Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

What is the Americans with Disabilities Act?

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal civil rights law signed by President George H. W. Bush on July 26, 1990. It bans discrimination against people with disabilities in most areas of public life and builds on Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which had covered only programs receiving federal money. The ADA defines disability as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record of such an impairment, or being regarded as having one.

After Supreme Court decisions such as Sutton v. United Air Lines (1999) and Toyota v. Williams (2002) read the definition narrowly, Congress passed the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, which told courts to interpret disability broadly and to ignore the effects of mitigating measures such as medication. Income support for people who cannot work is handled by other programs, much as Korea uses basic livelihood security.

An open door does not help if you cannot get through it. The ADA treats a failure to provide reasonable accommodation as discrimination.

The five titles

• Title I, employment: Employers with 15 or more employees may not discriminate and must provide reasonable accommodations unless doing so would cause undue hardship. The EEOC enforces it.
• Title II, state and local government: Public programs, services and public transit must be accessible. A 2024 Justice Department rule sets web accessibility standards for these governments.
• Title III, public accommodations: Businesses open to the public, such as restaurants, stores, hotels and theaters, must remove barriers when readily achievable and follow accessible design standards for new construction.
• Title IV, telecommunications: Telephone companies must provide relay services for people with hearing and speech disabilities.
• Title V, miscellaneous: Bans retaliation and covers other technical matters.

Enforcement and key cases

Workers must usually file a charge with the EEOC before suing under Title I, and they can recover back pay and damages. Under Title III, private plaintiffs can get court orders to remove barriers and attorney's fees but not money damages, while the Justice Department can seek civil penalties. In Olmstead v. L.C. (1999), the Supreme Court held that unjustified isolation of people with disabilities in institutions is discrimination under Title II, a ruling that pushed states toward community-based services. In PGA Tour v. Martin (2001), it held that letting a golfer with a circulatory disability use a cart was a reasonable modification.

Korea's disability discrimination act

Korea passed its Act on the Prohibition of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities and Remedy for Their Rights in 2007, effective April 2008. It bans direct and indirect discrimination, refusal of reasonable accommodation and discriminatory advertising, and it lets victims file complaints with the National Human Rights Commission or sue. The Justice Minister can issue corrective orders, and malicious discrimination can be punished criminally, which the ADA generally does not do. A Korean paper on Korea's Anti-Discrimination Act for Persons with Disabilities: Structure, Everyday Discrimination in Transit and Access, and Weak Enforcement explains its six chapters and enforcement gaps in transit, small shops and mobile apps. Related Korean papers cover rights violations in care facilities and testing in Abuse and Discrimination Against People With Disabilities in Korea: Residential Facility Abuse, Denied Test Accommodations and the Disability Discrimination Act and the constitutional right to a decent life in The Right to a Decent Life and Korean Social Welfare Law: Article 34 of the Constitution, the Legal Nature of Social Rights and Welfare as a Right Rather Than Charity.

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Criticism and debate

Supporters credit the ADA with curb cuts, accessible transit and changes in hiring, while disability advocates say enforcement is uneven and websites and apps remain hard to use. Some businesses complain about lawsuits filed in large numbers over minor barriers, and several states have debated notice periods before suits. Courts are also still sorting out how Title III applies to websites that are not tied to a physical location.

When you look at a disability discrimination case, ask what blocked equal access. Was it an exclusion, a neutral rule with unequal effects, or a missing accommodation?

Who is protected by the ADA?

People with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity, people with a record of such an impairment and people regarded as having one.

Does every employer have to follow the ADA?

Title I applies to employers with 15 or more employees, though many state laws cover smaller employers.

Can I get money damages under Title III?

Private plaintiffs generally get orders to fix barriers and attorney's fees, not damages, though some state laws add damages.

References and official sources

1. ADA.gov, Introduction to the Americans with Disabilities Act. U.S. Department of Justice
2. Disability Discrimination. U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
3. Olmstead v. L.C., 527 U.S. 581 (1999). Justia
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