ADA Summary
Definition of discrimination
When did the ADA take effect?
ADA enforcement
Penalties for non-compliance
Facilities required to provide access
Assistive Listening Systems and compliance with the ADA
ADA Tax Credit Summary
ADA Tax Credit Form
Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) ADA Summary
On July 29, 1990, President George Bush signed the American with Disabilities Act (ADA S.933) into law. The ADA is a comprehensive bill designed to end discrimination against persons with handicaps and to provide full accessibility for persons with handicaps, including communication handicaps such as hearing impairment. Reasonable accommodations of the ADA involve making existing facilities accessible to the disabled by acquiring or modifying equipment or devices, including amplifiers, assistive devices or hearing aids.
The ADA requires that “No person shall be discriminated against on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations of any place of public accommodation.”
Definition of Discrimination: - Failure to provide auxiliary aids and services unless the entity can demonstrate that such a provision would fundamentally alter the nature of the program or cause undue hardship.
- Failure to remove architectural and communication barriers in existing facilities unless the entity can demonstrate that the change is not readily achievable. No exemptions have been made for small business.
When did the ADA take effect? - July 1992 for employers with 25, or more, employees
- July 1994 for employers with 15, or more, employees
ADA Enforcement
Currently, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has enforcement responsibility and can bring civil lawsuits against employers. Penalties for non-compliance - Civil penalties of up to $50,000 for the first violation and $100,000 of subsequent violations
- Court injunctions requiring accessibility
- Monetary damages to victims of discrimination
Facilities required to provide access include virtually all privately owned businesses that provide goods and services to consumers, clients or visitors, including the following: - Inns, hotels or similar places of lodging
- Restaurants, bars or other establishments servicing food or drink
- Motion picture houses, theaters, concert halls, stadiums, or other places of exhibition or entertainment
- Auditoriums, convention centers or lecture halls
- Bakeries, grocery stores, clothing stores, hardware stores, shopping centers or other similar retail sales establishments
- Laundromats, dry cleaners, banks, barber shops, beauty shops, travel services, shoe repair services, funeral parlors, gas stations, office of an accountant or lawyer, pharmacy, insurance offices, professional offices of health care providers, hospitals or other similar service establishments
- Terminals used for public transportation
- Museums, libraries, galleries, or other similar places of public display or collection
- Parks, zoos
- Nursery, elementary, secondary, undergraduate or graduate schools
- Day care centers, senior citizen centers, homeless centers, food banks, adoption programs, or other similar social service centers
- Gymnasiums, health spas, bowling alleys, golf courses or other similar places of exercise or recreation
- Theme parks, sports facilities and stadiums, fraternal lodges and organizations, convention centers, recreational facilities, state and national parks
Exclusions: - Entities operated by Federal, State or Local governments are covered by the Rehabilitation Act, with provisions similar to ADA
- Private clubs and other facilities not open to the public
- Religious organizations or entities
- Residential accommodations, such as apartments, or small, owner-resided inns.
Assistive Listening Systems and Compliance with the ADA
The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (ATBCB) states that FM, infrared and induction loop assistive listening systems are acceptable for meeting the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). - For new construction, places of public access must have 4% of the seating be accessible to the hearing impaired.
- In existing facilities seating more than 50 people, 4% of the seats must be accessible.
- For existing facilities seating less than 50 people, 4% of the seats, but not less than 2 seats, must be accessible to the hearing impaired.
- For existing facilities being renovated, full accessibility is not required if the cost of making it accessible exceeds 20% of the cost of the renovation.
- The ADA has set up a 50% tax credit for compliance expenses from $250-$10,500 for small businesses with yearly gross sales of less than $1 million or less than 30 employees.
ADA Tax Credit Summary Click here to download the ADA Tax Credit Form (PDF). A tax credit was created to offset the cost of equipment acquisition. The following is a summary of the tax credit from the ADA Tax Incentives for Improving Accessibility. The tax credit, established under Section 44 of the Internal Revenue Code, was created in 1990 specifically to help small businesses cover ADA-related eligible access expenditures. A business that, for the previous tax year, had either revenues of $1,000,000 or less, or 30 or fewer full-time workers may take advantage of this credit. The credit can be used to cover a variety of expenditures, including: - Provision of readers for customers or employees with visual disabilities
- Provision of sign language interpreters
- Purchase of adaptive equipment
- Production of accessible formats of printed materials (i.e., Braille, large print, audio tape, computer diskette)
- Removal of architectural barriers in facilities or vehicles (alterations must comply with applicable accessibility standards)
- Fees for consulting services (under certain circumstances)
Note: The credit cannot be used for the costs of new construction. It can be used only for adaptations to existing facilities that are required to comply with the ADA. The amount of the tax credit is equal to 50 percent of the eligible access expenditures in a year, up to a maximum expenditure of $10,250. There is no credit for the first $250 of expenditures. The maximum tax credit, therefore, is $5,000. The tax credit and deduction can be used annually. You may not carry over expenses from one year to the next and claim a credit or deduction for the portion that exceeded the expenditure limit the previous year. However, if the amount of credit you are entitled to exceeds the amount of taxes you owe, you may carry forward the unused portion of the credit to the following year. For further details and information, review these incentives with an accountant or contact your local IRS office or the national address below. Internal Revenue Service
Office of the Chief Counsel
CC: PSI: 7
1111 Constitution Avenue N.W., Room 5115
Washington, D.C. 20224
(202) 622-3120 Voice/Relay
www.irs.gov Disability Discrimination Act (DDA)
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA 1995) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which makes it unlawful to discriminate against people in respect of their disabilities in relation to employment, the provision of goods and services, education and transport. It is a civil rights law. Click here for more information on the DDA. |