Retardation.
In 1982 he was dismissed from his job with the Department’s Office for Civil Rights. Mr. Lynch appealed the action on the basis of handicap discrimination. His suit was finally won in 1988, although he had to continue to assert his rights until his eventual retirement. This suit set precedents in the area of discrimination against people with handicaps and is often cited in other cases. Part of his files documents the process of this lawsuit.
Other notable materials in the files are material on Title IX, Section 504, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and disability rights. There is a large section on specific court cases and Office for Civil Rights memoranda on the process of regulating government legislation.
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