The Americans with Disabilities Act is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, state and local government services, businesses open to the public, and telecommunications. Signed on July 26, 1990, it reaches employers with 15 or more workers, every state and local government agency, and virtually every private business that serves customers.1U.S. Access Board. Americans with Disabilities Act The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 later broadened who counts as disabled after courts had read the definition too narrowly.
Who Counts as Having a Disability
You are protected if you meet any one of three tests.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 12102 – Definition of Disability The first is an actual physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity such as walking, seeing, hearing, breathing, learning, concentrating, or working. The second is a record of such an impairment, which keeps protection in place for someone in remission from cancer, for instance. The third is being regarded as impaired, which reaches discrimination based on assumption or stereotype whether or not the person is actually disabled.
Since the 2008 amendments, “substantially limits” is read broadly in favor of coverage. A condition that is episodic or in remission still counts if it would substantially limit a major life activity when active, and courts must evaluate your limitations without factoring in medication, hearing aids, or other measures you use to manage the condition.3ADA.gov. ADA Amendments Act Questions and Answers
What the Law Does Not Cover
Current illegal drug use is excluded, though people in treatment or recovery are still protected as long as they are not actively using illegal drugs. Taking a prescribed medication under a doctor’s supervision, including opioid treatment medications, is not “illegal use.”4ADA.gov. The ADA and Opioid Use Disorder The statute also excludes compulsive gambling, kleptomania, and pyromania.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 12211 – Definitions Emotional support animals are not treated as service animals under the ADA, a point covered further below.
Your Rights at Work
If you can perform the core duties of a job with or without accommodation, an employer with 15 or more employees cannot discriminate against you in hiring, firing, promotions, pay, or any other term of employment because of your disability.6U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Disabilities Act Expands to Cover Employers with 15 or More Workers The question is whether you are qualified for the job, not what your diagnosis is.
Employers must provide reasonable accommodations so you can do the work. That may be a modified schedule, assistive technology, a quieter workspace, telework, or physical changes like a ramp. There is no fixed menu. The law calls on the employer and employee to work through options together in an “interactive process.”7U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Enforcement Guidance on Reasonable Accommodation and Undue Hardship Under the ADA An employer can refuse a specific accommodation only if it would be an “undue hardship,” meaning genuinely too expensive or disruptive given the employer’s size and resources.
Medical Questions During Hiring
Before a job offer, an employer can ask whether you can perform job-related functions and even ask you to show how. They cannot ask about your medical history or require a physical exam. After a conditional offer, a medical exam is allowed only if every new hire in the same job category takes one. If exam results lead the employer to pull the offer, the reason has to be tied directly to job duties and business necessity.8eCFR. 29 CFR 1630.14 – Medical Examinations and Inquiries Specifically Permitted Any medical information collected must be kept in a separate confidential file, accessible only to managers who need to know about work restrictions, first-aid staff, and government investigators.9U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The ADA – Your Responsibilities as an Employer
What You Can Recover
The remedy is meant to put you where you would have been without the discrimination: job placement, back pay, and lost benefits. For intentional discrimination, you may also recover compensatory damages for emotional distress and, for especially malicious conduct, punitive damages. Combined compensatory and punitive damages are capped by federal statute based on employer size, ranging from $50,000 for employers with 15 to 100 workers up to $300,000 for those with more than 500.10U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Remedies for Employment Discrimination11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 1981a – Damages in Cases of Intentional Discrimination in Employment Back pay and attorney’s fees do not count against the cap.
Your Rights With State and Local Government
Every state and local government program has to be accessible, from public schools and courts to town hall meetings and social services offices.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC Chapter 126, Subchapter II – Public Services A government entity cannot excuse inaccessibility by pointing to the age of a building. If a public hearing is in an inaccessible location, the agency must move it or offer an alternative. Printed materials must be available in accessible formats like Braille, large print, or audio when needed.
Effective communication runs through Title II. Courts have to provide sign language interpreters. Polling places must have equipment that lets voters with disabilities cast a ballot privately and independently. Livestreamed council meetings need to be accessible too.
Public Transportation
Buses must have wheelchair lifts or ramps, and rail stations have to be physically accessible. Any transit agency running fixed-route bus or rail service also has to offer paratransit for riders whose disabilities keep them from using the regular system, at a service level comparable to the fixed routes.13Federal Transit Administration. Frequently Asked Questions
Government Websites and Apps
The Department of Justice has adopted the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1, Level AA, as the standard for state and local government websites and mobile apps. An interim final rule published in April 2026 extended the compliance deadlines: government entities serving 50,000 or more people have until April 26, 2027, and smaller entities and special district governments have until April 26, 2028.14Federal Register. Extension of Compliance Dates for Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability; Accessibility of Web Information and Services of State and Local Government Entities The standard covers screen reader compatibility, keyboard navigation, video captions, and color contrast.
