Understanding the ADA

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became law in 1990 and was amended in 2008.  It 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 this federal law is to ensure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else across the United States.  The text of the statute is here: ADA Statute: Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, As Amended | ADA.gov.  It also has more specific regulations for most of the ADA Titles.

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.
  • ADA Regulations for Title I:
    • eCFR :: 29 CFR Part 1630 -- Regulations to Implement the Equal Employment Provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act
  • EEOC Disability Related Publications:
    • EEOC Disability-Related Publications | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
  • EEOC Information and Guidance For Employers
    • Employers | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
    • Small Business Resource Center | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
  • EEOC Information and Guidance for Employees
    • Employees & Job Applicants | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

• 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.
  • Regulations:
    • Americans with Disabilities Act Title II Regulations | ADA.gov
• 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.
  • Regulations:
    • Americans with Disabilities Act Title III Regulations | ADA.gov
• 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.
  • Regulations:
    • Title IV of the Americans with Disabilities Act (Section 225) | Federal Communications Commission
• 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.
  • See the text of the ADA Statute at Sec. 12201-12212 (Title V) Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, As Amended | ADA.gov

For more in-depth information on the ADA Titles visit the ADA Network Website