The ADA and other laws protect people with disabilities from discrimination and require reasonable accommodations. To succeed in a lawsuit, the person must demonstrate their disability, prove discrimination, and request reasonable accommodations. Offices investigate complaints and may bring lawsuits, but victims can also bring their own lawsuits with the help of an attorney. Other federal laws and state laws also protect against disability discrimination.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), along with a number of other laws, were enacted to protect people with disabilities from discrimination. These acts require businesses, organizations and government facilities to provide reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities. Individuals who are discriminated against in the fields of building design, employment, housing and education, places of public accommodation or government facilities due to disability have the right to bring disability discrimination lawsuits.
To succeed in a disability discrimination lawsuit, an individual must be able to demonstrate the existence of his or her disability under the ADA. The ADA is quite broad in its definition of disability, and failure to demonstrate impairment will most likely result in loss of lawsuit. Likewise, the accommodations that the disabled person requests from the other party must meet the statutory definition of reasonable. The person with a disability must also be able to prove prima facie that discrimination has occurred. This means that he has evidence that adequately proves the discrimination, unless otherwise refuted.
To bring a lawsuit against an employer, landlord, educational facility or public place, the individual must first contact the office corresponding to the type of accommodation being denied. For example, if there has been discrimination in the workplace, you should contact the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), if in housing, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will deal with the complaint. These offices will try to resolve the issue. If this fails, the office will investigate allegations of discrimination and determine whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that discrimination has occurred.
If the office determines there is no reasonable cause, the complaint will be rejected. If there are reasonable grounds to believe that discrimination has occurred, the office may bring disability discrimination lawsuits on behalf of victims. Due to time and expense constraints, not all offices are able to file lawsuits for all victims. Some, like the EEOC, may give the victim a subpoena letter. These letters allow victims to bring their own disability discrimination lawsuits.
If discrimination is found and the office is unable to bring a lawsuit, the victim should consult a civil rights and liberties attorney. This attorney will file the lawsuit in the appropriate court, organize the case, and work with the department that has found reasonable grounds to believe that discrimination has occurred to obtain the best possible settlement or judgment. The ADA also allows for attorney fees to be paid against the discriminating party.
In addition to the ADA, individuals may bring disability discrimination lawsuits based on the following: the Air Carrier Access Act of 1986, the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968, the Fair Housing Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. These are federal laws, but many states have their own laws that mirror federal provisions. Some cities and local ordinances also have these kinds of laws, but federal laws will always take precedence over city and state laws.
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