FW: A Guide to Disability Rights Laws
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- Subject: FW: A Guide to Disability Rights Laws
- From: Masahiko Kaneko <mkaneko@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
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Masahiko Kaneko <mkaneko@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
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To: Disability Policy
Subject: A Guide to Disability Rights Laws
>From the web page
http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/disabilityrights.html
A GUIDE TO DISABILITY RIGHTS LAWS
June 27, 2000
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Americans with Disabilities Act
Telecommunications Act
Fair Housing Act
Air Carrier Access Act
Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act
National Voter Registration Act
Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
Rehabilitation Act
Architectural Barriers Act
General Sources of Disability Rights Information
This guide, prepared by the National Council on Disability and
the National Urban League, provides a summary of federal civil
rights laws that ensure equal opportunity for people with
disabilities. The original source for this information is the
U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). To find out more about how
these laws may apply to you or your family and friends, please
contact the agencies and organizations listed in this summary.
AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits
discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, state
and local government, public accommodations, commercial
facilities, transportation, and telecommunications. The act also
applies to the United States Congress.
To be protected by ADA, one must have a disability or have a
relationship or association with an individual with a
disability. An individual with a disability is defined by ADA 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
does not specifically name all the impairments that are covered.
ADA Title I: Employment
Title I requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide
qualified individuals with disabilities with an equal
opportunity to benefit from the full range of employment-related
opportunities available to others. For example, it prohibits
discrimination in recruitment, hiring, promotions, training,
pay, social activities, and other privileges of employment. It
restricts questions that can be asked 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 the accommodation results in undue hardship
for the employer. Religious entities with 15 or more employees
are covered under title I.
Title I complaints must be filed with the U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC) within 180 days of the date of
discrimination, or within 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 EEOC.
Charges of employment discrimination on the basis of disability
may be filed at any EEOC field office. Field offices are located
in 50 cities throughout the United States and are listed in most
telephone directories under "U.S. Government." For the
appropriate EEOC field office in your geographic area, call
(800) 669-4000 (voice)
(800) 669-6820 (text telephone)
http://www.eeoc.gov/
You can obtain publications and information on EEOC-enforced
laws by calling
(800) 669-3362 (voice)
(800) 800-3302 (text telephone)
For information on how to accommodate a specific individual with
a disability, contact the Job Accommodation Network at
(800) 526-7234 (voice/relay)
http://janweb.icdi.wvu.edu/english
ADA Title II: State and Local Government Activities
Title II covers all activities of state and local governments,
regardless of the government entity's size or whether it
receives federal funding. Title II 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.
State and local governments are required to follow specific
architectural standards in the new construction and alteration
of their buildings. They also must relocate programs or
otherwise provide access in inaccessible older buildings, and
they must communicate effectively with people who have hearing,
vision, or speech disabilities. Public entities are not required
to take actions that would result in undue financial and
administrative burdens. They are required to make reasonable
modifications to policies, practices, and procedures where
necessary 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 DOJ within
180 days of the date of discrimination. In certain situations,
cases may be referred to a mediation program sponsored by DOJ.
DOJ may bring a lawsuit where it has investigated a matter and
has been unable to resolve violations. For more information,
contact:
Disability Rights Section
Civil Rights Division
U.S. Department of Justice
P.O. Box 66738
Washington, DC 20035-6738
(800) 514-0301 (voice)
(800) 514-0383 (text telephone)
www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm
Title II may also be enforced through private lawsuits in
federal court. It is not necessary to file a complaint with DOJ
or any other federal agency, or to receive a right-to-sue
letter, before going to court.
ADA Title II: Public Transportation
The transportation provisions of title II cover public
transportation services, such as city buses, and public rail
transit, such as subways, commuter rails, and Amtrak. Public
transportation authorities may not discriminate against people
with disabilities in the provision of their services. They must
comply 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, and, unless it would result in an undue burden, provide
paratransit where they operate fixed-route bus or rail systems.
