Know Your Rights An Overview of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Know Your RightsAn Overview of the Americans with Disabilities

Act

The Americans with Disabilities Act

• The Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law on July 26 1990. It is a comprehensive civil rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, state and local government, places of public accommodation, commercial facilities, transportation and telecommunications.


• To be considered an individual with a disability under the ADA, a person must meet one of the following criteria: • Have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one

or more major life activities (i.e. walking, breathing, communicating, seeing)

• Individuals who have a record of such an impairment, even if they do not currently have a disability

• Individuals who do not have a disability, but are regarded as having a disability

• Cannot discriminate based on association


• The ADA is divided into five different sections called "titles." • Title I: Employment

• Title II: State and local government

• Title III: Places of public accommodation

• Title IV: Telecommunications

• Title V: Miscellaneous

• People may only have rights under particular sections of the ADA

The ADA Amendments Act

• After the ADA was originally passed in 1990, a multitude of cases ended up in the court system

• Rulings by both the lower courts and the Supreme Court began to narrow the definition of disability

• Whether or not a person had a disability in order to sue became the focus of most disputes under the ADA, which was not what Congress intended

• The ADAAA returns the focus to access and accommodation

Title I: Employment

• Prohibits private employers, state and local governments, employment agencies and labor unions from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in all aspects of employment

• Title I covers employers with 15 or more employees. Under RI law this coverage is extended to employers with 4 or more employees

• A qualified individual with a disability is an individual who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the job in question

Title I: Employment

• An employer is required to make a reasonable accommodation to the known disability of a qualified applicant or employee if it would not pose an undue hardship on the operation of the employer's business

• Accommodations vary depending on the needs of the individual-there is no "one size fits all" accommodation

Title I: Employment

• Undue hardship is an action requiring significant difficulty or expense to the employer when considered in light of factors such as size and resources

• An employer is not required to: • Lower quality or production standards

• Provide personal use items

• Provide the most expensive/requested accommodation

Title I: Employment

• Employers may not ask applicants about the existence, nature, or severity of a disability

• With limited exceptions, the employer must keep confidential any medical information they learn • An employee's request for a reasonable accommodation would be

considered medical information subject to the ADA's confidentiality requirements

• Employees and applicants currently engaging in the illegal use of drugs are not covered by the ADA when an employer acts on the basis of such use

Title I: Employment

• Direct threat under the ADA is defined as a significant risk of substantial harm to the health and safety of the individual or others if, and only if, that risk cannot be eliminated or reduced by reasonable accommodations

• Deciding that an employee is a direct threat must be based on an individual assessment of that particular employee and must be based on the best medical or other object evidence, as opposed to generalizations, ignorance, stereotypes, fears, or patronizing attitudes

Title I: Employment

• Employers cannot require an employee to get or change treatment for a disability to help or comply with a conduct standard

• Decisions about medications and medical treatment are generally personal medical decisions that take into account a number of factors about which the employer may not be aware or have the expertise to discuss

• Even if the employers just want to help, they should discuss the unacceptable conduct rather than medical treatments or medications to treat a disability

Title I: Employment

Questions?

Title II: State & Local Government

• Under Title II of the ADA, individuals with disabilities must be provided an equally effective opportunity to participate in or benefit from a public entity's aids, benefits, and services

• Essentially covers everything that the state or local government does, including public housing, licensing, all levels of public education, transportation, parks and rec, prisons, emergency response, and police

• It also extends coverage to all public entities that provide public transportation, whether or not they receive federal funds


• A state or local government must eliminate any eligibility criteria for participation in programs, activities, and services that screen out or tend to screen out people with disabilities • In some cases, the entity may be able to establish that the

requirements are necessary for the provision of the service, program, or activity

• The entity may adopt legitimate safety requirements for safe operations if they are based on real risks


• A public entity must provide appropriate auxiliary aids and services when necessary• This can include, but is not limited to providing interpreters,

materials in Braille or large-print, or CART reporters

• A public entity must reasonably modify its policies to avoid discrimination

• If the entity can demonstrate that a particular modification would fundamentally alter the nature of the program, it is not required to make that modification


• Program Accessibility: A state or local government's programs, when viewed in their entirety, must be readily accessible to and usable by people with disabilities

• Do not necessarily have to make facilities accessible- can provide program accessibility by a number of methods

• All buildings constructed after 1992, as well as any additions/alterations must be accessible


• Individuals with disabilities may need to request materials and information in the format that they need, and to allow time to create the materials in alternate formats

• The entity is NOT allowed to place a surcharge on the person with a disability who is making the request, even if there is a cost to the entity for providing the service


• The government does not have to provide extra or special services to individuals with disabilities • For example, a city does not have to shovel the snow on the

sidewalks or driveway of a person with a disability, unless they provide this service to all residents

• Some entities, such as museums, provide special programs specifically for people with disabilities. Although entities cannot deny access to the general program, they are also not required to provide the same accommodations that may be available on the special program to the general one.


