The Americans with Disabilities Act is a civil rights legislation that was signed into place in 1990 by President George W. Bush. This law is designed to protect individuals with physical or mental disabilities and provide equal access to employment, public service, public accommodation and commercial facilities, telecommunications and more. The Americans with Disabilities Act protects individuals with a physical or mental disability that substantially limits one or more major aspects of life, people with a record of impairment and those who may be perceived as impaired. The act is divided into five titles and is continually modified to ensure continued protection to individuals.
Title one of the act protects individuals against discrimination in regards to employment. Specifically it is designed to protect people with disabilities from being denied fair access to employment as well as training, promotions, pay, benefits and requiring reasonable accommodations to be provided if necessary to perform the job function.
Title two of the act mandates that equal access be made for all public services provided by state and local governments. This includes access to public transportation that is offered by these groups and any programs that are offered.
Title three of the act addresses commercial facilities and public accommodations. This section requires all private businesses including hotels, restaurants, department stores and convenience stores to provide equal access to products and services. This means all newly built stores, aisles, bathrooms entry and exits and other aspects need to be accessible to all individuals. In addition, this section requires shuttle services and non government fixed route transportation systems to be accessible for wheelchair access as well.
Title four provides equal access to telecommunications aspects for individuals with hearing and speech impairments. This enabled equal access to telephone services for these individuals. This included the need for operator relay services.
Title five is labeled miscellaneous and provides clarification of several key terms and categories. Most of this section is devoted to clarifying the legal implications of the law. Two key terms are clearly defined, reasonable accommodations and readily achievable. Reasonable accommodations refer to employees, nothing is required to be done until a qualified applicant with a disability has been hired. Readily achievable is directed at businesses and places who provide services. This means that changes need to be made in anticipation of guests with disabilities so that their business can easily be carried out.