A Guide to Your Rights
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a landmark federal civil rights law enacted in 1990 to prevent discrimination and guarantee equal opportunity for those with disabilities. It addresses equal access in employment, state and local government services, public accommodations, transportation, and telecommunications.
Prior to the ADA, individuals with disabilities lacked the comprehensive federal civil rights protections that existed for other groups. The law was set forth to help equalize social, economic, employment, and education disadvantages in the public domain.
Given the opportunity and appropriate accommodations, those with the disability of low vision can become full functioning, productive, and self-sufficient members of society.
Defining Disability and Vision Impairment
The ADA defines an individual with a disability using a three-pronged approach:
- A person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities (like seeing, reading, or learning).
- A person who has a record of such an impairment.
- A person who is regarded as having such an impairment.
The ability to see is explicitly listed as a major life activity.
The Impact of the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA)
The ADA was clarified and broadened by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA). This is critical for people with low vision:
- Mitigating Measures: The determination of whether an impairment substantially limits a major life activity must generally be made without regard to the ameliorative effects of mitigating measures.
- Low Vision Devices: This means the positive effects of low-vision devices (such as magnifiers, telescopes, and specialized computer software) must not be considered when determining if a person is disabled. If you need low-vision devices because of an underlying vision condition, that condition constitutes a disability.
- Ordinary Eyeglasses/Contacts: The one exception is for ordinary eyeglasses or contact lenses (lenses intended to fully correct visual acuity or eliminate refractive error). Their beneficial effect is considered. Therefore, a person whose vision is fully corrected to the level of the general population using standard prescription lenses may not be considered disabled. However, if the underlying vision impairment still substantially limits the person’s ability to see, even when using those lenses, or if the individual has an impairment that, in the absence of eyeglasses or contacts, substantially limits seeing, they meet the definition of disability.
It is important to note that while the ADA mandates accommodations, none of its provisions require entities to provide individuals with personal items such as eyeglasses, contact lenses, or other personal low-vision devices.
Employment (Title I)
Employment (Title I)Title I of the ADA prohibits discrimination in employment. This applies not just to hiring but also to job advancement, training, compensation, and “other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment.”
- Who Must Comply: An employer must comply if they have 15 or more employees for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year.
- Qualified Individual: The core protection is for a “qualified individual on the basis of disability.” A qualified person must be able to perform the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodations.
- Reasonable Accommodation: Employers must make “reasonable accommodation” for a disabled employee, providing there is no “undue hardship” for the employer. Hardship is determined based on cost, financial resources, the type of operation, and the overall impact on the facility.
Employer Tax Incentives
Federal law offers incentives to help employers offset the cost of accommodations.
- Disabled Access Credit (Section 44): Available to small businesses (those with $$$1 million or less in revenue or 30 or fewer full-time employees). It covers 50% of eligible access expenditures between $$$250 and $$$10,250, with a maximum credit of $$$5,000 per year.
- Architectural/Transportation Barrier Removal Deduction (Section 190): Available to all businesses for a maximum deduction of $$$15,000 per year for expenses of removing qualified barriers.
For more information, refer to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which enforces Title I. The document, Questions and Answers About Visual Disabilities in the Workplace and the Americans with Disabilities Act, offers detailed guidance.
Public Services (Title II)
Title II covers the programs, activities, and services of state and local government entities, regardless of their size or receipt of federal funds. This includes public education, transportation, health care, social services, courts, and voting.
- The Mandate: These entities must not discriminate against individuals with disabilities and must ensure their programs and services are accessible.
- Accessibility and Communication: For the visually impaired, this involves ensuring effective communication by providing auxiliary aids and services at no additional cost. Examples include qualified readers, accessible digital files, taped texts, Braille material, and large-print documents.
Education and Health Services Enforcement
- Education: The U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR), enforces the education portion of the ADA, ensuring the rights and protection of students with disabilities. Modifications for qualified students—like time extensions, modified computers with text readers, or voice recognition software—must be reasonable and cannot fundamentally alter the program. However, educational institutions are not required to provide students with personal assistive devices.
| U.S. Dept. of Education, OCR Contact | |
| Phone: | 1-800-421-3481 |
| TDD: | 1-800-877-8339 |
| Email: | ocr@ed.gov |
| Web Site: | https://www.ed.gov/ocr |
- Health and Social Programs: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights, enforces the health and social programs portion of Title II, ensuring non-exclusion from services offered by state and local government agencies.
Public Accommodations and Services Operated by Private Entities (Title III)
Title III addresses private-sector businesses and non-profit organizations that are open to the public, including places of lodging, restaurants, retail stores, movie theaters, private schools, and health care offices.
- Exclusions: Title III excludes private clubs and religious organizations.
- Readily Achievable: Covered entities must make readily achievable accommodations. This means “easily accomplishable and able to be carried out without much difficulty or expense,” considering the entity’s financial resources, the nature and cost of the action, and the size and type of business.
- Communication: Reasonable modifications to policies must be made to ensure access to goods and services. For the visually disabled, this is often about communication, such as having an employee read a menu or price information. For more complex documents (contracts, forms), the visually disabled have the right to request access via alternate formats, such as computer disc, audio, or email.
- Signage: The ADA Standards for Accessible Design, Chapter 7, details requirements for permanent signage (restrooms, room identifiers, exits). This includes specifications for Braille, tactile (raised lettering), visual contrast, and sign location.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Civil Rights Division, enforces both Title II and Title III of the ADA.
| U.S. Department of Justice Contact | |
| Disability Rights Section | Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice, P.O. Box 66738, Washington D.C., 20035-6738 |
| Toll-Free: | 1-800-514-0301 |
| TTY: | 1-800-514-0383 |
Summary
The ADA has evolved through court rulings and modifications, notably the ADAAA, which ensured broad coverage for those with impairments, including low vision. Its ultimate goal is to eliminate prejudice, prevent exclusion and segregation, and act as an equalizer. Those with disabilities, including low vision, should be able to move about freely and enjoy all the privileges and advantages available to others.