Are you facing an ADA claim and unsure about how to protect yourself moving forward?
The Americans with Disabilities Act, or the ADA, is a civil rights law that was passed into law in 1990. This law prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public.
The main reason why this law was put into action is to make sure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as every other individual. The ADA gives civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities similar to those provided to individuals based on race, color, sex, national origin, age, and religion.
It guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in public accommodations, employment, transportation, state and local government services, and telecommunications, along with other miscellaneous provisions. ADA lawsuits and cases can vary widely based on several factors, including the identity of the disabled claimant, the relevant disability, the alleged violation(s), the state where the case was filed, and other factors unique to each specific case.
Here at Lento Law Group, we fight for and represent those individuals or businesses who have had their ADA (Americans with Disabilities) violated. If you believe that you or a loved one has protected and unobserved rights under the ADA Act or if you’re a business facing an allegation that you’re not compliant under the ADA, it’s time to bring in a team to help you protect yourself and your future. Retain the premier services of the Lento Law Group, and we will fight tirelessly for you. Call 833-536-8652 today, and we’ll get started.
What Is the Americans with Disabilities Act?
In the late 20th century, a powerful disability rights movement gained significant momentum in the United States. Driven by disability rights activists who were passionate about championing accessibility, this movement laid the groundwork for the eventual passing of landmark civil rights legislation in 1990—the ADA.
The ADA has changed several times since 1990. For example, in 2008, the United States government passed the ADA Amendments Act, which broadened the definition of disability with the goal of ensuring greater protection for those with disabilities. (These amendments were, broadly, a response to several preceding Supreme Court decisions that had arguably provided a too-narrow and possibly exclusionary interpretation of “disability.”)
Since 1990, and through its amendments, the ADA has influenced a wide range of public policies. It has led to increased accessibility in many places, including in communication systems, transportation, and public buildings. Importantly, the ADA has also helped reshape societal perceptions and the public’s attitude toward those with disabilities. As our world has changed, the ADA has been updated to reflect the needs of people with disabilities. For example, now, the ADA has language in it that discusses the need for digital and web accessibility.
From its early days rooted in the disability rights movement to its current status as a comprehensive legal framework, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has served millions of disabled individuals and is praised for its laudatory purposes, but many attorneys and career claimants have made ADA cases, with ADA accessibility one of worthy mention, a lucrative business often to the disadvantage of business owners and operators.
That is not the case with our respectable law firm. Retain the services of the Lento Law Group today, and we will evaluate the claim against you and provide you with your options, including a vigorous defense of the suit.
What Are the Main Provisions in the ADA?
The ADA is divided into five main sections or titles. Each of these titles addresses a different area of public life.
Interested in understanding a little more about each of these titles, as well as examples of the associated compliance requirements?
This guide will provide the information you need to know about each title in the ADA.
Title I: Employment
Under Title I of the ADA, discrimination against people with disabilities in the workplace is strictly prohibited.
If you’ve worked in a corporate office before, you may be familiar with employment-centric ADA regulations. For example, it’s against the ADA to discriminate based on disabilities when you’re engaging in employment-related activities, such as firing, hiring, training, and promoting. Any employer that employs 15 or more people is also required to provide reasonable accommodations to any qualified employee who has a disability unless the employer can clearly demonstrate that doing so would cause the employer undue hardship. Some examples of such compliance include altering the workplace to make it more accessible, modifying work schedules, or providing necessary aids.
Title II: Public Services
Under Title II, state and local governments must ensure that all public services and transportation are accessible to people who have disabilities.
The types of compliance measures that governments need to provide include making sure that public buildings are accessible and making public communications accessible through written materials or sign language interpreters.
Title III: Public Accommodations
Title III prohibits private entities that provide public accommodations from doing so in a way that discriminates against people with disabilities.
If a business, such as a restaurant, theater, hotel, retail store, or convention, wants to stay in business, it must provide public accommodations.
The types of actions they might do to remain in compliance include providing accessible restrooms, wheelchair ramps, braille menus, and closed captioning.
Title IV: Telecommunications
Under Title IV, telecommunications companies must provide services, like telecommunications relay services, to help individuals who have speech or hearing disabilities communicate over the telephone.
Title IV also covers television programming and is the reason that companies need to provide closed captioning on distributed media.
This title also mandates that to be compliant, new technologies must provide ways to be accessible even as they emerge.
Title V: Miscellaneous Provisions
As its name suggests, Title V contains a range of various provisions that relate to the ADA’s larger aims. This includes the ADA’s relationship with other laws, how it impacts insurance providers and other technical and logistical information.
