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. To be protected by the 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 the 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.1 The ADA does not specifically name all of the impairments that are covered.
The ADA is divided into 5 titles that cover different areas: 1) Title I – Employment; 2) Title II – Public Services, which covers public entities and public transportation; 3) Title III – Public Accommodations, which includes commercial facilities; 4) Title IV – Telecommunications and 5) Title V – Miscellaneous. This chapter focuses primarily on Titles II and III.
- 142 U.S.C. § 12102(1).