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AMERICANS

WITH

 DISABILITIES

For too long Americans with disabilities have been the “unknown minorities” of our society. Statutes and regulations were in place for racial, sexual, religious and national origin for decades for enforcement of fundamental civil rights, yet the largest and most discriminated against group of persons in our country were ignored. Persons with disabilities suffered shame, were hidden from society and “just not talked about”.
They suffered the indignity of not being able to enter restaurants, obtain a hotel room that comforted them, unable to ride public transportation, lack of travel accommodations and a host of other things that so called normal people took for granted. 

This group of people ultimately joined together and said in the proverbial words “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore”.  They mobilized, became a huge political force and voting block and got Washington’s attention.

 

On July 26, 1990 President George Bush signed into law The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The long hard fight to gain equal rights for the disabled had produced a tremendous result. The ADA is a powerful and far reaching law. It guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in public and private sector services and employment. Generally, the ADA bands discrimination on the basis of a recognized disability. The ADA was modeled after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

 
Today people with disabilities make up a large and diverse group. Disability is the one area that truly does not discriminate. It includes every race, nationality and culture.

 

FACTS ABOUT PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN AMERICA:

  •  More than 50 million Americans – one in five people – have a disability
  •  The group is comprised of people of all ethnic backgrounds, cultures and ages and represents the largest minority subgroup – 20 percent of all Americans – in the U.S.
  •  According to the U.S. Census Bureau, between 1990 and 2000, the number of Americans with disabilities increased 25 percent, outpacing any other subgroup of the U.S. population.
  •  Of the nearly 70 million families in the U.S., more than 20 million families have at least one member with a disability.
  •  The market segment of Americans with disabilities maintains an aggregated income that now exceeds $1 trillion, of which more than $175 billion is discretionary.
  •  700,000 people are newly disabled each year.
  • 61 percent of people with disabilities are of working age, between 16 and 64 years old.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILTIES ACT

There are five titles under the ADA. Each of the titles is related to a particular subject matter. The titles are numbered I-V. And relate to employment, public or governmental services, private sector (business) services, telecommunications and a miscellaneous section that covers areas that are not specifically outlined in the first four titles.

Although you may be interested in only one particular area or title of the ADA, it is important to be familiar with all of the titles. The following is a brief summary of the five titles of the ADA.

TITLE I: EMPLOYMENT

Employers must ensure their employment practices do not discriminate against qualified persons with disabilities in the application and recruitment processes, hiring, advancement, training, compensation or discharge of an employee, or in any other terms, conditions and privileges of employment. Under the law, employers must not refuse employment to a qualified person with a disability based on that person’s disability, who, with or without reasonable accommodations, can perform the essential functions of the job. Reasonable accommodations need not be provided however, if it creates a hardship to the employer. The employer must prove this in order to be exempt from ADA requirements. Employers with 15 or more employees must comply with the ADA.

Some states have their own equivalent disability laws and may apply the ADA provisions, as well as its state law to employers with as few as five employees. California is one of these states.

 

TITLE II: PUBLIC SERVICES

Title II of the ADA prohibits state and local governments from discrimination against persons with disabilities or from excluding participation or denying benefits of programs, services or activities to persons with disabilities. Since 1992 Title II prohibits all public agencies, regardless of the size of their work force, from discriminating in their employment practices against qualified individuals with disabilities. 

Title II also covers transportation services by requiring that all private and public transportation systems be assessable to all people, including individuals with disabilities. All new buses, rail and subway cars (one car per train) are required to be accessible including lifts for people who use wheelchairs. Retrofitting of existing buses is not required.

 

 

TITLE III: PRIVATE SERVICES

Title III requires places of public accommodation to be accessible to and usable by people with disabilities. Private businesses must not discriminate in the “goods, services, facilities, procedures, and privileges, advantages and accommodations” offered to the public. Places of public accommodation include motels, restaurants, bars, movie theaters, convention centers, grocery stores, clothing stores, malls, museums, libraries, gyms, bowling alleys, amusement parks, or just about any other facility commonly used by the general public.

Alterations which are “readily achievable” must be made to existing buildings to accommodate persons with disabilities. This means that even a building in existence for fifty years or more must make its facility accessible to the disabled. There is no excuse, unless the owner or business operator can prove that making changes to accommodate the disable would destroy the building or be so expensive that it does not make economic sense. This is rarely the case. Any new buildings must be barrier free from the beginning.

Reasonable modifications must be made to policies and auxiliary aids provided so long as they do not create an undue hardship on the business or fundamentally alter the nature of the goods and services offered by the business. Businesses cannot discriminate by excluding people with disabilities, by treating them separately or by requiring them to participate in separate programs.

 

TITLE IV: TELECOMMUNICATIONS

The ADA requires common carriers offering telephone services to the general public to increase the availability of interstate and intrastate telecommunications relay services to individuals with hearing and speech impairments. All common carriers of telephone services must offer non-voice relay services which interface with voice services.

 

TITLE V: MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Title V contains several miscellaneous provisions such as:

  • The ADA cannot be construed to apply a lesser standard of compliance than does the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
  •  The ADA does not limit or invalidate any other federal or state law which provides equal or greater protection.
Title V explicitly prohibits coercion, intimidation, or threats against persons exercising their rights under the ADA.

 

HOW DO I ENFORCE MY RIGHTS UNDER THE ADA?

If you feel you have a legitimate claim for violation of your rights as a person with a disability you should ask the person, company or public entity to accommodate you. This is a matter of preference and is your choice; it is not required by the law.

 

You can seek the services of any attorney experienced in handling ADA claims and file a claim directly in your name. You can also file a claim with the U.S. Department of Justice, the agency that is designated the enforcement arm of the ADA.  You should understand however, that should you file a claim with the Department of Justice they are not acting as your lawyer, although, should they decide to take the claim, they will proceed to enforce the law. Under the ADA you are entitled to injunctive relief to force the offending party to make accommodations for your disability. Under California state law you may be entitled to recover up to $4000 for each time you encounter access barriers keeping you from the full and equal use of a public accommodation. The ADA as well as California law also entitles you to an award of reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs in addition to forcing the business to comply with the law.


 

 

FAIR HOUSING FOR THE DISABLE  

Similar to the ADA, the Fair Housing Act has provisions for the fair treatment of persons with disabilities who need housing and shelter. Under the Fair Housing Act is unlawful to discriminate in any aspect of selling or renting housing because of a person’s disability or against an individual associated with a disable buyer or renter. A landlord must make reasonable exceptions within policies and procedures to accommodate a disable person. For instance, a landlord with a “no pets” policy may be required to grant an exception and must allow an individual who is blind to keep a guide dog in the residence. The Fair Housing Act also requires a landlord to allow a disable person to make reasonable access modifications inside the rented residence, as well as to common use areas. (The landlord generally is not required to pay for such accommodation however).

The Fair Housing 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 areas, doors that are wide enough for wheelchairs, kitchens and bathrooms that allow a person with a wheelchair to maneuver, and other adaptable features within the units.

Our law firm has many years experience representing persons with disabilities and can help you obtain fair and equal treatment if you feel you have been discriminated against on the basis of your disability.

We strive to be “a difference you can count on”.

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