Summary: The Americans with Disability Act (ADA LAW)

The acronym ADA refers to The Americans with Disabilities Act. It was signed into law on July 26, 1990, and it can be found in the United States Code at 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101-12213.
The Americans with Disabilities Act was designed to protect the civil rights of people with disabilities. The law defends
people who currently have a disability;

people who have a history of a disability;

people who are regarded as having a disability by others, whether or not they actually have a disability; and

people who are not themselves disabled but who encounter discrimination on the basis of their association or relationship with a person who has a disability—parents of children with disabilities, for example.
The ADA explicitly includes people with mental disabilities, including individuals with psychiatric impairments. The law prohibits DISCRIMINATION:
In the employment area
In the provision of government services, programs and benefits
Against public accommodation by private businesses, insurance providers and any other agency.

This is a brief summary of the Federal civil rights laws that ensure equal opportunity for people with disabilities.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
The ADA law bans 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.
According to the ADA law, a person can be protected by the law if this person has a disability or has a relationship or association with a disabled person.
ADA clearly defines a person with a disability 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.
ADA Title I: Employment
The Title I section demands that employers with 15 or more employees provide qualified individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity to benefit from the full range of employment-related opportunities available to others. The law bans discrimination in recruitment, hiring, promotions, training, pay, social activities, and other privileges of employment. Employers are prohibited to inquire 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.
Disabled people who are discriminated may file a complaint under Title I. The complaint may 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.

ADA Title II: State and Local Government Activities
The ADA Law Title II applies to all activities of State and local governments regardless of the government entity's size or receipt of Federal funding. Title II expects State and local governments to provide disabled people with 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).Laws have been signed to regulate state and local governments’ specific architectural standards in the new construction and alteration of their buildings. The law requires state and local governments to reposition programs and to provide access in inaccessible older buildings, and communicate effectively with people who have hearing, vision, or speech disabilities. Therefore, reasonable modifications to policies, practices, and procedures is enforced by the law 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.
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
Title II of the ADA Law applies to all public transportation services, such as city buses and public rail transit (e.g. subways, commuter rails, Amtrak). Public transportation system can not discriminate against people with disabilities in the provision of their services. Authorities must conform 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. On the other hand, if disabled people are unable to use public transportation services due to a physical or mental impediment then these people can qualify for paratransit service where individuals are picked up and left off at their destinations.
ADA Title III: Public Accommodations
Title III encompasses 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 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.
The ADA Law prohibits exclusion, segregation, and unequal treatment for public accommodations. The law states that businesses and non profit providers should comply with 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.
Any business or institution offering courses and examinations related to professional, educational, or trade-related applications, licensing, certifications, or credentialing must provide an accessible place for people with disabilities, or alternative accessible arrangements to provide these services. 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.

ADA Title IV: Telecommunications Relay ServicesTitle 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 telecommunications devices for the deaf (TDDs), which are also known as teletypewriters (TTYs), 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:

Telecommunications Act
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 amended Section 255 and Section 251(a)(2) of the Communications Act of 1934. This act demands manufacturers of telecommunications equipment and providers of telecommunications services to ensure that equipment and services are at hand for persons with disabilities. These amendments ensure that people with disabilities will have access to a broad range of products and services such as telephones, cell phones, pagers, call-waiting, and operator services.
Fair Housing Act
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. It applies to private housing, housing that receives Federal financial assistance, and State and local government housing. It is a violation 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.
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 can make exceptions for a blind person to keep a guide dog in the residence.The Act also requires the landlord to make reasonable modifications for easy access to the residence; however, 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.
Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act
The Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act of 1984 generally requires locations for voting polls across the United States to be physically accessible to people with disabilities for federal elections. This law also requires states to make available registration and voting aids for disabled and elderly voters, including information by telecommunications devices for the deaf (TDDs) which are also known as teletypewriters (TTYs).
National Voter Registration Act
The National Voter Registration Act of 1993, also known as the "Motor Voter Act," allows all Americans to exercise their fundamental right to vote. The intention of the Act is to increase the historically low registration rates of minorities and persons with disabilities that have resulted from discrimination. The Motor Voter Act insists that all offices of State-funded programs that are primarily engaged in providing services to persons with disabilities offer all program applicants with voter registration forms, to provide assistance to disabled people in completing the forms, and to send completed forms to the appropriate State official.

Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act
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.