About Disability Law
There are specific laws set in place to protect people against discrimination. The disability law is one that protects individuals with mental and physical disabilities. The laws are strict in regards to how others treat people with disabilities in employment and other areas.
American with Disabilities Act (ADA)
The American with Disabilities Act went into effect in 1990. It consists of 10 disability rights laws designed to protect people with mental, physical and other types of impairments. These federal laws cover everything from hiring disabled people to blocking civil rights of disabled people. Example laws are:
- Title 1 Employment: Employers with more than 15 employees must provide job opportunities for disabled people. Positions should be the same as those without impairment. This includes benefits, raises and pay.
- Title II Transportation: Disabled individuals have the right to use public transportation services without discrimination. This includes public buses, taxi services and airplanes.
- Title IV Telecommunications Relay Services: Telephone carriers should have services available to disabled individuals with hearing and speech problems. These services include third party assistance when making phone calls to others. Television services should have closed captioning for hard of hearing people. This allows deaf and partially deaf individuals to read what is said when they watch television or cable shows.
The Telecommunications Act
The Telecommunication Act ensures that disabled people have access to the same services as able-bodied individuals. The Communications Act of 1934 changed in 1996 to ensure that telecommunication companies provided the same services and products to disabled people that they did for others.
Fair Housing Act
This act makes sure people with disabilities received the same housing options as everyone else. Landlords or home sellers cannot discourage or prevent the mentally or physically impaired from renting or purchasing housing.