Americans with Disabilities Act

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT Name Institution affiliation Course Date of Submission Americans with Disabilities Senator Tom Harkin brought the Americans with disabilities act (ADA) to the senate, where it passed before the congress enacted it and the president signed it into law in 1990. It has since been amended once in 2008 and signed by the president as the ADAAA (ADA Amendment Act). This law is a collection of civil rights, which defend the disabled citizens of America by advocating against and prohibiting discrimination against the disabled in the work place. According to this act, a person is disabled if he (or she) has a mental or physical impairment that substantially limits a major life activity. However, not all cases are disabilities, and the court rules out drug abuse and visual impairment that can be rectified by use of lenses. The following paragraphs are a summary of the legislation and its significance. The act has five titles, which are employment, public entities, public accommodations, telecommunications and miscellaneous provisions. The act asserts that a business institution hiring at least fifteen people has no right to discriminate against an individual who is qualified based on his disability, mental of physical. Discrimination in the work place may include denying qualified but disabled individuals a chance to work, job promotions or special accommodation based on their disabilities (ADA, 2010). The second title deals with access to public utilities such public transport and hospitals, schools and market, among others. In this title, the act prescribes that all public utilities must provide visible signs for persons with disabilities, such as the access sign. The third title deals with public accommodation and specifies that individuals with disabilities must have full enjoyment of goods and services in public accommodations. The bill also demands that companies and businesses must remove any barriers to this enjoyment or provide alte...