This guide provides an overview of Federal civil rights laws
that ensure equal opportunity for people with disabilities. To find
out more about how these laws may apply to you, contact the
agencies and organizations listed below.
Americans with Disabilities Act ( ADA )
The ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in
employment, State and local government, public accommodations,
commercial facilities, transportation, and telecommunications. It
also applies to the Unitied States Congress.
To be protected by the ADA, one must have a disability or
have a relationship or association with an individual with a
disability. An individual with a disability is defined by the ADA as
a person who has a physical or mental impairment that
substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who is
perceived by others as having such an impairment. The ADA does
not specifically name all of the impairments that are covered.
ADA Title I: Employment
Title I requires employers with 15 or more employees to
provide qualified individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity
to benefit from the full range of employment-related opportunities
available to others. For example, it prohibits discrimination in
recruitment, hiring, promotions, training, pay, social activities, and
other privileges of employment. It restricts questions that can be
asked about an applicant's disability before a job offer is made,
and it requires that employers make reasonable accommodations to
the known physical or mental limitations of otherwise qualified
individuals with disabilities, unless it results in undue hardship.
Religious entities with 15 or more employees are covered under
title I.
Title I complaints must be filed with the U. S. Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission ( EEOC ) within 180 days of
the date of discrimination, or 300 days if the charge is filed with a
designated State or local fair employment practice agency.
Individuals may file a lawsuit in Federal court only after they
receive a "right-to-sue" letter from the EEOC.
Charges of employment discrimination on the basis of
disability may be filed at any U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission field office. Field offices are located in 50 cities
throughout the U.S. and are listed in most telephone directories
under "U.S. Government." For the appropriate EEOC field
office in your geographic area, call:
( 800 ) 669 - 4000 ( voice )
( 800 ) 699 - 6820 ( TDD )
Information on EEOC-enforced laws may be obtained by calling:
( 800 ) 699 - EEOC ( voice )
( 800 ) 800 - 3302 ( TDD )
For information on how to accommodate a specific individual
with a disability, call the Job Accommodation Network at:
( 800 ) 526 - 7234 ( voice / TDD )
( 800 ) ADA - WORK ( voice / TDD )
ADA Title II: State and Local Government Activities
Title II covers all activities of State and local governments
regardless of the government entity's size or receipt of Federal
funding. Title II requires that State and local governments give
people with disabilities an equal opportunity to benefit from all of
their programs, services, and activities ( e.g. public education,
employment, transportation, recreation, health care, social
services, courts, voting, and town meetings).
State and local governments are required to follow specific
architectural standards in the new construction and alteration of
their buildings. They also must relocate programs or otherwise
provide access in inaccessible older buildings, and communicate
effectively with people who have hearing, vision, or speech
disabilities. Public entities are not required to take actions that
would result in undue financial and administrative burdens. They
are required to make reasonable modifications to policies,
practices, and procedures where necessary to avoid discrimination,
unless they can demonstrate that doing so would fundamentally
alter the nature of the service, program, or activity being provided.
Complaints of title II violations may be filed with the
Department of Justice within 180 days of the date of
discrimination. In certain situations, cases may be referred to a
mediation program sponsored by the Department. The
Department may bring a lawsuit where it has investigated a matter
and has been unable to resolve violations. For more information
or to file a complaint, contact:
Disability Rights Section
Civil Rights Division
U.S. Department of Justice
P.O. Box 66738
Washington, D.C. 20035 - 6738
You may also call for information at:
( 800 ) 514 - 0301 ( voice )
( 800 ) 514 - 0383 ( TDD )
Title II may also be enforced through private lawsuits in Federal
court. It is not necessary to file a complaint with the Department
of Justice ( DOJ ) or any other Federal agency, or to receive a
"right-to-sue" letter, before going to court.
