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>From the web page http://www.disabilityrights.org/adatoc.htm

                  The ADA FAQ (for non-lawyers)
                The Council for Disability Rights
              The Americans with Disabilities Act:
            Civil Rights for People with Disabilities

                        GENERAL QUESTIONS

    * What is the ADA?
    * Why do we need it?
    * Who does the ADA cover?
    * What does the ADA not cover?
    * What about state and local laws providing rights to people
      with disabilities?
    * If you have a family member or friend with a disability,
      are you covered?

                       TITLE I: EMPLOYMENT
    * What employers are covered by the ADA?
    * What employees are covered by the ADA?
    * How does an employer know if an accommodation is needed
      and which accommodation to offer?
    * Are there any limits on the amount of money an employer is
      required to spend on "reasonable accommodations"?
    * Can an employer have job standards without discriminating
      against people with disabilities?
    * Can an employer ask about the disability or require an
      applicant to take a medical examination?
    * Can an employer refuse to give an employee medical or
      other insurance coverage because it will raise the cost?
    * What if the cost of insurance will increase not because of
      the employee, but his/her spouse or child?
    * What if an employer's customers or other employees feel
      uncomfortable around the employee with a disability? Can
      the employer ask that employee to work at home, for
      example?
    * What if an employer believes that the employee cannot
      perform the job safely, and he/she feels that the employee
      threatens the safety of employees and others?

              TITLE II: STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
    * What are the requirements for state and local governments?
      Are they different from privately owned public
      accommodations?
    * What constitutes discrimination by state and local
      governments?
    * If a government contracts with a private entity, are they
      subject to Title II?
    * Are there specific requirements for transportation?
    * Are air carriers and airlines covered by the ADA?

                TITLE III: PUBLIC ACCOMMODATIONS
    * What is a public accommodation?
    * What in general must a public accommodation do or not do?
    * May a public accommodation require people with
      disabilities to meet certain standards of policies,
      especially safety standards?
    * What special accommodations must public accommodations
      provide?
    * What are the requirements for physical access for public
      accommodations?
    * Are there special criteria for professional examinations
      and courses?

            TITLE IV: TELECOMMUNICATIONS FOR THE DEAF
    * What must be provided under this Title?
    * What other requirements does Title IV have?

                TITLE V: MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
    * What provisions are in this Title?

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                        GENERAL QUESTIONS

What is the ADA?
The ADA is a federal civil rights law for people with
disabilities, comparable to civil rights law passed in the 1960s
for other minorities. It covers employment, state and local
government services, public accommodations, and
telecommunications for the deaf.

Why do we need it?
43 million Americans have physical or mental disabilities. Too
often they are excluded from the mainstream of American life by
attitudes and inaccessible environments. 67 percent of all
people with disabilities are unemployed, even among college
graduates. The ADA benefits all of us. Each of us has a 20
percent chance of becoming a person with a disability and a 50
percent chance of having a family member with a disability.

Who does the ADA cover?
All people with disabilities, visible and hidden, including:
  * a person with a physical or mental impairment that
    substantially limits one or more major life functions
    (eating, breathing, caring for oneself, working, walking,
    etc.), OR
  * a person with a record of such an impairment (even if that
    record is inaccurate), OR
  * a person who is regarded as having such an impairment.

Some people are explicitly excluded from coverage, including:
  * current users of illegal drugs (but those with a history of
    drug or alcohol abuse are covered, and an employer may
    continue to conduct drug tests on employees for illegal
    drugs.)
  * those with "sexual behavior disorders" such as
    transvestitism or transsexualism, AND
  * those who have the conditions of compulsive gambling,
    kleptomania, or pyromania.

What does the ADA not cover?
Housing except for hotels and other temporary housing (see the
Fair Housing Act Amendments), buildings with primarily religious
or private functions.

What about state and local laws providing rights to people with
disabilities?
If the state and local laws have stricter requirements, they
still apply. For example, Illinois has stricter building
requirements and does not have exemptions for religious
entities.

