To be protected by the ADA, one must have a disability, which is defined by the ADA as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such an impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment. Continue reading from ADA.gov
During the 1980’s, many in the United States – leaders of the disability and rights movements, members and staff of the U.S. Congress, and those in the federal government’s civil rights agencies – concluded that there was a need for additional civil rights legislation for persons with disabilities. The advances created by Section 504, one of the civil rights provisions of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, marked the first time that the exclusion and segregation of persons with disabilities was seen as stemming from discrimination. But many segments of American life were not covered by the Rehabilitation Act’s nondiscrimination law: it did not apply to entities that did not receive federal funds under Section 504; businesses without federal contracts; most private businesses; many employers; telecommunications; and many forms of transportation. Continue reading from ADA History - In Their Own Words