• State and local governments must provide help to people with disabilities during weather emergencies and evacuations

• Notification systems, as well as evacuation plans, must take into account how individuals with disabilities require different strategies

• For more information on RI's emergency system, check out the RI Special Needs Registry, which is provided by the RI Emergency Management Agency


Questions?

Title III: Public Accommodations

• Under Title III of the ADA, places of public accommodation are private businesses, both for-profit and non-profit, whose operations affect commerce and fall under at least one of the following categories: • Places of lodging; places that serve food or drink; places of

exhibition and entertainment; places of public gathering; sales or rental establishments; service establishments; public transportation terminals; places of public display or collections; places of recreation; places of education; social service center establishments; places of exercise or recreation

• May not discriminate or deny full and equal enjoyment of goods and services


• Accessible parking is required of all places of public accommodations which provide parking to customers and the public

• For parking lots with less than 100 spaces, one accessible space is required for every 25 provided spaces

• At least one in every six accessible parking spaces must be van accessible

• If a parking facility serves multiple buildings or accessible entrances, accessible parking spaces should be dispersed throughout


• Accessible parking spaces are at least eight-feet wide, and van accessible parking spaces are at least eleven-feet wide

• In order to be considered in compliance, an accessible parking space must be next to an access aisle• Access aisles must be at least five-feet wide, and can be shared

between two spaces

• Access aisles must be marked so that they are not mistaken for a parking space

• In order to be in compliance, spaces must have a mounted parking sign which includes the International Symbol of Accessibility


• The ADA requires businesses to communicate effectively with customers with vision, hearing, and speech disabilities• Because the nature and complexity of communication differs,

depending on the type of business, the rules allow for flexibility

• The goal of the effective communications provisions of the ADA is to find practical solutions for communicating effectively that work in specific situations

Title III: Public Accommodations FAQs

• Can a day care center refuse to accept a child who has a disability?• Day care centers cannot legally refuse to accept children with

disabilities because of their disabilities unless it can show that it would cause an undue burden, considering all of the financial resources available to the day care center, including tax incentives. The determination must be made on a case-by-case basis, and there cannot be a "no children with disabilities" policy.

Title III: Public Accommodations FAQs

• Are small business held to the same accessibility standards as big businesses?• The ADA requires that all businesses remove architectural

barriers in existing facilities when it is readily achievable to do so. Although businesses with more resources are expected to do more than businesses with fewer resources, all are expected to comply with the Standards to the maximum extent possible.

• Do all restrooms have to be accessible?• If a business has a public restroom, there must be at least one

accessible bathroom stall for each gender. If it is a unisex bathroom, then the bathroom as a whole needs to be accessible.


Questions?

Service Animals

• Under the ADA, a service animal means any dog that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability

• Other animals, whether wild or domestic or trained or untrained are not considered service animals under the ADA. Emotional support animals are also not covered by the ADA

• There are possible exceptions for miniature horses

Service Animals

• Generally, a service animal is allowed to go wherever the public is allowed to go

• It is all right to ask a person with a disability to remove a service animal from the premises if the animal is out of control or not housebroken

• If the service animals is properly excluded because it is out of control or not housebroken, its handler must be given the opportunity to participate in the program or service without having the service animal on premises

Service Animals

• Unless it is readily apparent that the animal is a service animal, then entities may ask if the animal is required because of a disability, and what work or tasks the service animal has been trained to perform

• Entities are not allowed to require documentation proving that the animal has been certified, trained, or licensed

• Entities cannot ask or require a surcharge for service animals, even if they require one for pets. Service animals are not pets, and therefore cannot be treated as such

Title IV: Telecommunications

• Title IV of the ADA addresses telephone and television access for people with hearing and speech disabilities

• Requires common carriers to establish interstate and intrastate telecommunication relay services 24/7 • This enables callers with hearing and speech disabilities to

communicate with other parties through a third party communications assistant

• Title IV also requires closed captioning of federally funded public service announcements

Title V: Miscellaneous

• Title V contains supplemental regulations that are not explicitly covered in other parts of the ADA• State Immunity: States cannot claim immunity from ADA-related

legal action

• Retaliation

• Attorney's Fees

• Coverage of Congress: The Judicial and Legislative branches of the federal government are now covered by the ADA

• Other federal and state laws, including safe harbor

Post-Secondary Education

• Title II of the ADA covers state funded schools such as universities, community colleges, and vocational schools. Title III of the ADA covers private colleges and vocational schools • If a school receives federal dollars, it is also covered by Section

504 of the Rehabilitation Act, regardless of whether it is public or private

• In general, schools are required to make their programs accessible to qualified students with disabilities


• Post-secondary programs cannot have requirements which screen out people with physical or mental disabilities