If you have a family member or friend with a disability, are you
covered?
The ADA prohibits discrimination against a person who is
"associated with a person with a disability." Thus, it would be
illegal, for example, for a restaurant to refuse to serve a
non-disabled person just because that person was with a person
with a disability.

                       TITLE I: EMPLOYMENT

What employers are covered by the ADA?
Employers with 15 or more full or part-time employees are
subject to the provisions of the ADA. Employment agencies, labor
unions, and agencies providing fringe benefits or training
programs are also covered.

What employees are covered by the ADA?
In general, the ADA prohibits discrimination against a qualified
person with a disability. There are no affirmative action
requirements in the ADA. An employer can still hire the most
qualified person for the job as long as the disability is not
used to disqualify a person.

A "qualified person with a disability" is one who is able to
perform the essential functions of a job with or without a
reasonable accommodation.

The "essential functions" of a job include those job tasks which
are fundamental to the position, rather than marginal. For
example, an essential function for a receptionist is to greet
and direct visitors, not to hang coats. Employers should revise
job descriptions to reflect the essential functions and
approximate time spent on each task.

"Reasonable accommodation" is defined by the ADA by example and
must be determined on a case-by-case basis. Examples in the
statute include:

* making facilities physically accessible;
* job restructuring;
* part-time or modified work schedules;
* reassignments to a vacant job;
* acquisition or modification of equipment or devices;
* adjustment or modification of examinations, training materials
or policies;
* providing qualified readers or interpreters; and
* other similar accommodations.

Reasonable accommodations might include, for example, allowing
an employee to nap on the job after a seizure or permitting a
clerical worker to use the accessible executive bathroom.

How does an employer know if an accommodation is needed and
which accommodation to offer?
It is the applicant's or employee's responsibility to request an
accommodation. Employers should discuss the need for
accommodation with the applicant or employee and investigate
possible accommodations with groups serving people with
disabilities and the Federal Job Accommodation Network. An
employer is not required to provide the most expensive
accommodation or the accommodation that the employee prefers,
but it must allow the employee do his job.

Are there any limits on the amount of money an employer is
required to spend on "reasonable accommodations"?
Accommodations are not reasonable if to provide the
accommodation would result in undue financial or administrative
burden. The ADA looks to the budget of an entire entity for
financial burden; a fundamental change in a program is an
administrative burden.

Thus if an applicant who had learning disabilities, including
short-term memory deficits, would need a full-time partner to be
able to safely administer pesticides or herbicides, and in that
position an employee traditionally worked alone, an employer
could argue that to provide the accommodation would be both an
undue financial and administrative burden. However, if the
applicant only needed someone to read the directions once and
then could safely complete the tasks, the defense of undue
burdens would not be successful.

Can an employer have job standards without discriminating
against people with disabilities?
An employer must assure that qualification standards are
job-related and consistent with business necessity.
Qualification standards, employment tests and other
job-selection criteria must be analyzed to assure that qualified
employees with disabilities are not screened out, whether
intentionally or not, unless the criteria is essential for the
safe and adequate performance of the essential elements of the
job.

For example, to require a person to demonstrate the ability to
pick up weights of 25 pounds or more would only be allowed if
the employer can show that lifting such weights are basic
elements of the job and that the tasks cannot be assigned to
another employee or otherwise accommodated. Employers should
match any employment requirement against the job description
which defines the essential elements of the job. An employer may
ask any applicant how he would accomplish certain job tasks
(e.g., asking an applicant with visual impairments about word
processing; ask an employee who has been on medical leave due to
severe asthma how he would be able to complete his landscaping
assignments).

Can an employer ask about the disability or require an applicant
to take a medical examination?
An employer must eliminate pre-employment medical tests or
inquiries. An employer cannot require any medical tests, or ask
the employee or his references about medical or worker's
compensation history, or ask even general questions about an
applicant's health until after a job or promotion is offered.
Post-employment medical examinations are only allowed if an
offer has been made and all employees in the same or similar
positions are required to take the test and the results of the
examination are kept in a confidential file, and the results
will not be used to withdraw the offer of employment unless the
examination revealed that the applicant is not qualified.

