ADA wasn't the first law to address disparities and inequalities in the way certain groups of Americans were treated (by governmental agencies, by organizations/businesses, and by fellow Americans). The start of Disability Law is rooted in the centuries of Civil Rights unrest and fights for equality! After all, Deaf Americans are also "of color"/minorities, females/other-genders, and of lower socio-economic status (read: "POOR"!).

The first Federal law to address the communication/interpreting needs of Deaf people in America was the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1965 (Public Law 89-333). This provided funding to state Departments of Vocational Rehabilitation ("DVR", but in CA, Department Of Rehab, or "DOR") to support the costs of interpreters with Deaf DOR Clients. More and more Deaf DVR clients wanted interpreters, and DOR had money to pay for them! This created a need for more ASL-English interpreters who were qualified and competent!

A specific Section (Section 504) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (PL 93-112) expanded the 1965 act by adding all agencies and organizations that received Federal funding had to provide accommodations and accessibility services, namely interpreters! In the past, only Deaf and Hard of Hearing students who were receiving DOR services to go to college/university were covered. With this extension, any DHH student in college/university had the right to request ASL-English interpreters—and the schools had to pay for such services.

Then 1990 happened!

Question: What's this ADA thing?

Answer: A Federal law, passed in 1990 (and enacted in 1991) under George H.W. Bush. It has 5 "Titles", or sections:

TITLE I - Equal Employment Opportunity for Individuals with Disabilities

This Title is designed to help people with disabilities access the same employment opportunities and benefits available to people without disabilities. Employers must provide reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants or employees. A reasonable accommodation is any modification or adjustment to a job or the work environment that will enable an applicant or employee with a disability to participate in the application process or to perform essential job functions.

This portion of the law is regulated and enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Employers with 15 or more employees must comply with this law. The regulations for Title I define disability, establish guidelines for the reasonable accommodation process, address medical examinations and inquiries, and define “direct threat” when there is significant risk of substantial harm to the health or safety of the individual employee with a disability or others.

TITLE II - Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in State and Local Government Services

Title II of the ADA prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities in all programs, activities, and services of public entities. It applies to all state and local governments, their departments and agencies, and any other instrumentalities or special purpose districts of state or local governments. It clarifies the requirements of section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, for public transportation systems that receive federal financial assistance, and extends coverage to all public entities that provide public transportation, whether or not they receive federal financial assistance. It establishes detailed standards for the operation of public transit systems, including commuter and intercity rail (e.g., AMTRAK).

This Title outlines the administrative processes to be followed, including requirements for self-evaluation and planning; requirements for making reasonable modifications to policies, practices, and procedures where necessary to avoid discrimination; architectural barriers to be identified; and the need for effective communication with people with hearing, vision and speech disabilities. This Title is regulated and enforced by the U.S. Department of Justice.

TITLE III - Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability by Public Accommodations and in Commercial Facilities

This Title prohibits private places of public accommodation from discriminating against individuals with disabilities. Examples of public accommodations include privately-owned, leased or operated facilities like hotels, restaurants, retail merchants, doctor’s offices, golf courses, private schools, day care centers, health clubs, sports stadiums, movie theaters, and so on. This Title sets the minimum standards for accessibility for alterations and new construction of facilities. It requires public accommodations to remove barriers in existing buildings where it is easy to do so without much difficulty or expense. It directs businesses to make "reasonable modifications" to their usual ways of doing things when serving people with disabilities. It also requires that they take steps necessary to communicate effectively with customers with vision, hearing, and speech disabilities. This Title is regulated and enforced by the U.S. Department of Justice.

TITLE IV - Telecommunications

This Title requires telephone and Internet companies to provide a nationwide system of interstate and intrastate telecommunications relay services that allows individuals with hearing and speech disabilities to communicate over the telephone. It requires closed captioning of federally funded public service announcements. This Title is regulated by the Federal Communication Commission.

Miscellaneous Provisions - Title V

The final Title contains a variety of provisions relating to the ADA as a whole, including its relationship to other laws, state immunity, its impact on insurance providers and benefits, prohibition against retaliation and coercion, illegal use of drugs, and attorney’s fees. This Title also provides a list of certain conditions that are not to be considered as disabilities. ADA National Network

Question: Where do ASL-English interpreters fall in the ADA?

Answer: The ADA considers ASL-English interpreters as "auxiliary aids" for someone with a disability (including deafness) to request, in order to access businesses, organizations, facilities, etc. (public accommodations). Interpreters are one form of access, although Deaf and Hard of Hearing people may have different ideas of what "access" looks like for them. Maybe it's preferential seating (better visibility or better sound). Maybe they need captioning by a live captionists/writer (CART - Computer-Aided Real-Time Captioning). Maybe they need audio description of an event or movie (blind consumers). Or maybe they need alternative print menus (blind or low-vision consumers in restaurants) or scripts (a museum tour).

The first incarnation of the ADA wasn't as robust or clear in some senses, as the years passed and situations arose that weren't clearly addressed. In 2010, President Obama passed "Section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" which strengthened the requirement of "qualified interpreters" as auxiliary aids in medical/healthcare settings. Additionally, guidance documents for Section 1557 stated that the hospital/service provider (Covered Entity) was to work WITH the recipient of accommodations services (Deaf/HH patient), allowing the patient to "give primary consideration when fulfilling the request". This meant that Deaf people could request specific interpreters whom they deemed most qualified and effective for their healthcare interpretation needs!