ADA Title II: Public Transportation
The transportation provisions of title II cover public
transportation services, such as city buses, and public rail transit
( e.g. subways, commuter rails, Amtrak ). Public transportation
authorities may not discriminate against people with disabilities in
the provision of their services. They must comply with
requirements for accessibility in newly purchased vehicles, make
good faith efforts to purchase or lease accessible used buses,
remanufacture buses in an accessible manner, and unless it would
result in an undue burden, provide paratransit where they operate
fixed-route bus or rail systems. Paratransit is a service where
individuals who are unable to use the regular transit system
independently (because of a physical or mental impairment) are
picked up and dropped off at their destinations. Questions and
complaints about public transportation should be directed to:
Federal Transit Administration
U.S. Department of Transportation
400 Seventh Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20590
Documents and Questions:
( 202 ) 366 - 1656 ( voice )
( 202 ) 366 - 4567 ( TDD )
Legal Questions:
( 202 ) 366 - 1936 ( voice / relay )
( 202 ) 366 - 9306 ( voice )
( 202 ) 755 - 7687 ( TDD )
Complaints and Enforcement:
( 202 ) 366 - 2285 ( voice )
( 202 ) 366 - 0153 ( TDD )
ADA Title III: Public Accommodations
Title III covers businesses and nonprofit service providers
that are public accommodations, privately operated entities
offering cerain types of courses and examinations, provately
operated transportation, and commercial facilities. Public
accommodations are private entities who own, lease, lease to, or
operate facilities such as restaurants, retail stores, hotels, movie
theaters, private schools, convention centers, doctors' offices,
homeless shelters, transportation depots, zoos, funeral homes, day
care centers, and recreation facilities including sports stadiums and
fitness clubs. Transportation services provided by private entities
are also covered by title III.
Public accommodations must comply with basic
nondiscrimination requirements that prohibit exclusion,
segregation, and unequal treatment. They also must comply with
specific requirements related to architectural standards for new
and altered buildings; reasonable modifications to policies,
practices, and procedures; effective communication with people
with hearing, vision, or speech disabilities; and other access
requirements. Additionally, public accommodations must remove
barriers in existing buildings where it is easy to do so without much
difficulty or expense, given the public accommodation's resources.
Courses and examinations related to professional, educational,
or trade - related applications, licensing, certifications, or
credentialing must be provided in a place and manner accesible to
people with disabilities, or alternative accessible arrangements
must be offered.
Commercial facilities, such as factories and warehouses, must
comply with the ADA's architectural standards for new
construction and alterations.
Complaints of title III violations may be filed with the
Department of Justice. In certain situations, cases may be referred
to a mediation program sponsored by the Department. The
Department is authorized to bring a lawsuit where there is a
pattern or practice of discrimination in violation of title III, or
where an act of discrimination raises an issue of general public
importance. Title III may also be enforced through private
lawsuits. It is not neccessary to file a complaint with the
Department of Justice ( or any Federal agency ), or to receive a
"right-to-sue" letter, before going to court. For more
information or to file a complaint, contact:
Disability Rights Section
Civil Rights Division
U.S. Department of Justice
P.O. Box 66738
Washington, D.C. 20035 - 6738
You may also call for information at:
( 800 ) 514 - 0301 ( voice )
( 800 ) 514 - 0383 ( TDD )
ADA Title IV: Telecommunications
Title IV addresses telephone and television access for people
with hearing and speech disabilities. It requires common carriers
( telephone companies ) to establish interstate and intrastate
telecommunications relay services ( TRS ) 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week. TRS enables callers with hearing and speech disabilities who
use text telephones ( TTY's or TDD's ), and callers who use voice
telephones, to communicate with each other through a third party
communications assistant. The Federal Communications
Commission ( FCC ) has set minimum standards for TRS services.
Title IV also requires closed captioning of Federally funded public
service announcements. For more information about TRS, contact
the FCC at:
Federal Communications Commission
1919 M Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20554
Documents and questions:
( 202 ) 418 - 0190 ( voice )
( 202 ) 418 - 2555 ( TDD )
Legal Questions:
( 202 ) 418 - 2357 ( voice )
( 202 ) 418 - 0484 ( TDD )
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