Can an employer refuse to give an employee medical or other
insurance coverage because it will raise the cost?
An employer must offer the same terms, conditions or privileges
of employment to all employees, regardless of disability, and
must not enter into contracts with any organization providing
training, insurance or any other privilege of employment which
discriminates against people with disabilities. Insurance,
employee training, and other employee benefits must be equally
available to employees with disabilities.

For example, if an insurance company will not insure an employee
with Multiple Sclerosis, then the employer must find another
insurer or otherwise comparable benefits. (Pre-existing claims,
exemptions, or limitations on types of treatment - not types of
illness - are acceptable if all employees are treated the same.)
If the company has yearly parties for employees in an
inaccessible location, the location must be changed.

What if the cost of insurance will increase not because of the
employee, but his/her spouse or child?
An employer cannot discriminate against a person with a
disability because that person associates with a disability. An
employer could not refuse to hire a person or offer different
benefits because a spouse or a child with a disability might
raise the employer's insurance rates.

What if an employer's customers or other employees feel
uncomfortable around the employee with a disability?
Can the employer ask that employee to work at home, for example?
An employer cannot segregate a person with a disability (for
example, requiring a sales clerk with a disability to only work
in the the stock room). Instead of segregating the employee,
sensitize your employees to the rights of people with
disabilities and the manner in which they should be treated.

What if an employer believes that the employee cannot perform
the job safely, and he/she feels that the employee threatens the
safety of employees and others?
An employer may require that an employee not pose a direct
threat to the health or safety of other individuals in the
workplace. This direct threat must be significant and immediate
and must not be based on stereotypical assumptions but on real
data. The employee must not be refused the opportunity of
employment unless the direct threat cannot be eliminated with a
reasonable accommodation.

An employer must research possible accommodations before
rejecting an employee based on possible threats to safety. Calls
to disability agencies (e.g., the Epilepsy Foundation) or the
Centers for Disease Control may be helpful. The ADA has specific
rules for food handlers with infectious diseases as listed by
the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

              TITLE II: STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

What are the requirements for state and local governments?
Are they different from privately owned public accommodations?
Similar to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, no
state or local government entity may discriminate on the basis
of disability in its programs or services. In addition to that
general prohibition, state and local government entities must
assure that all of its programs and services, when viewed in
their entirety, are accessible. Thus every program must be
accessible, but not every facility must be accessible.

Accessible features must be maintained in working order. All
newly constructed or altered streets and walkways must have curb
ramps regardless of the source of funding. The requirements
apply not only to the state and local government entity, but
also any private entity with which the government contracts to
provide services. Thus, no government should contract with an
entity which is totally inaccessible.

What constitutes discrimination by state and local governments?
Providing unequal, less effective, different or separate aids,
services or benefits; providing services through an agency which
discriminates; or denying the right to participate in planning
or advisory boards are discriminatory. Using criteria or methods
of administration, site selection for facilities, and licensing
or certification which would have the effect of discrimination
on the basis of disability violates the ADA. Services must be
provided in the most integrated setting possible. Examples would
include using written applications or only providing services in
inaccessible locations.

If a government contracts with a private entity, are they
subject to Title II?
Yes. If the government contracts with a private entity to
provide services, then the delegate agency must comply with
Title II (and will also have Title II obligations).

Are there specific requirements for transportation?
Yes. Both Title II and Title III (public accommodations offered
for transportation services offered by private entities) provide
specific (and lengthy) requirements for transportation services
offered by state and local governments and private operators.

