Americans With Disabilities Act

Americans with Disabilities Act

The Americans with Disabilities Act, which is signed into law on the 26th of July 1990, is a comprehensive legislation intended to make the American Society more accessible to people with disabilities. It is divided into five titles such as:

1. Title I - Employment. Businesses must provide reasonable accommodations to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities in all phases of employment. Possible changes may include restructuring jobs, alternating the layout of workstations, or modifying equipment. Employment aspects may include the application process, hiring, wages, benefits, and many more. Also, medical examinations are highly regulated.
2. Title II - Public Services. Public Services that include state and local government instrumentalities, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, and other commuter authorities, can't deny services to people with disabilities in the participation in programs or activities which are available to those without disabilities. And also, public transportation system, such as transit buses, must be accessible to disabled individuals.
3. Title III - Public Accommodations - All new construction and modifications must be accessible to people with disabilities. Public accommodations include facilities such as restaurants, grocery store, hotels, privately owned transport system, and more
4. Title IV - Telecommunications - Telecommunications companies that offer telephone service to the general public must have telephone relay service that use telecommunication devices for the deaf or similar devices.
5. Title V - Miscellaneous - This title includes a provision that prohibits coercing or threatening or retaliating against the disabled or those attempting to aid people with disabilities in asserting their rights under Americans with Disabilities Act.

The protection of Americans with Disabilities Act extends, but not limited to disabled individual. You are considered disabled if you meet any of the following:

§ You have a physical or mental impairment that considerably limits one or more of your major life activities
§ You have a record of such an impairment
§ You are regarded as having such impairment.

Other individuals who are also protected in certain circumstances include those, such as parents, who have an association with individuals with disability and those who are coerced to retaliation for assisting people with disabilities in asserting their rights under Americans with Disabilities Act.

People with disabilities should not be discriminated and denied to have access to the things that all normal individuals (without disabilities)can easily get hold of, such as employment, transportation, public accommodations, public services, and telecommunications. Barriers to have access to those areas have imposed astounding economic and social costs on American Society and have destabilized the well-intentioned efforts to educate, rehabilitate, and employ individuals with disabilities. If those barriers are broken down, the Americans with Disabilities Act allows society to benefit from the skills and talents of those with disabilities, allows all of us to gain from their increased purchasing power and ability to use it, and will lead to fuller life and more productive lives of all Americans.