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What Is the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)?
Let me explain the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 directly: it's a law that gives comprehensive civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities. It makes it illegal to discriminate against people with disabilities in employment opportunities, access to transportation, public accommodations, communications, and government activities.
The ADA stops private employers, state and local governments, employment agencies, and labor unions from discriminating against those who have disabilities. Under this law, employers must make reasonable accommodations for an employee with a disability to perform their job.
Key Takeaways
You should know that the ADA was passed in 1990 to prevent workplace and hiring discrimination against people with disabilities. It applies to all private businesses with 15 or more employees, and it also covers government employers, employment agencies, and labor unions.
Beyond that, the ADA has increased accessibility and mobility for people with disabilities by mandating features like automatic doorways, ramps, and elevators in public places and businesses to accommodate wheelchairs.
Understanding the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)
To be covered by the ADA, you need a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. The law has four major sections that provide its primary protections.
Title I prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities in job applications, hiring, firing, career advancement, compensation, job training, and other employment aspects. This applies to employers with 15 or more employees.
Title II covers state and local government entities, extending protection from discrimination to qualified individuals with disabilities and requiring reasonable access to government services, programs, and activities.
Here's a fast fact: The Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 broadened the legal definition of 'disability,' making it easier for people to establish they have a disability under the ADA. Before this, conditions like cancer, diabetes, epilepsy, ADHD, and learning disabilities could be excluded.
Title III prohibits discrimination in access to activities at public venues, including restaurants, schools, daycare facilities, movie theaters, recreation facilities, and doctors' offices. It requires newly constructed or refurbished public accommodations to comply with ADA standards, and it applies to commercial facilities like factories, warehouses, or office buildings.
Title IV handles telephone and television access for individuals with hearing and speech disabilities, requiring common carriers like telephone companies to provide telecommunications relay services (TRS) 24/7.
Different agencies enforce the ADA: The EEOC handles Title I, the Department of Labor enforces Title II for government services and Title III for public accommodations, and the FCC enforces Title IV.
How the Americans With Disabilities Act Increased Accessibility
The ADA sets standards for accessible design in public accommodations, including automatic doorways, ramps, and elevators for wheelchairs. Water fountains must be at reachable heights for individuals with disabilities.
In the workplace, examples of accommodations include providing a sign language interpreter for a hearing-impaired applicant during an interview, modifying a work schedule for someone needing treatment, or restructuring a facility to make it accessible.
Important note: Websites must be accessible to people with disabilities and comply with ADA standards. However, employers aren't required to make accommodations if they cause undue hardship or significant expenses relative to the company's size.
Title IV requires telephone companies to provide relay services or similar devices for the hearing- and speech-impaired.
What Does the Americans With Disabilities Act Do?
The ADA prevents discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, communication, transportation, state and government programs, and public accommodations. It ensures they can participate equally in everyday life.
Is Anxiety Covered by ADA?
Yes, anxiety disorders are covered by the ADA and considered disabilities. If you have an anxiety disorder, you cannot be discriminated against in the workplace or other areas of life.
What Are the Types of ADA?
The ADA breaks down into four main sections: Title I for employment, Title II for public entities and transportation, Title III for public accommodations and facilities, and Title IV for telecommunications.
The Bottom Line
The ADA was passed to ensure Americans with disabilities have equal opportunities in mainstream life, including protections against discrimination in employment, transportation, communication, public accommodations, and government activities. This act has significantly advanced the lives of individuals with disabilities.
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