In general:
  * All new public buses and commuter trains must be accessible
    (lift-equipped, proper signage, warning symbols, etc.). For
    those people with disabilities who cannot use mainline
    transportation, paratransit (door-to-door) service must be
    offered with service response time, cost and availability
    comparable to the mainline service.
  * At least one car per commuter train must be accessible; key
    stations must also be accessible.
  * Over the road buses (Greyhound) will be "studied."
  * All new Amtrak trains must be accessible; one car per train
    must be accessible; intercity rail stations must be
    accessible by 2010.
  * New buses purchased by private entities not in the business
    of transportation (e.g., hotel shuttle services, buses
    offered to tour facilities such as the Chicago Botanic
    Garden) which seat more than 16 people (including the
    driver) must be accessible; if the service is "demand
    responsive" (available on demand) not all buses need to be
    accessible. If the buses purchased hold fewer than 16
    people, the entity providing the service must assure that
    the service "when viewed in its entirety" is accessible to
    people with disabilities. The entity must be able to show
    that it can meet the demand for its services by people with
    disabilities within the same time frame as it meets the
    demand by non-disabled persons.

Are air carriers and airlines covered by the ADA?
Air transportation is not covered by the ADA, but is covered
under the federal Air Carriers Act.

                TITLE III: PUBLIC ACCOMMODATIONS

What is a public accommodation?
Public accommodations are any place, building, or outdoor space
which a member of the public can enter with or without a fee. It
does not include "private clubs" (those for which membership
must be voted on by other members) and operations owned or
operated by religious entities.

Categories of public accommodations listed in the ADA are:
  * places of lodging (e.g., hotels, motels)
  * establishments serving food and drink (e.g., restaurants,
    bars)
  * places of exhibition or entertainment (e.g., theaters,
    stadiums)
  * places of public gathering (e.g., auditoriums, convention
    halls)
  * sale or rental establishments (e.g., bakeries, clothing
    stores, video stores)
  * service establishments (e.g., professional offices of
    doctors, dentists, lawyers, gas stations, funeral parlors)
  * stations used for public transportation
  * places of public display or collection (e.g., museums,
    gardens, galleries)
  * places of recreation (e.g., parks, zoos)
  * places of education (e.g., private schools)
  * social service centers (e.g., homeless shelters, day care
    centers)
  * places of exercise or recreation (e.g., gymnasiums, golf
    courses).

What in general must a public accommodation do or not do?
A public accommodation:

.. cannot deny goods or services because a person has a
disability or is associated with a person with a disability,
.. cannot offer only unequal or separate benefits, AND
.. must offer services in the most integrated setting possible.

Special programs for people with disabilities can still be
offered, as long as the programs offered to all other people are
still available to those with disabilities.

May a public accommodation require people with disabilities to
meet certain standards of policies, especially safety standards?
A public accommodation must not use eligibility criteria or
standards which screen out or tend to screen out people with
disabilities unless it can be shown these criteria are necessary
for the safe provision of these services. Safety considerations
must be based in real, immediate threats of danger to others,
not on stereotypical assumptions. In addition, a public
accommodation must make reasonable modifications in policies,
practices and procedures unless it would fundamentally alter the
nature of the goods and services offered.

Although pets are not allowed, service animals must be allowed
in gardens or other public accommodations. A "no-touching"
policy may be necessary for delicate art work or fragile plants
even though people with visual impairments may be denied the
full enjoyment of these objects.

What special accommodations must public accommodations provide?
A public accommodation must provide, unless to do so would
impose an undue administrative or financial burden, the
following:

Auxiliary aids and services, including:
  * sign language interpreters,
  * assistive listening devices and headsets,
  * brailled, large-print, and taped texts,
  * TV decoders, and
  * TDD/TTY (text telephone for the deaf, hearing and speech
    impaired).

Most of these items are relatively inexpensive and readily
available. 15-point type, which is obtainable is most software
programs or through an inexpensive update, is sufficient as
large print for most users. TDD/TTYs, which are simple to use
and do not require a separate phone line, start at $250; $500
TDD/TTYs have printers with which to record the conversation and
built-in answering machines. Braille costs about 30 cents per
page.

Auxiliary aids and services do not include devices or assistance
of a personal nature, e.g., eyeglasses, hearing aid, or
assistance with toileting.

