| Disability Law |
| Americans With Disabilities Act |
| Disability Related Legal Problems |
| Rights and Conditions for Disabled |
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
The passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 broadened the scope and increased the impact of laws affecting discrimination against persons with physical or mental disabilities. ADA is not only limited to employment matters. It also deals with issues of disability discrimination in public transportation, public accommodations, and telecommunications, among others.
Employment
The ADA expressly stated the national policy to include qualified persons having disabilities in the workforce. For this reason, all employers with 15 or more employees are prohibited from discriminating a qualified person with a disability in all employment aspects. This includes (but is not limited to) aspects such as hiring, promotion, compensation, workspace access and accommodations. The Act applies to private employers including employment agencies and labor unions. The employment provisions of the ADA are enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Public Transportation
Providers of public transportation, such as intra-city or inter-city buses, and rail transportation, are prohibited to discriminate people with disabilities in the delivery of their services. Instead, they are mandated to provide access to people with disabilities, including those who are wheelchair users. These public transportation services are expected to follow all the required accessibility rules in their recently-bought vehicles. ADA may not apply to airlines, but it does to transit facilities. Provisions relating to public transportation are administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
Public Accommodations
Public accommodations covered by ADA include virtually all entities which any consumer does business with or visits. These may include, but are not limited to banks, retail stores, stadiums, theaters, hospitals, and offices of professionals. These entities must follow practices that prohibit exclusion, segregation, and unequal treatment. Public accommodation provisions are regulated by the DOJ.
Telecommunications
Telephone companies are required to provide intrastate and interstate relay services to persons with hearing and speech impairments. Television stations are also required to ensure that all public service announcements supported wholly or partially by federal funds should have close-captioning. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) serves as the implementing agency for these provisions of the ADA.
If you have any concerns about the enforcement of any of the provisions of ADA, you may want to file your complaints directly to the implementing agency. However, it is to your advantage to consult first with a lawyer. You may have a cause of action against, and be able to recover damages from, entities that violate the provisions of the ADA.