Your Rights as a Customer at a Business
If a business is open to the public, the ADA almost certainly applies. The law lists 12 categories of “public accommodations” that cover nearly every customer-facing operation: hotels, restaurants, theaters, stores, banks, hospitals, private schools, gyms, day care centers, law offices, and more.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 12181 – Definitions These businesses cannot refuse service, set different terms, or segregate customers based on disability.16Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC Chapter 126, Subchapter III – Public Accommodations
Existing buildings must remove architectural barriers when doing so is “readily achievable,” meaning it can be done without much difficulty or expense. Ramps, rearranged furniture, and restroom grab bars are common examples. Where full removal is not feasible, the business has to offer its services another way, like curbside service or staff assistance. New construction and major renovations face a stricter standard and must be fully accessible under the current 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, which set specifications for door widths, ramp slopes, restrooms, elevators, and more.17ADA.gov. ADA Standards for Accessible Design
Parking lots must include a minimum number of accessible spaces proportional to total capacity, and at least one out of every six accessible spaces has to be van-accessible with the wider space or aisle and adequate vertical clearance.18U.S. Access Board. Chapter 5 – Parking Spaces At venues like stadiums and theaters, accessible seating must be sold through the same sales channels, at the same times, and at prices comparable to other seats in the section, with the buyer allowed to purchase up to three additional adjacent seats for companions.19eCFR. 28 CFR 35.138 – Ticketing
When the Department of Justice sues a business, civil penalties as of July 2025 reach up to $118,225 for a first offense and $236,451 for later offenses, adjusted each year for inflation.20Federal Register. Civil Monetary Penalties Inflation Adjustments for 2025 Private individuals can also sue for injunctive relief and attorney’s fees.
Service Animals
Under the ADA, a service animal is a dog individually trained to perform a specific task tied to a person’s disability. Guiding a person who is blind, alerting a person who is deaf, pulling a wheelchair, and sensing an oncoming seizure all qualify. Any breed and any size can be a service animal. A separate provision allows miniature horses when reasonable, provided the animal is housebroken, under the handler’s control, and of a size the facility can accommodate.21ADA.gov. ADA Requirements – Service Animals
Emotional support animals do not count as service animals under the ADA. A dog whose presence alone provides comfort, without training to perform a specific task, does not qualify, so a “no pets” business is not required by the ADA to admit one. Some state or local laws go further, but federal law does not.22ADA.gov. Frequently Asked Questions about Service Animals and the ADA
When it is not obvious what task a dog performs, staff at a business may ask exactly two questions: whether the dog is a service animal required because of a disability, and what task it has been trained to perform. Staff cannot ask about the disability itself, demand documentation, or require the dog to demonstrate its task.
Phone and Communication Access
Telephone companies must provide relay services so people with hearing or speech disabilities can communicate by phone through a third-party operator, 24 hours a day, at rates no higher than standard voice calls.23Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 225 – Telecommunications Services for Hearing-Impaired and Speech-Impaired Individuals Video Relay Services connect a deaf user by video to a sign language interpreter who relays the conversation in real time, and each VRS user gets a standard ten-digit number so 911 calls route with accurate location information.24Federal Communications Commission. Consumer Guide – Video Relay Services
Wireless carriers have moved from older TTY text technology to Real-Time Text, which lets users type and read text during a call as it is being typed. All nationwide and regional wireless providers must support RTT on new devices, and RTT and TTY have to interoperate.25Federal Communications Commission. Real-Time Text – Improving Accessible Telecommunications Federal government-funded television public service announcements must include closed captioning.26Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 611 – Closed-Captioning of Public Service Announcements
How to File a Complaint
Where you file depends on the kind of discrimination. Employment complaints go to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Housing goes to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Air travel goes to the Department of Transportation. Everything else, including problems with government services or private businesses, goes to the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, online or by mail.27ADA.gov. File a Complaint
Employment charges have a firm deadline. You have 180 calendar days from the date of discrimination, extended to 300 days if your state has its own agency enforcing disability discrimination law, which most do. Weekends and holidays count, though if the last day falls on one you get until the next business day. Federal employees have to contact their agency’s EEO counselor within 45 days. An internal grievance or mediation does not pause the clock.28U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Time Limits for Filing a Charge
Complaints to the Department of Justice about government services or public accommodations do not have a single hard statutory deadline of that kind. The DOJ’s review takes up to three months, and you can check on your complaint by calling the ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301. DOJ may investigate directly, refer the matter to mediation, or route it to another federal agency.
Retaliation Is Its Own Violation
The ADA prohibits retaliation against anyone who files a complaint, testifies in an investigation, or otherwise exercises their rights, and it prohibits coercion or intimidation of people helping others exercise those rights. If an employer fires you for filing an EEOC charge, the retaliation is a separate violation with its own remedies.29Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 12203 – Prohibition Against Retaliation and Coercion