Disability Etiquette Handbook

Americans With Disabilities Act

The Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law on July 26, 1990. The purpose of the Act is to:

Provide clear and comprehensive national mandate to end discrimination against individuals with disabilities.

Provide enforceable standards addressing discrimination against individuals with disabilities.

Ensure that the federal government plays a central role in enforcing these standards on behalf of individuals with disabilities.

The term disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of a person's major life activities, a record of such impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment.

This is the same definition used in Sections 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Fair Housing Amendments Act.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) gives people with disabilities civil rights protection that is like that provided to individuals on the basis of race, sex, national origin and religion. It guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in:

employment
public accommodations
transportation
state and local government services and
telecommunications.

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Next Section: Extracts from the ADA

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