Question: Which one of those Titles applies to me at my job (or out in public)?

Answer: Title I discusses employment (hiring, firing, promoting, etc.). If you're in management, then this Title might apply to your business practices and policies. HR usually understands the company's obligations under Federal, state, and local laws regarding non-discrimination and will guide you.

Title II applies to you if you work in a state or Federal governmental agency. ADA applies to all of these agencies and they cannot discriminate against Deaf/HH applicants, employees, or former employees based on their hearing status, communication needs, etc.

Title III applies to "public accommodations" or regular businesses. This means customers of those businesses AND employees of those businesses are covered under the ADA.

Titles IV and V most likely will not apply to you at GoodRx.

Question: Wait, who's paying for interpreters? That's got to be expensive!

Answer: The business (store, theater, organization, club, group, school, doctor, dentist, hospital, or other "public accommodation") is responsible to provide access to the public, including those with disabilities—like Deaf or blind individuals. The Americans with Disabilities Act (1990, 2000, 2010) requires that accessibility is paramount for Americans with Disabilities. It also puts the onus of paying for such access on federal, state, and municipal agencies/departments, as well as on the private business (called "public accommodations" in the law.

No one with a disability can be billed for the price of access (just as you wouldn't bill people in wheelchairs for building ramps, bill blind people for Brailling all signage and notifications, or bill the Deaf person for hiring an ASL-English Interpreter). To deny them services because of their disability (or "extra cost") is discrimination and if proven by the person with a disability, the business would be liable and could be sued.

This applies to Deaf teachers (who need ASL-English Interpreters for weekly/monthly/regular staff meetings, evaluations, in-service trainings, after-school meetings, etc.)—the cost of the interpreter cannot be "taken out of the Deaf employee's regular pay", nor can their wages be garnished to pay for "emergency requests" or other fees/charges/docking of perks.

The spirit of the ADA Law is to level the playing (employment) field and make up for centuries of oppression, ignorance, neglect, and discrimination. There are still business owners, managers, co-workers (and customers!) who try to defend their paltry position of "We can't afford an interpreter for this event!" by denying the request for access: "Uhhh, we don't have anyone on staff who can sign, so sorry!"; lying about their fiscal health: "Our current budget doesn't have any money for interpreters."; or pretending that getting a volunteer with little-to-no ASL fluency is good enough: "One of our employees' daughter learned her ABCs in Girl Scouts...she can sign for you during the meeting."—all of these approaches and responses to complying with ADA Accommodations requests are illegal and breaking the law!

Question: What if we're a non-profit (or religious) organization and really don't have the funds??

Answer: Non-Profits aren't "no profit" businesses. They make money, they plan, they have budgets. It's a simple forward-thinking choice to start saving up funds for potential future access needs. Saving up before the request comes in means that the business is truly focused on people, on effective communication, and on inclusion. Reaching out to potential Deaf clientele also matches the spirit of the ADA Law and most organizations' mission/vision statements!

Religious entities and organizations are not required to follow the ADA Law (and can choose NOT to provide access). I like to think that when a religious entity tells you who they are, what they believe in, and who they think belongs—just believe them. If that statement is INaccessibility and lack of respect/acceptance for diversity, diverse abilities, and individual requests, I go in the opposite direction!

Businesses can declare "undue hardship", meaning they cannot fiscally afford the cost of providing Interpreters/access. Even for sole proprietors, it can be difficult to prove to a court that you couldn't afford $100 - $500 (in a single fiscal year) to provide interpreters/access. You would probably have to prove that your business was so tiny, you earned only $500-$1,000 that year. So it would be "undue hardship" to use 1/10th to 1/2 of your profits, and potentially damage your business.

But the worst offenders are usually the ones who should know better (Lawyers), those who have more than their fair share of access to income (Doctors/Dentists/Medical Providers), and even those whose job it is to provide education and learning (colleges and universities)! As is usual with American Laws, until someone is maimed, dies, or can prove significant oppression/injury to their well-being and potential future, the law usually has no teeth. And the ADA Law requires that Deaf people sue for discrimination under the law...with proof of discrimination.

How does the Deaf person know the office staff were talking to each other and planning to NOT call for an interpreter? Do Deaf people have access to emails and voice mails where supervisors and managers are discussing NOT hiring them because of the added costs for interpreters, captioning, extra devices/technology for the Deaf person's work space, etc.? There are many situations where Deaf people know they've been discriminated against, but can't prove it. Death by 1,000 paper cuts. :-(

*Businesses can receive deductions on their taxes for providing accommodations and accessibility, every tax year! Prior amounts were up to $10K, though that amount may have changed. You should discuss the possibility of writing-off your business' payments for accessibility services!

ADA.gov Homepage

What is the ADA? - ADA National Network

U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services - FAQ Sheet "Effective Communication for Persons who are Deaf/HH"

Your Legal Disability Rights - USA.gov

NAD.org - ADA25 (25th Anniversary of the ADA, 2015)