• Application forms cannot ask applicants if they have a history of mental illness or any other disability

• Institutions may impose criteria that relate to safety risks, but these criteria must be based on actual risks and not on stereotypes or assumptions

• Institutions cannot serve students with disabilities differently because it believes it's insurance costs will be increased


• Qualified interpreters, assistive listening systems, captioning, TTYs, qualified readers, audio recordings, taped texts, Braille materials, large print materials, materials on computer disk, and adapted computer terminals are examples of auxiliary aids and services that must be provided unless doing so would result in a fundamental alteration of the program or would result in undue financial or administrative burdens

• Must give primary consideration to the individual's preferred form of communication


• Buildings constructed or altered after 1977 must comply with the ADA• Buildings constructed before this date do not need to be

accessible if the school can ensure that students with disabilities are able to enjoy the full range of its programs through other means

• All programs and services still must be provided in an integrated setting

• If a college provides housing to students, it must provide accessible housing to students with disabilities, and the options should be equivalent to those without disabilities


• Although actual modifications to policies or practices are rarely substantive of expensive, the difficult lies in the need to anticipate needs and be prepared in advance

• Modification will always vary based on the individuals student's needs• Modifications are not required when they will fundamentally alter

the nature of the service, program, or activity

• Examples of modifications include early enrollment, providing outlines of summaries or class lectures, and allowing note takers


• Schools may request current documentation of a disability

• Documentation should be completed and signed by a professional familiar with the applicant and their disability• It should verify the disability and suggest appropriate

accommodations

• If previous documentation exists, it will likely be sufficient as long as it is no more than three years old. If documentation does not exist, it is the responsibility of the student to a have new documentation prepared


• Students with disabilities who do not require any accommodations are not required to disclose their disability

• If accommodations are needed, disclosure is necessary• It is the student's responsibility to make their needs known in

advance, and the school's responsibility to work with students to provide accommodations in a timely manner

• Schools must establish a process for making their tests accessible

• Schools cannot charge for the cost of providing an accommodation

Transportation

• Public transportation authorities may not discriminate against people with disabilities in the provision of their service

• They must comply for requirements in accessibility in newly purchased vehicles, make good faith effort to purchase or lease accessible used buses, and provide paratransit where they operate fixed-route bus or rail systems

• Paratransit is a service where people who are unable to use the regular transit system independently (because of a physical or mental disability) are picked up and dropped off at their destinations

Transportation

• Paratransit is not intended to be a comprehensive system of transportation that meets all the needs of individuals with disabilities, and is distinct from medical or human services transportation

• It is a shared ride service, and in RI is comparable to the level of service of RIPTA's fixed-route system

• In order to use the paratransit system in RI, individuals must submit an application

Transportation

• Like the bus, paratransit can be used for any reason

• Both the pick-up and drop-off location must be within 3/4 mile of a regular fixed route • The program will evaluate each trip made to ensure that it is

within the corridor

• The current one-way fare is $4• Personal care assistants are not charged a fare

Frequently Asked Questions

• Can entities (theaters, stadiums, etc) charge more for accessible seating? • No, and they are also not required to charge less. They must

provide individuals with disabilities with the opportunity to purchase tickets at all price levels.

• Who is eligible to purchase tickets for accessible seats?• Individuals with disabilities who use wheelchairs or other mobility

devices may purchase tickets for accessible seats. Other individuals with disabilities are eligible to purchase these tickets if they require the use of the features of accessible seating. Tickets may be sold to either the individuals or someone purchasing on their behalf.


• Is the Federal government covered by the ADA? • The ADA does not cover the Executive branch of the Federal

government. The Executive branch continues to be covered by Title V of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits discrimination in services and employment on the basis of disability and which is a model for the requirements of the ADA. The ADA, however, does cover Congress and other entities in the Legislative branch of the Federal government.


• Does the ADA cover private apartments and private homes?• The ADA does not cover strictly residential private homes and

apartments. If, however, a place of public accommodation, such as a doctor's office or a daycare center, is located in a private residence, those portions of the residence used for that purpose are subject to the ADA's requirements.


• Are businesses entitled to any tax benefit to help pay for the cost of compliance?• As amended in 1990, the Internal Revenue Code allows a

deduction of up to $15000/year for expenses associated with the removal of qualified architectural and transportation barriers. The 1990 amendment also permits eligible small businesses to receive a tax credit for certain costs of compliance with the ADA. An eligible small business is one whose gross receipts

Contact Information • Bob Cooper, Executive Secretary

• 401-462-0102 or [email protected]

• Alyssa Gleason, Public Education Coordinator • 401-462-0100 or [email protected]

• Christopher DeGrave, Asst. State ADA Coordinator • 401-462-0108 or [email protected]

• Christine Rancourt-Bruzzi, Asst. State ADA Coordinator • 401-462-0107 or [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



Know Your Rights An Overview of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

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