Get Your Free Guide to the Americans With Disabilities Act

Understanding the Americans With Disabilities Act: What It Is and Why It Matters

The Americans With Disabilities Act, commonly known as the ADA, is a federal law passed in 1990 that protects the rights of people with disabilities. This law applies across the United States and covers all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and public spaces. The ADA was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush and has been updated several times since then to reflect changes in technology and society.

Get Your Free Game Development Starter Guide →

The ADA is based on a simple principle: people with disabilities deserve the same opportunities and access as everyone else. Approximately 61 million adults in the United States live with a disability, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This means that understanding the ADA affects a significant portion of our population, whether someone has a disability themselves or knows someone who does.

The law defines disability broadly. A disability under the ADA is a physical or mental condition that substantially limits one or more major life activities. Major life activities include things like walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, working, learning, and thinking. Importantly, the law covers people who have a record of a disability, as well as people who are regarded as having a disability, even if they do not currently have one.

The ADA has five main titles, each covering different areas of life. Title I covers employment. Title II covers programs and services offered by state and local governments. Title III covers private businesses open to the public. Title IV covers telecommunications. Title V contains miscellaneous provisions. Each title has specific rules about what organizations must do to comply with the law.

Practical Takeaway: Understanding that the ADA is a broad law covering many areas of daily life helps explain why it affects employment, shopping, education, and other everyday activities. Knowing these basics provides a foundation for learning how the law impacts specific situations.

Title I: Employment Rights and Workplace Accommodations

Title I of the ADA covers employment and applies to all employers with 15 or more employees. This title ensures that people with disabilities have the same opportunities to compete for jobs and advance in their careers as people without disabilities. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment rate for people with disabilities is significantly lower than for people without disabilities, making these protections important.

Learn How Massachusetts Unemployment Payments Work →

Under Title I, employers must provide reasonable accommodations to employees and job applicants with disabilities. A reasonable accommodation is a change or adjustment to a job or work environment that allows a person with a disability to perform the essential functions of the job. Examples of reasonable accommodations include providing assistive technology, adjusting work schedules, modifying workspaces for wheelchair accessibility, providing interpreters or note-takers, and allowing remote work arrangements.

The process of requesting an accommodation typically begins with an employee or applicant informing their employer that they need a change due to a disability. The employer and employee then work together to find a solution that works for both parties. The employer is required to consider the request seriously, but they are not required to provide every accommodation requested if it would create undue hardship—meaning significant difficulty or expense for the business.

Title I also protects employees from discrimination based on disability. Employers cannot refuse to hire, fire, or treat an employee differently because of a disability. Employers also cannot ask disability-related questions or require medical examinations before offering a job. After a job offer is made, employers can ask limited disability-related questions and require a medical examination as long as all new employees in that job category are treated the same way.

People who believe they have experienced employment discrimination related to disability can file a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC investigates these charges and works to resolve disputes. In 2022, the EEOC received over 32,000 charges related to disability discrimination.

Practical Takeaway: Employees and job seekers with disabilities should understand that they can request workplace changes to do their jobs and that employers cannot discriminate based on disability. Having this knowledge helps people advocate for themselves at work.

Title II: Public Services and Government Programs

Title II of the ADA requires state and local government agencies to ensure that people with disabilities can participate in all programs, services, and activities offered to the public. This applies to government offices, public schools, libraries, parks and recreation programs, public transportation systems, and courts. Title II is significant because it affects how people with disabilities interact with essential government services that affect daily life.

Understanding UGI Payments and How Your Utility Bill Works →

Government agencies must ensure physical accessibility by removing barriers that prevent people with disabilities from entering and using public buildings and spaces. This includes installing ramps at entrances, providing accessible parking spaces, ensuring hallways are wide enough for wheelchairs, installing accessible restrooms, and making sure service counters have a portion that is accessible to people using wheelchairs. The Americans With Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) provide specific measurements and standards for these modifications.

Beyond physical accessibility, government agencies must also provide auxiliary aids and services to ensure effective communication with people who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, or have low vision. These aids can include qualified sign language interpreters, written materials in large print or braille, materials in audio format, and assistive listening devices. A deaf person attending a city council meeting, for example, should have access to a sign language interpreter at no charge.

Public transportation is another major area covered by Title II. Public bus systems, trains, and other transit services must be accessible to people with disabilities. This includes features like lifts or ramps on buses, tactile warning strips at platform edges, accessible seating, audio announcements of stops, and trained staff who can operate accessibility equipment. According to the Federal Transit Administration, millions of people with disabilities depend on public transportation to get to work, school, and medical appointments.

Government agencies must also make sure their programs and services are equally available to people with disabilities, even when a person cannot access a particular location. This might mean offering services through alternative methods, such as allowing someone who cannot visit a government office in person to conduct business by phone or through mail.

Practical Takeaway: Understanding that government agencies must be physically accessible and must communicate effectively with people who have disabilities helps people know what to expect and what to request when using public services.

Title III: Public Accommodations and Private Businesses

Title III of the ADA applies to private businesses and non-profit organizations that serve the public. This is the title most people encounter in their everyday lives, as it covers places like stores, restaurants, hotels, movie theaters, doctor's offices, banks, and fitness centers. Title III requires these businesses to ensure that people with disabilities can access their services and facilities on an equal basis with everyone else.

Learn How to Stop Push Notifications on Devices →

Private businesses must make reasonable modifications to their policies, practices, and procedures to ensure equal access. For example, a restaurant that has a policy against animals inside must modify this policy to allow service animals (dogs trained to perform specific tasks for people with disabilities). A clothing store must allow customers to bring someone into a dressing room to help them if they have a disability that makes it difficult to dress. A hotel must allow guests to bring their own medical equipment into rooms.

Physical accessibility in private businesses follows similar standards as government buildings. Businesses must ensure that people who use wheelchairs can enter the building and move through the space, that parking is available, that restrooms are accessible, and that service counters allow people of different heights to interact with staff. When making alterations to a building, businesses must make the path of travel to the altered area accessible, including accessible restrooms and drinking fountains in that area.

Private businesses must also provide auxiliary aids and services for effective communication. A doctor's office must provide sign language interpreters for deaf patients. A movie theater must provide closed captioning or audio description for people who are deaf or blind. A bank must provide documents in large print or in electronic format if a customer requests it. Businesses cannot charge people with disabilities for providing these services, though they can be charged back to insurance in some situations.

Service animals deserve special mention. Under the ADA, service animals are specifically trained dogs (and in limited circumstances, miniature horses) that perform tasks or do work for people with disabilities. A service dog might alert someone to an upcoming seizure, retrieve medication, or provide stability for someone who has difficulty walking. Businesses cannot ask about the disability or the specific tasks the animal performs. Businesses can only ask whether the animal is a service animal and what tasks it performs. Emotional support animals, therapy animals, and pets are not considered service animals under the ADA and may not be brought into businesses unless the business permits animals in general.

Practical