What are the requirements for physical access for public
accommodations?
A newly constructed public accommodation must meet all of the
physical access requirements of the ADA Access Guidelines
(ADAAG), unless a state standard is stricter.

For example, in Illinois, most of the state standards in the
Illinois Accessibility Code (IAC) are stricter, so the IAC
should be followed. The ADAAGs give an exemption to the general
requirements of an elevator in new construction if the building
is less than 3 stories tall or has less than 3,000 square feet
per story (with certain exceptions to the exemption). The IAC
has no such exemption and thus would have to be followed.

A public accommodation being remodeled must have the part being
altered accessible to the "maximum extent feasible" according to
the ADAAGs. If the part being altered is a primary function area
(e.g., training center), then that area must be connected to the
main entrance by an accessible route which includes accessible
bathrooms, drinking fountains, etc. along the route.

It is possible that a public accommodation will have to follow
parts of both the ADAAGs and a state's access code. An existing
public facility which is not undergoing alterations must be made
accesiible if it is "readily achievable," meaning "without much
difficulty or expense," according to the ADA. An entity should
look at its total budget versus the cost of the features to
determine whether the cost of accessibility would be undue.
Examples of "readily achievable" alterations are: ramps, curb
ramps, rearranging furniture, moving plants, widening doorways,
putting tactile markers on elevators. Compare the cost of the
alteration to the cost of decorative items.

If an existing facility cannot be made accessible, then it must
provide service in an alternative manner, e.g., free delivery,
taped tours of inaccessible exhibits, dixie cup dispensers on
water fountains.

"Commercial facilities," meaning facilities not open to the
general public but whose operations "affect commerce" (and
everything does) must follow the rules for newly constructed or
remodeled buildings.

Are there special criteria for professional examinations and
courses?
The ADA specifically requires that any organization which offers
examinations or courses related to secondary or postsecondary
education, professional or trade purposes (e.g., SATs, law
boards, CPA examinations, GREs) must offer them both in an
accessible location and in an accessible manner.

            TITLE IV: TELECOMMUNICATIONS FOR THE DEAF

What must be provided under this Title?
Any provider of local or long distance telephone service must
provide a relay service for people who are deaf. Under this
service, people with TDD/TTYs who are calling a party without a
TDD/TTY, and vice versa, can make the call through a relay
service, which will transmit the call via TDD/TTY or voice,
depending on need.

What other requirements does Title IV have?
The only remaining requirement is that all public service
announcements funded in whole or in part with federal funds must
be close-captioned, meaning that a person with a special TV
decoder will see the captioning.

                TITLE V: MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

What provisions are in this Title?
Several important provisions and some of lesser importance are
included in this section. They include:
  * The ADA shall not be construed to apply a lesser standard
    than that already in existence under Section 504 of the
    Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794 et seq.) or to
    invalidate any state or local laws (such as the Illinois
    Accessibility Code) which have stricter provisions.
  * The ADA will not prohibit an insurance company from using
    sound actuarial data to administer risks, even if the effect
    is that people with disabilities will be charged more or
    denied coverage, but it must not be used as a subterfuge to
    deny coverage.
  * The ADA shall not be construed to require a person to accept
    an accommodation.
  * There shall be no state immunity from action under the ADA,
    but Congress remains exempt, although it must abide by
    certain internal requirements.
  * There is a prohibition against retaliation for filing a
    charge or opposing a discriminatory practice; retaliation
    will constitute a separate offense.
  * Attorney's fees shall be awarded to the prevailing party.
  * Various responsibilities for technical assistance and
    rule-making are outlined for the Architectural and
    Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, the Equal
    Employment Opportunity Commission, and the National Council
    on Disability.

Certain exclusions from the definition of "individual with a
disability" are specified, inclusing homosexuals, current
illegal drug users, and those with certain conditions
(compulsive gambling, kleptomania, pyromania, sexual behavior
disorders).

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End of Document

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