Paratransit is a service through which persons who are unable to
use the regular transit system independently (because of a
physical or mental impairment) are picked up and dropped off at
their destinations. Questions and complaints about public
transportation should be directed to:
Federal Transit Administration
U.S. Department of Transportation
400 Seventh Street, SW
Washington, DC 20590
(888) 446-4511 (voice/relay)
(202) 366-2285 (voice)
www.fta.dot.gov/office/civ.htm
ADA Title III: Public Accommodations
Title III covers 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 that own, lease, lease to, or operate
facilities 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. Transportation services provided by
private entities, such as taxicabs, are also covered by title
III.
Public accommodations must comply with basic nondiscrimination
requirements that prohibit exclusion, segregation, and unequal
treatment. They also must comply with specific requirements
related to 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.
Additionally, public accommodations must remove barriers in
existing buildings where this can be done without much
difficulty or expense, given the public accommodation's
resources.
Courses and examinations related to professional, educational,
or trade-related applications, licensing, certifications, or
credentialing must be provided in a place and manner accessible
to people with disabilities, or alternative accessible
arrangements must be offered.
Commercial facilities, such as factories and warehouses, must
comply with ADA's architectural standards for new construction
and alterations.
Complaints of title III violations may be filed with DOJ. In
certain situations, cases may be referred to a mediation program
sponsored by DOJ. DOJ 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 DOJ or any federal agency, or to receive a
right-to-sue letter, before going to court. For more
information, contact:
Disability Rights Section
Civil Rights Division
U.S. Department of Justice
P.O. Box 66738
Washington, DC 20035-6738
(800) 514-0301 (voice)
(800) 514-0383 (text telephone)
www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm
ADA Title IV: Telecommunications Relay Services
Title 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 text telephones (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. Title IV
also requires closed captioning of federally funded public
service announcements. For more information about TRS, contact
the FCC at:
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554
(888) 225-5322 (voice/relay)
www.fcc.gov/cib/dro
TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACT
Section 255 and section 251(a)(2) of the Communications Act of
1934, as amended by the Telecommunications Act of 1996, require
manufacturers of telecommunications equipment and providers of
telecommunications services to ensure that such equipment and
services are accessible to and usable by persons with
disabilities, if this goal is readily achievable. 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--that,
in the past, were inaccessible to many users with disabilities.
For more information, contact:
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554
(888) 225-5322 (voice/relay)
www.fcc.gov/cib/dro
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. Its coverage
includes private housing, housing that receives federal
financial assistance, and state and local government housing. It
is unlawful 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. Other covered activities include, for example,
financing, zoning practices, new construction design, and
advertising.
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 with a "no pets" policy may be required to
grant an exception to this rule and allow an individual who is
blind to keep a guide dog in the residence. The Fair Housing Act
also requires landlords to allow tenants with disabilities to
make reasonable access-related modifications to their private
living space, as well as to common use spaces. (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.
Complaints of Fair Housing Act violations may be filed with the
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. For more
information or to file a complaint, contact:
Office of Program Compliance and Disability
Rights
Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development
451 Seventh Street, SW, Room 5242
Washington, DC 20140
(800) 669-9777 (voice)
(800) 927-9275 (text telephone)
www.hud.gov/fhe/fheo.html
For questions about the Fair Housing Act, call the Office of
Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity at
(202) 708-2333 (voice)
(202) 401-1247 (text telephone)
For publications, call the Housing and Urban Development
Customer Service Center at
(800) 767-7468 (voice/relay)
Additionally, DOJ can file a lawsuit in cases involving a
pattern or practice of discrimination. The Fair Housing Act also
may be enforced through private lawsuits.
AIR CARRIER ACCESS ACT
The Air Carrier Access Act prohibits discrimination in air
transportation by domestic and foreign air carriers against
qualified individuals with physical or mental impairments. The
act applies only to air carriers that provide regularly
scheduled services for hire to the public. Requirements address
a wide range of issues, including boarding assistance and
certain accessibility features in newly built aircraft and new
or altered airport facilities. People may enforce rights under
the Air Carrier Access Act by filing a complaint with the U.S.
