The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

Americans with Disabilities Act

The ADA, signed on July 26, 1990, is considered one of the most significant of civil rights laws passed since the Civil Rights Act of 1964, from which it draws heavily. It protects individuals with physical and mental disabilities against discrimination in areas such as employment, public accommodations, and transportation.

The ADA changed the landscape of America, increasing access for individuals with disabilities and making buses with chairlifts, ramps into hotels, and government buildings and wheelchair accessible restrooms commonplace.

On September 25, 2008, President Bush signed the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 into law.  The law restores Congress' original intent to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990.

Leadership Conference Resources

• ADA Anniversary Reinvigorates Advocates for the Disabled in Pushing for Equal Access - Feature Story - 7/28/06 
• Landmark Settlement for Patients With Disabilities Among First of Its Kind under ADA - Feature Story - 12/12/05
• Fifteen Years of the Americans with Disabilities Act: Much Progress, but Much at Risk - Feature Story - 7/26/05
• 15th Anniversary of the Passage of Americans With Disabilities Act - Press Release - 7/26/05
• Supreme Court: States Can Be Sued for Denying Access to Persons with Disabilities - Feature Story - 4/27/05
• Enforcing the ADA: A Status Report from the Department of Justice (pdf) - U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Disability Section - March 2005
• Disability Advocates Say ADA Needs to Get Back on Track - Feature Story - 12/15/04
• Righting the ADA - National Council on Disability - December 2004
• In Victory for Civil Rights, Supreme Court Rules in Favor of People with Disabilities - Feature Story - 5/17/04
• News Analysis: High Court Decision to Have Major Impact on Disability Rights - Feature Story - 1/13/04
• Civil Rights Coalition Warns of Larger Civil Rights Ramifications in Disability Rights Case - Press Release - 1/12/04
• ADA Celebrates its 12th Anniversary - Feature Story - 8/9/02
• Metro Gets an “F” in Getting People with Disabilities from A to B - Feature Story - 6/28/02
• Supreme Court Delivers Another Blow to ADA - Feature Story - 5/6/02
• Supreme Court Limits Americans With Disabilities Act - Feature Story - 3/6/01 

Resources

• Americans with Disabilities Act Home Page - U.S. Department of Justice
• Americans with Disabilities Act Questions and Answers - U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission