Your Rights Under the ADA

What the Americans With Disabilities Act Does

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is a federal civil rights law. It bans discrimination against people with disabilities in everyday life: getting and keeping a job, using public services, and buying goods and services from businesses.

The ADA is about equal access, not money. It doesn’t pay benefits. If you need income because you can’t work, that comes from Social Security through SSDI or SSI, which use a different and stricter test. Many people use both: the ADA to keep a job or get a fair hearing, and Social Security once work is no longer possible.

The law is split into titles. Three of them cover most of what you’ll meet day to day. A fourth, Title IV, requires telephone companies to provide services that let callers with hearing and speech disabilities communicate.

Title	Who must follow it	What they must do	Where complaints go
Title I: Employment	Employers with 15 or more employees, including state and local government employers, employment agencies and labor unions	Treat you equally in hiring, pay and promotion, and provide reasonable accommodations	EEOC, usually within 180 days (300 in many states)
Title II: State and local government	Every state and local government, regardless of size	Give equal access to programs, make reasonable modifications, communicate effectively, keep programs accessible	Department of Justice
Title III: Businesses open to the public	Restaurants, hotels, shops, theaters, private schools, doctors’ offices, private hospitals, day care centers, gyms	Make reasonable modifications, communicate effectively, remove barriers when readily achievable, allow service animals	Department of Justice

Who Counts as a Person With a Disability

ADA.gov defines a person with a disability as someone who meets any one of three tests:

• An actual disability. You have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, such as walking, seeing, hearing, learning, concentrating or working.
• A record of one. You have a history of such an impairment, such as cancer that is in remission.
• Being regarded as having one. Others perceive you as having such an impairment, even if you don’t.

You don’t need a specific diagnosis from a list. The question is how the condition limits you. An impairment that comes and goes, such as epilepsy or a mood disorder, counts if it would substantially limit a major life activity when it’s active.

This is a broader definition than Social Security’s. Plenty of people who work full time are covered by the ADA. If you’re trying to figure out whether you’d qualify for benefits instead, the disability eligibility screener walks through SSA’s test.

Your Rights at Work Under Title I

If your employer has 15 or more employees, Title I protects you from the job application through the last day of work.

• Equal treatment. An employer can’t refuse to hire, fire, demote or pay you less because of a disability, as long as you can do the job’s essential functions with or without a reasonable accommodation.
• Medical questions. The EEOC says an employer cannot require a medical exam before offering you a job. After an offer, it can require one only if everyone entering that job category takes it.
• Reasonable accommodations. These are changes that let you apply, do the job or enjoy equal benefits: a modified schedule, equipment, a quieter workspace, written instructions, leave for treatment or a transfer to an open job. The workplace accommodations guide covers how to ask and what employers can refuse.
• No retaliation. It is unlawful for an employer to retaliate against you for asserting your ADA rights, including asking for an accommodation or filing a charge.

If your workplace has fewer than 15 employees, Title I doesn’t apply, but a state or local law may. Your state’s fair employment agency can tell you; the state guides are a starting point.

Your Rights With Government Services Under Title II

Title II covers every state and local government, whatever its size. ADA.gov lists public schools, public transportation, recreation, health care, social services, courts, voting, emergency services, and offices where you renew a license, apply for food assistance, pay taxes or attend a town meeting.

These governments must:

• give you an equal opportunity to benefit from their programs, services and activities;
• make reasonable modifications to policies, practices and procedures when needed so you can use the program;
• communicate with you as effectively as they communicate with others;
• keep programs accessible, so you aren’t shut out because a building is inaccessible.

Public schools fall under Title II as well as Section 504. For a child who needs services at school, the 504 plan guide and IEP guide explain the school process, and IEP vs 504 compares the two.

Housing has its own federal rules. See housing rights for people with disabilities. For accessible parking, the disability parking placard guide covers each state’s application.

Your Rights at Businesses Under Title III

Businesses open to the public, which the law calls public accommodations, must follow Title III. ADA.gov’s examples include restaurants, hotels and motels, shops, movie theaters, private schools, doctors’ offices and private hospitals, day care centers and gyms.

They must:

• make reasonable modifications to policies, practices and procedures;
• communicate with you as effectively as with other customers;
• remove architectural barriers in existing buildings when it is readily achievable to do so;
• allow service animals to be with their person even if they have a no pets policy.

How to File an ADA Complaint

The right agency depends on who treated you unfairly. Try to resolve it directly first if you can: a short written request to the employer, office or business often fixes the problem. Keep copies of everything, with dates.

Job Discrimination: File a Charge With the EEOC

Employment complaints go to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), not the Department of Justice.

• Deadline. You generally must file within 180 calendar days of the discrimination. That extends to 300 calendar days if a state or local agency enforces a law against the same kind of discrimination, which is true in many states. Weekends and holidays count, but a deadline that lands on one moves to the next business day. For ongoing harassment, the clock runs from the last incident.
• How to start. Use the EEOC Public Portal online, visit one of its 53 offices, mail a signed letter, or call 1-800-669-4000 to talk it through. The EEOC can’t take a charge over the phone, but a call starts the process and can get you a quick interview if your deadline is close.
• State agencies. You can also file with your state or local fair employment agency. Under worksharing agreements, that filing can count with the EEOC too.
• Federal employees use a separate process and generally must contact their agency’s EEO counselor within 45 days.

Government or Business Discrimination: File With the Department of Justice

For a state or local government (Title II) or a business (Title III), file with the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division.

1. Submit a report online at civilrights.justice.gov, or mail the ADA complaint form to the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20530.
2. Describe what happened, when, where, who was involved, and what you asked for.
3. Wait for a response. ADA.gov says review can take up to three months.
4. The department may refer your complaint to mediation, investigate it, or send it to another federal agency that handles that area.

If you hear nothing after three months, call the ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 (voice) or 1-833-610-1264 (TTY), Monday through Friday. The line also answers general questions about what the law requires.

ADA.gov doesn’t list a filing deadline for Title II and III complaints the way the EEOC does for jobs. Filing promptly is still wise while dates and names are fresh.

Free Official Help With ADA Problems

You don’t have to work this out alone. These official sources answer questions and take complaints:

• ADA Information Line (800-514-0301): questions about Titles II and III.
• EEOC (1-800-669-4000): job discrimination questions and filing a charge.
• Job Accommodation Network (askjan.org): free, confidential advice on workplace accommodations.
• Your state’s Protection and Advocacy (P&A) agency. The federal Administration for Community Living funds 57 P&As, one in every state and territory, plus a Native American consortium. P&As give information, advocacy and, when other steps aren’t enough, legal representation on disability rights. The state guides list each state’s agency as it’s confirmed, for example Illinois and Texas.

This page explains the law in general. For a decision about your own situation, such as whether to file or which deadline applies, call the agency or your state’s P&A.

If a disability limits your ability to work, the vocational rehabilitation guide covers state job services, and working on disability explains how earnings affect Social Security benefits.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I Have to Share Medical Records to Get an Accommodation at Work?

Not your full records. If your disability isn't obvious, an employer may ask for reasonable documentation about the disability and your functional limits, but the EEOC says it can't demand complete medical records unrelated to the need. See workplace accommodations.

Does the ADA Cover Conditions That Come and Go?

Yes, in many cases. The Department of Education's guidance on the parallel law, Section 504, explains that Congress made an impairment that is episodic or in remission a disability if it would substantially limit a major life activity when active. Examples include epilepsy, some mental health conditions and cancer in remission.

Can a Business Refuse My Service Animal Because of a No Pets Rule?

No. The ADA's Title III page says businesses must allow service animals to be with their person even if they have a no pets policy.

Can I Be Punished for Filing an ADA Complaint?

No. The EEOC says it is unlawful for an employer to retaliate against you for asserting your rights under the ADA. If it happens, that retaliation can be part of a charge.

Does the ADA Cover Federal Government Jobs?

Federal employees use a different complaint process. The EEOC says federal employees generally must contact their agency's EEO counselor within 45 days.

Is ADA Help the Same as Social Security Disability?

No. The ADA protects your rights; it pays no benefits. Monthly benefits come from Social Security programs like SSDI and SSI, which use a stricter definition of disability tied to work.

More on Rights and Daily Life

• Workplace AccommodationsReasonable accommodations at work: asking, the interactive process and examples
• What Is an IEPIndividualized education programs under IDEA: eligibility, evaluation, the team and your rights
• What Is a 504 PlanSection 504 plans: who qualifies, typical accommodations and how to request one
• IEP vs 504IEPs and 504 plans side by side: laws, eligibility, services and protections
• HousingFair housing protections, reasonable accommodations and federal housing help
• Parking PlacardsDisability parking placards and plates: who qualifies and each state's application

This guide explains official rules in plain language. It isn't legal advice, and only the agency that runs a program can decide your case.

Sources

1. ADA.gov: Introduction to the Americans with Disabilities Act
2. ADA.gov: State and local governments (Title II)
3. ADA.gov: Businesses open to the public (Title III)
4. ADA.gov: File a complaint
5. EEOC: How to file a charge of employment discrimination
6. EEOC: Time limits for filing a charge
7. EEOC: The ADA, your employment rights as an individual with a disability
8. ACL: Protection and Advocacy systems