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U.S. Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division
Disability
Rights Section
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.
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
United 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 has a history or record of such an
impairment, or 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 accommodation 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) 669-6820 (TDD)
Information on EEOC-enforced laws may be obtained by calling:(800) 669-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 certain types of courses
and examinations, privately 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 accessible 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 necessary 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)
The Fair Housing Act, as amended in 1988, prohibits housing discrimination
on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, and
national origin. Its coverage includes private housing, housing that receives
Federal financial assistance, and State and local government housing. It is
unlawful to discriminate in any aspect of selling or renting housing or to
deny a dwelling to a buyer or renter because of the disability of that
individual, an individual associated with the buyer or renter, or an
individual who intends to live in the residence. Other covered activities
include, for example, financing, zoning practices, new construction design,
and advertising.
The Fair Housing Act requires owners of housing
facilities to make reasonable exceptions in their policies and operations to
afford people with disabilities equal housing opportunities. For example, a
landlord with a "no pets" policy may be required to grant an
exception to this rule and allow an individual who is blind to keep a guide
dog in the residence. The Fair Housing Act also requires landlords to allow
tenants with disabilities to make reasonable access-related modifications to
their private living space, as well as to common use spaces. (The landlord is
not required to pay for the changes.) The Act further requires that new
multifamily housing with four or more units be designed and built to allow
access for persons with disabilities. This includes accessible common use
areas, doors that are wide enough for wheelchairs, kitchens and bathrooms that
allow a person using a wheelchair to maneuver, and other adaptable features
within the units.
Complaints of Fair Housing Act violations may be
filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
For more information or to file a complaint, contact:
Office of Program Compliance and Disability Rights
Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
451 7th Street, SW (Room 5242)
Washington, D.C. 20140
You may also call the Fair Housing Information Clearinghouse at:
(800) 343-3442 (voice)
(800) 483-2209 (TDD)
Additionally, the Department of Justice can file cases involving a
pattern or practice of discrimination. The Fair Housing Act may also be
enforced through private lawsuits.
The Air Carrier Access Act prohibits discrimination in air transportation by
air carriers against qualified individuals with physical or mental
impairments. It applies only to air carriers that provide regularly scheduled
services for hire to the public. Requirements address a wide range of issues
including boarding assistance and certain accessibility features in newly
built aircraft and new or altered airport facilities. People may enforce
rights under the Air Carrier Access Act by filing a complaint with the U.S.
Department of Transportation, or by bringing a lawsuit in Federal court.
For more information or to file a complaint contact:
Departmental Office of Civil Rights
Office of the Secretary
U.S. Department of Transportation
400 Seventh Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20590
(202) 366-4648 (voice)
(202) 366-8538 (TDD)
You may also contact:
Aviation Consumer Protection Division, C-75
U.S. Department of Transportation
400 Seventh Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20590
(202) 366-2220 (voice)
(202) 755-7687 (TDD)
The Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA) authorizes
the U.S. Attorney General to investigate conditions of confinement at State
and local government institutions such as prisons, jails, pretrial detention
centers, juvenile correctional facilities, publicly operated nursing homes,
and institutions for people with psychiatric or developmental disabilities.
Its purpose is to allow the Attorney General to uncover and correct widespread
deficiencies that seriously jeopardize the health and safety of residents of
institutions. The Attorney General does not have authority under CRIPA to
investigate isolated incidents or to represent individual institutionalized
persons.
The Attorney General may initiate civil law suits where
there is reasonable cause to believe that conditions are "egregious or
flagrant," that they are subjecting residents to "grievous harm,"
and that they are part of a "pattern or practice" of resistance to
residents' full enjoyment of constitutional or Federal rights, including title
II of the ADA and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. For more information
or to bring a matter to the Department of Justice's attention, contact:
Special Litigation Section
Civil Rights Division
U.S. Department of Justice
P.O. Box 66400
Washington, D.C. 20035-6400
(202) 514-6255 (voice/relay)
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (formerly called P.L.
94-142 or the Education for all Handicapped Children Act of 1975) requires
public schools to make available to all eligible children with disabilities a
free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment
appropriate to their individual needs.
IDEA requires public school
systems to develop appropriate Individualized Education Programs (IEP's) for
each child. The specific special education and related services outlined in
each IEP reflect the individualized needs of each student.
IDEA
also mandates that particular procedures be followed in the development of the
IEP. Each student's IEP must be developed by a team of knowledgeable persons
and must be at least reviewed annually. The team includes the child's teacher;
the parents, subject to certain limited exceptions; the child, if determined
appropriate; an agency representative who is qualified to provide or supervise
the provision of special education; and other individuals at the parents' or
agency's discretion.
If parents disagree with the proposed IEP,
they can request a due process hearing and a review from the State educational
agency if applicable in that state. They also can appeal the State agency's
decision to State or Federal court. For more information, contact:
Office of Special Education Programs
U.S. Department of Education
330 C Street, S.W. (Room 3086)
Washington, D.C. 20202
(202) 205-5507 (voice)
(202) 205-9754 (TDD)
The Rehabilitation Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability
in programs conducted by Federal agencies, in programs receiving Federal
financial assistance, in Federal employment, and in the employment practices
of Federal contractors. The standards for determining employment
discrimination under the Rehabilitation Act are the same as those used in
title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Section
501
Section 501 requires affirmative action and
nondiscrimination in employment by Federal agencies of the executive branch.
To obtain more information or to file a complaint, employees should contact
their agency's Equal Employment Opportunity Office.
Section
503
Section 503 requires affirmative action and prohibits
employment discrimination by Federal government contractors and subcontractors
with contracts of more than $10,000.
For more information on
section 503, contact:
Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs
U.S. Department of Labor
200 Constitution Ave, NW
Washington, D.C. 20210
(202) 219-9423 (voice/relay)
Section 504
Section 504 states that "no
qualified individual with a disability in the United States shall be excluded
from, denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under"
any program or activity that either receives Federal financial assistance or
is conducted by any Executive agency or the United States Postal Service.
Each Federal agency has its own set of section 504 regulations
that apply to its own programs. Agencies that provide Federal financial
assistance also have section 504 regulations covering entities that receive
Federal aid. Requirements common to these regulations include reasonable
accommodation for employees with disabilities; program accessibility;
effective communication with people who have hearing or vision disabilities;
and accessible new construction and alterations. Each agency is responsible
for enforcing its own regulations. Section 504 may also be enforced through
private lawsuits. It is not necessary to file a complaint with a Federal
agency or to receive a "right-to-sue" letter before going to court.
For information on how to file 504 complaints with the appropriate
agency, contact:
Disability Rights Section
Civil Rights Division
U.S. Department of Justice
P.O. Box 66738
Washington, D.C. 20035-6738
(800) 514-0301 (voice)
(800) 514-0383 (TDD)
The Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) requires that buildings and facilities that are designed, constructed, or altered with Federal funds, or leased by a Federal agency, comply with Federal standards for physical accessibility. ABA requirements are limited to architectural standards in new and altered buildings and in newly leased facilities. They do not address the activities conducted in those buildings and facilities. Facilities of the U.S. Postal Service are covered by the ABA. For more information or to file a complaint, contact:
The U.S. Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board
1331 F Street, N.W. (Suite 1000)
Washington, D.C. 20004-1111
(800) 872-2253 (voice)
(800) 993-2822 (TDD)
Regional Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers:
(800) 949-4232 (voice/TDD)
U.S. Department of Justice Internet Home Page:
http://www.usdoj.gov
U.S. Department of Justice, Americans with Disabilities Act Internet
Home Page:
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm
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