Know your rights · plain English

Your ADA rights.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) is the law that says a disability can’t be the reason you’re locked out — of a job, a public service, or a business open to the public. Here’s what it actually covers, how to use it, and — honestly — where its teeth stop.

A plain-English pointer, not legal advice. When it matters, talk to a disability-rights lawyer or your local ADA Center (free).

What it covers

Title I · JobsEmployers with 15+ workers can’t discriminate because of disability, and must provide reasonable accommodation unless it’s a genuine “undue hardship.” Enforced by the EEOC.
Title II · GovernmentState and local government — courts, transit, schools, public services — must be accessible and must accommodate.
Title III · Public-facing businessesStores, restaurants, doctors, hotels (and, increasingly, their websites) must remove access barriers that are “readily achievable,” and serve people with disabilities equally.
Titles IV & V · Phone & the restTelephone relay services for deaf/hard-of-hearing callers, plus the law’s general provisions (no retaliation for asserting your rights).

How to actually use it

Job discrimination (Title I) → file with the EEOC: 1-800-669-4000 · eeoc.gov. Deadline: 180 days from what happened — up to 300 if your state has its own agency. Don’t miss it.

A business or government won’t accommodate (Titles II/III) → file with the DOJ at ada.gov/file-a-complaint.

Free help, any question → the ADA National Network: 1-800-949-4232 · adata.org.

Document everything — dates, names, what was asked and refused, emails. The record is the arbiter.

The honest limit (where the teeth stop)

This is the part most pages skip, and the no-lying rule won’t let us. Under federal Title III, when you sue a business, a win gets you a court order to fix the barrier plus your attorney’s fees — usually not money for you. (42 U.S.C. §12188.) Some states — California, for one — add damages on top; most don’t. So the federal ADA is built to open the door, not write you a check — and enforcement mostly waits for an individual to file.

That gap is exactly why this house argues the Act needs teeth — see Laws I’d Change in Office.

Where the house stands. Plain-English summary, sourced — ADA.gov, the EEOC, and Cornell LII. Not legal advice; deadlines and state rules vary — verify before you rely on it. This house was built for the disabled first (the Servant’s Logic); dignity is the floor. One rule: no lying.