Although the ADA and its titles may be difficult to understand, complying with the ADA is critical—and if you’re an individual with disabilities, understanding the ADA is important for understanding your rights. If you believe that a business or other entity is non-compliant and their lack of compliance is affecting your life, you may be able to consider legal action.
Have There Been Landmark ADA Lawsuits?
Yes, there have. Many people and parties have pursued legal action in the past to protect their rights and their quality of life.
Some of these notable ADA lawsuits include:
• Olmstead v. L.C. (1999). In this case, the Supreme Court decided that the unjustified segregation of persons with disabilities counts as discrimination. As a result, compliance with the ADA started to center around community-based services for people with disabilities instead of institutionalization.
• Pennsylvania Department of Corrections v. Pesky. In this case, the Supreme Court determined that the provisions of the ADA applied to people in prisons, too. As a result, incarceration facilities were required to accommodate inmates with disabilities.
• Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. v. Williams (2002). In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that in order to be considered a disabled person under the ADA, the person in question must be experiencing substantial limitations on central, daily activities or abilities.
• PGA Tour, Inc. v. Martin (2001). In this case, the Supreme Court found that a pro golfer who had a disability had the right to use a cart during a competition since walking from hole to hole wasn’t fundamental to doing well in the game. This case helped establish a precedent for accommodations in competitive activities.
Each of these and other cases helped clarify and cement the rights of individuals with disabilities.
Of course, this does not mean that individuals with disabilities do not struggle with ensuring that those rights are recognized.
Common ADA Compliance Issues for Businesses
Modern businesses know they need to handle compliance, but that doesn’t mean they always do. Sometimes, businesses face challenges and obstacles while implementing access.
If you’re a business that needs to be compliant under the ADA, the following is a list of some of the more prescient issues you may face. Or, if you’re an individual with disabilities who believes that your rights under the ADA are not met, and you’re pursuing legal action against a business not in compliance, just be aware that these are some of the explanations you might hear.
- Logistically, ensuring that a commercial space is accessible can be expensive and cumbersome. To be fully ADA compliant, businesses need to be prepared to accommodate individuals with mobility, visual, and auditory disabilities. They may need to invest in wheelchair ramps, Braille signage, and suitable restrooms, among other accommodations. Digitally, businesses will need to make sure their websites and online resources are accessible. This includes screen reader compatibility, alternative text for images, and easily navigable layouts.
- Businesses will also need to make sure that their staff is trained thoroughly on ADA compliance.
- To make sure that they do not fall out of compliance and are always up to date with any changes in ADA interpretations or policies, businesses will need to conduct regular audits of their facilities and digital assets to ensure they meet ADA standards. In some cases, to do this right, businesses will need to hire experts or consultants who specialize in ADA compliance so they can glean valuable insights into necessary modifications and upgrades.
It’s important to remember that all of the above is the business’s responsibility under the law, and, if a business tries to use these as valid reasons to shirk their duty, that’s a problem. If you find yourself up against a business that isn’t compliant and is trying to explain away its noncompliance, retain the premier services of the Lento Law Group at once to work towards the most successful possible outcome.
The Most Common Types of ADA Lawsuits Filed By the Disabled Against Covered Businesses
The most common type of cases that are filed by the disabled are namely:
• Inaccessible Website ADA Cases
• Architectural Barriers ADA Cases
• Online Reservation System ADA Cases
• Inaccessible Website ADA Cases
In recent years, many ADA lawsuits have been filed against businesses that conduct commerce online where their website is not accessible to the visually impaired. Blind and visually impaired internet users who are disabled under the ADA have several options for “reading” their computer screens and using online commerce features. The most widely accepted website technical standard for compatibility with screen reading software is Version 2.0 of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, commonly known as WCAG 2.0.
When implemented on a website, these guidelines make the website usable by individuals with visual impairments, and the guidelines have been adopted on the websites of many (if not most) major online retailers.
Architectural Barriers ADA Cases
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that places of public accommodation make reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities, including compliance with very specific architectural requirements. The most common accommodations include the installation of disabled parking spaces, restaurant seating, accessible bathrooms, ramps, and other such features needed to integrate the disabled. The law also applies equally to landlords and tenants, making each jointly liable for ADA violations that are present on the property. Tenants may be sued even though alleged violations are on property controlled by the landlord (for example, a parking lot), and landlords may be sued for alleged violations in a tenant space (for example, inaccessible restaurant seating). As a result, the business owner and its landlord (the property owner) are almost always sued together in these cases.