Department of Transportation, or by bringing a lawsuit in
federal court. For more information or to file a complaint,
contact:
Aviation Consumer Protection Division
U.S. Department of Transportation
400 Seventh Street, SW
Room 4107, C-75
Washington, DC 20590
(202) 366-2220 (voice)
(202) 755-7687 (text telephone)
www.dot.gov/airconsumer
VOTING ACCESSIBILITY FOR THE ELDERLY AND HANDICAPPED ACT
The Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act of
1984 generally requires polling places across the United States
to be physically accessible to people with disabilities for
federal elections. Where no accessible location is available to
serve as a polling place, a political subdivision must provide
an alternate means of casting a ballot on the day of the
election. This law also requires states to make registration and
voting aids available for disabled and elderly voters, including
information by text telephones. For more information, contact
Voting Section
Civil Rights Division
U.S. Department of Justice
P.O. Box 66128
Washington, DC
20035-6128
(800) 253-3931 (voice/relay)
www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting
NATIONAL VOTER REGISTRATION ACT
The National Voter Registration Act of 1993, also known as the
"Motor Voter Act," makes it easier for all Americans to exercise
their fundamental right to vote. One of the basic purposes of
the act is to increase the historically low registration rates
of minorities and persons with disabilities that have resulted
from discrimination. The act requires all offices of
state-funded programs that are primarily engaged in providing
services to persons with disabilities to provide all program
applicants with voter registration forms, to assist them in
completing the forms, and to transmit completed forms to the
appropriate state official. For more information, contact
Voting Section
Civil Rights Division
U.S. Department of Justice
P.O. Box 66128
Washington, DC
20035-6128
(800) 253-3931 (voice/relay)
www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting
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.
The Attorney General may initiate civil lawsuits where there is
reasonable cause to believe that conditions are "egregious or
flagrant," that they are subjecting residents to "grievous
harm," and that they are part of a "pattern or practice" of
resistance to residents' full enjoyment of constitutional or
federal rights, including title II of ADA and section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act. For more information or to bring a matter to
DOJ's attention, contact
Special Litigation Section
Civil Rights Division
U.S. Department of Justice
P.O. Box 66400
Washington, DC 20035-6400
(202) 514-6255 (voice/relay)
www.usdoj.gov/crt/split/index.html
INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (formerly
called P.L. 94-142 or the Education for all Handicapped Children
Act of 1975) requires public schools to make available to all
eligible children with disabilities a free, appropriate public
education in the least restrictive environment appropriate to
their individual needs.
IDEA requires public school systems to develop appropriate
Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for each child. The
specific special education and related services outlined in each
IEP reflect the individual needs of each student.
IDEA also mandates that particular procedures be followed in the
development of the IEP. Each student's IEP must be developed by
a team of knowledgeable persons and must be reviewed at least
annually. The team includes the child's teacher; the parents,
subject to certain limited exceptions; the child, if
appropriate; an agency representative who is qualified to
provide or supervise the provision of special education; and
other individuals at the parents' or agency's discretion.
If parents disagree with the proposed IEP, they can request a
due process hearing and a review from the state educational
agency, if applicable in that state. They also can appeal the
state agency's decision to state or federal court. For more
information, contact
Office of Special Education Programs
U.S. Department of Education
330 C Street, SW, Room 3086
Washington, DC 20202
(202) 205-8824 (voice/relay)
www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/OSEP/index.html
REHABILITATION ACT
The Rehabilitation Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of
disability in programs conducted by federal agencies, in
programs receiving federal financial assistance, in federal
employment, and in the employment practices of federal
contractors. The standards for determining employment
discrimination under the Rehabilitation Act are the same as
those used in title I of ADA.
