by Adam Freedman
Today’s topic: The Americans with Disabilities Act turns 20. Learn the basics of this landmark legislation--and why not everyone is celebrating its birthday.
And now, your daily dose of legalese: This article does not create an attorney-client relationship with any reader. In other words, although I am a lawyer, I’m not your lawyer. In fact, we barely know each other. If you need personalized legal advice, contact an attorney in your community.
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What Is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)?
This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which forbids discrimination against the disabled by businesses and government in a variety of contexts. The law is widely praised for removing barriers to handicapped individuals. But the law also has its critics, many of whom charge that the ADA has led to unintended consequences and frivolous lawsuits.
What Does the ADA Cover?
The ADA was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush on July 26, 1990. As I explained in an earlier article, the ADA is one of many federal laws targeting discrimination against vulnerable groups. The law has four main sections which cover discrimination in employment, state and local government, “public accommodations,” and telecommunications.
What is a “Disability?”
To fall under the protection of the ADA, an individual must have a “disability,” which the law defines as a physical or mental impairment that “substantially limits one or more major life activities.” The law also covers persons who are thought to have such an impairment (even if they don’t), as well as persons discriminated against because they have a known association or relationship with an individual with a disability.
To take an example, HIV/AIDS can count as a disability under the ADA; thus discrimination against a person suffering from AIDS as well as that person’s partner, is prohibited. The law could potentially also cover a person who is wrongly suspected of having AIDS.
What Exactly Is Employment Discrimination?
Title I of the ADA covers employment discrimination. The law requires employers with 15 or more employees grant equal opportunity to individuals with disabilities who are otherwise qualified to perform a job. For example, it prohibits discrimination in recruitment, hiring, promotions, training, pay, social activities, and other privileges of employment.
If an individual would be qualified to perform the essential functions of a particular job, except for his or her disability, the employer is required to consider making what is known as a “reasonable accommodation” for that individual.
What is “Reasonable Accommodation?”
“Reasonable accommodation” is a term that describes any modification to a job or work environment that allows a disabled person to apply for, or perform, a particular job. These can include, for example, making a job site accessible, modifying work schedules, acquiring special equipment, or providing training.
State and Local Governments Must Comply
Title II of the ADA requires that State and local governments give people with disabilities an equal opportunity to benefit from all of their programs, services, and activities (such as public education, employment, transportation, recreation, health care, social services, courts, voting, and town meetings). States and localities have to follow specific architectural standards in the new construction and alteration of their buildings
Removing Barriers to “Public Accommodations”
Title III of the ADA prohibits discrimination by businesses and non-profit groups that operate so-called “public accommodations.” Public accommodation is a very broad concept that includes such things as restaurants, retail stores, movie theaters, private schools, zoos, funeral homes, day care centers, and a host of other facilities.
Those who operate public accommodations are forbidden to engage in discriminatory practices against the disabled, for example, by excluding or segregating disabled persons. They also have to comply with architectural accessibility standards when building new facilities or altering existing ones; and to the extent they can remove existing barriers without undue expense, they must do so.
Telecommunications
The last major portion of the ADA, Title IV, requires telephone companies to establish telecommunications relay services, which enables callers with hearing and speech difficulties to communicate via TDD or “telecommunications devices for the deaf.”
Is the ADA too Broad?
As I mentioned at the beginning of the article, the ADA has also come in for criticism--not because anyone thinks that discrimination against the disabled is acceptable, but because people fear the law has led to unintended consequences.
First of all, critics charge that the ADA casts too wide a net. The definition of “disabled,” for example, encompasses not only groups such as paraplegics and the blind and deaf, but also those suffering from mental conditions (such as bipolar disorder) and those suffering from addiction (such as alcoholics). Some argue that it’s bad policy to lump all those disparate conditions together.
Another example of the law’s breadth is the fact that, under Title III, all public accommodations must allow “service animals.” The law’s framers were probably thinking about seeing-eye dogs, but the definition is so broad that snakes, lizards, pit bulls, chickens, pigeons, and rodents have all been declared service animals--causing some commotion in places like restaurants and public buses. The Justice Department has recently issued regulations narrowing the definition of “service” animal to certain categories of dogs.
Are Lawyers to Blame?
The ADA has also been the source of much litigation, leading some to criticize lawyers who seem to make a specialty of pushing the envelope of the law. I know, it’s always easy to blame the lawyers, but some of the decisions under the ADA have raised eyebrows. For example, a jury in New Jersey ordered a rheumatologist to pay $400,000 for failing to provide a deaf patient with a sign language interpreter at his own expense. And recently, the popular burrito chain Chipotle was found to be in violation of the ADA because in two of its restaurants wheelchair-bound patrons did not have the same opportunity to view the food being prepared.
I think everyone wants to remove barriers to disabled persons in the workplace and in public facilities. But all discrimination laws have to face the question of how far the government should go, and reasonable minds can differ on that question. For me, I draw the line at burrito-watching, but of course, you could reverse that particular interpretation of the ADA without getting rid of the whole enchilada, as it were.
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