The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became law in 1990. The ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public. The purpose of the law is to ensure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else.
The ADA is divided into five titles (or sections) that relate to different areas of public life:
- Title I Employment – Designed to help people with disabilities access the same employment opportunities and benefits available to all employees and requires employers to provided reasonable accommodations to qualified employees.
- Title II Public Services – Requires public entities, which are programs, services and activities operated by state and local governments to be accessible to people with disabilities and prohibits discrimination based on disability.
- Title III Public Accommodations – Prohibits places of public accommodation that are operated by private entities from discriminating against people with disabilities and ensures physical and programmatic access to all goods and services.
- Title IV Telecommunications – Requires telephone and Internet companies to provide a nationwide system of interstate and intrastate telecommunications relay services such as 711 relay. Requires closed captioning of federally funded PSAs.
- Title V Miscellaneous Provisions – Contains a variety of provision relating to the ADA as a whole, including its relationship to other laws, state immunity, retaliation, attorney’s fees, and more.
For more in-depth information on the ADA Titles visit the ADA Network Website