Section 501
Section 501 requires affirmative action and nondiscrimination in
employment by federal agencies of the executive branch. To
obtain more information or to file a complaint, employees should
contact their agency's Equal Employment Opportunity Office.
Section 503
Section 503 requires affirmative action and prohibits employment
discrimination by federal government contractors and
subcontractors with contracts of more than $10,000. For more
information on section 503, contact
Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs U.S. Department
of Labor 200 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20210 (202)
693-0106 (voice/relay) www.dol.gov/dol/esa/public/ofcp_org.htm
Section 504
Section 504 states that "no qualified individual with a
disability in the United States shall be excluded from, denied
the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under" any
program or activity that either receives federal financial
assistance or is conducted by any agency of the executive branch
or the U.S. Postal Service.
Each federal agency has its own set of section 504 regulations
that apply to its own programs. Agencies that provide federal
financial assistance also have section 504 regulations covering
entities that receive federal aid. Requirements common to these
regulations include reasonable accommodation for employees with
disabilities, program accessibility, effective communication
with people who have hearing or vision disabilities, and
accessible new construction and alterations. Each agency is
responsible for enforcing its own regulations. Section 504 may
also be enforced through private lawsuits. It is not necessary
to file a complaint with a federal agency or to receive a
right-to-sue letter before going to court.
For information on how to file section 504 complaints with the
appropriate agency, contact
Disability Rights Section
Civil Rights Division
U.S. Department of Justice
P.O. Box 66738
Washington, DC 20035-6738
(800) 514-0301 (voice)
(800) 514-0383 (text telephone)
www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.html
Section 508
Section 508 establishes requirements for electronic and
information technology developed, maintained, procured, or used
by the federal government. Section 508 requires federal
electronic and information technology to be accessible to people
with disabilities, including employees and members of the public.
An accessible information technology system is one that can be
operated in a variety of ways and does not rely on a single
sense or ability of the user. For example, a system that
provides output only in visual format may not be accessible to
people with visual impairments, and a system that provides
output only in audio format may not be accessible to people who
are deaf or hard of hearing. Some individuals with disabilities
may need accessibility-related software or peripheral devices to
use systems that comply with section 508. For more information
on section 508, contact
GSA Office of Governmentwide Policy
Center for IT Accommodation (CITA)
1800 F Street, NW
Room 1234, MC:MKC
Washington, DC 20405-0001
(202) 501-4906 (voice)
(202) 501-2010 (text telephone)
www.itpolicy.gsa.gov/cita
U.S. Architectural and Transportation
Barriers Compliance Board
1331 F Street, NW, Suite 1000
Washington, DC 20004-1111
(800) 872-2253 (voice)
(800) 993-2822 (text telephone)
http://www.access-board.gov/
ARCHITECTURAL BARRIERS ACT
The Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) requires that buildings and
facilities that are designed, constructed, or altered with
federal funds, or leased by a federal agency, comply with
federal standards for physical accessibility. ABA requirements
are limited to architectural standards in new and altered
buildings and in newly leased facilities. They do not address
the activities conducted in those buildings and facilities.
Facilities of the U.S. Postal Service are covered by ABA. For
more information or to file a complaint, contact
U.S. Architectural and Transportation
Barriers Compliance Board
1331 F Street, NW, Suite 1000
Washington, DC 20004-1111
(800) 872-2253 (voice)
(800) 993-2822 (text telephone)
http://www.access-board.gov/
GENERAL SOURCES OF DISABILITY RIGHTS INFORMATION
ADA Information Line
(800) 514-0301 (voice)
(800) 514-0383 (text telephone)
www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm
Regional Disability and Business Technical
Assistance Centers
(800) 949-4232 (voice/text telephone)
www.adata.org
National Council on Disability
1331 F Street, NW, Suite 1050
Washington, DC 20004
(202) 272-2004
(202) 272-2074 (text telephone)
(202) 272-2022 (fax)
http://www.ncd.gov/
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