Online Reservation System ADA Cases
Hotels must ensure that individuals with disabilities can make reservations for accessible guest rooms during the same hours and in the same manner as people who do not need accessible rooms. These regulations require that any means by which hotels take reservations must identify and describe accessible features in the hotels and guest rooms in enough detail to reasonably permit individuals with disabilities to assess independently whether a given hotel or guest room meets their accessibility needs.
What Happens Next?
When the government, an employer, or any commercial facility violates the ADA, the best approach is to immediately come into compliance. So if a lawsuit has been brought against you or your company under the ADA or you and your company are seeking advice regarding compliance under the ADA, it is important to retain a law firm that is familiar with the ADA and experienced in ADA litigation. That is where the Lento Law Group comes in. When defending against these claims brought under the ADA, our attorneys will fully investigate whether you are in compliance and advise you as to all factual and procedural defenses available to you.
If you’re facing a lawsuit under the Americans with Disabilities Act, you may be able to expect some version of the following sequence of events:
1. An initial consultation and case evaluation. Once you contact the Lento Law Group for assistance with your case, we’ll take time to get to know you, understand the specifics of your case, learn more about the nature of the alleged ADA violation, and get any other information we need to start building you a high-quality strategy.
2. Then, our team of attorneys will conduct an investigation. We’ll seek to determine whether there has been a violation of the ADA. We’ll review your policies, practices, and other specific circumstances of your case to assess your compliance with ADA standards.
3. The Lento Law Group will then help you develop a strategy specific to your unique circumstances. Depending on where you’re starting from and what your goals are, this could involve negotiating a settlement, preparing for litigation, or taking steps to bring the company into compliance to mitigate further legal action.
4. Next, you’ll go through either settlement negotiations or litigation. Our team can help pursue strategic negotiations or prepare to represent you throughout the litigation process. Either route will require meticulous document preparation, constant strategy updates, and tireless, proactive work to protect your interests at every turn.
5. You’ll likely need to implement any required changes to ensure your ADA compliance, whether this is in service of your current case or a preventative measure to forestall further legal issues. The Lento Law Group can help you manage these changes.
As your negotiation or lawsuit comes to an end, you may be curious about what potential remedies or outcomes are at stake. Usually, one of the following two scenarios will occur:
• You may be able to arrive at a settlement. Often, ADA cases are settled out of court. Settlements might include monetary compensation, changes in company policy, or other accommodations.
• If, on the other hand, your case goes to trial and the court determines that a violation of the ADA did occur, the court ruling could include orders for your company to make specific changes. You may also be responsible for financial penalties.
Again, regardless of any rulings or settlements, it will likely be in your best interest to implement any changes needed to ensure your ADA compliance.
It is very important to speak to an attorney who will aggressively and diligently defend your interests. Litigating lawsuits, or even avoiding lawsuits involving the ADA, requires clear communication between you and the law firm hired to represent and defend your interests. At the Lento Law Group, the interests of our clients are our highest priority, and everything we do is designed to provide cost-effective legal services to those who entrust us to do so. The Lento Law Group has built the experience and the results that our clients expect.
Who Are We?
The Lento Law Group is a full-service law firm that handles high-stakes litigation in many legal areas, including personal injury, civil rights, municipal and governmental law, family law, mass torts, class action, mass shootings lawsuits, and general law.
Lento Law Group boasts of excellent and experienced attorneys who have defended ADA lawsuits related to accessibility, signage, architectural barriers, and provision of aids and services for communications for a variety of public accommodations, including hotels, restaurants, retailers, and property owners. Our law firm also provides ADA consultations to help with ADA compliance and to prevent further violation claims and suits. We have represented clients in numerous lawsuits filed under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and we have handled these cases at every stage, from pre-suit resolution through full trial on the merits of the case. And we have handled them with great success.
Why Choose Us?
The Lento Law Group has offices and licensed attorneys in several states, as well as affiliates nationwide. At the Lento Law Group, each personnel member and attorney works very hard to solve your cases in your favor and get them done for you.
No sugar coating or beating around the bush; we get the job done.
How do we achieve our success? The Lento Law Group is proud to offer vast experience gathered from our previous cases, creative solutions, fine benefits of key relationships, responsiveness to cases, long hours, hard work, speed, and unmatched dedication. We are committed to giving you the dedication and devotion that you deserve and demand.
If you hire our able law firm, you're not just hiring the name; you are hiring a team of attorneys, planners, project managers, and legal assistants that has helped its various clients win their respective cases. Retain the support of our nationwide team today, and we will fight strategically for you and your rights. Call us now at
833-536-8652 to start working toward your optimal outcome.