COMPLIANCE CORNER
By DEVON BERNARD
Interpreting the ADA Know when and how to leverage aids and services to communicate with hard-of-hearing patients
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At its core, the ADA is divided into five sections, or titles, designed to address or relate to different Equal Employment aspects of everyday public life. Opportunity for Individuals Title I, Equal Employment With Disabilities Opportunity for Individuals With Disabilities, addresses TITLE I employment. This title requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants and employees. A reasonable accommodation is any TIT III LE modification or adjustthe LE IV on ublic n TIT Te o P ment to a job or work n i i t lec y na b nd om mi bility ns a ties environment that will enable i r mu i isc sa tio il nic nd of Di oda l Fac an applicant or employee o ati N is ia on s mm rc with a disability to participate s Ba cco me A om C in the application process or to perform essential job functions. Title II, Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in State and Local Government Services, prohibits discrimination in all programs, activities, and services of public entities.
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HIS YEAR MARKS THE 30th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). Signed into law on July 26, 1990, by President George H.W. Bush, the ADA has gone through some changes, and amendments have been added over the past three decades. But at its core, it remains a law designed to prohibit discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of life and to ensure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. This issue’s Compliance Corner focuses on one provision of the ADA that continues to cause some confusion among medical professionals: the rules regarding communicating with patients who may have hearing, vision, or speech impairments—or understanding when an interpreter is required.
Protecting Individuals With Disabilities
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Editor’s Note: Readers of Compliance Corner are now eligible to earn two CE credits. After reading this column, simply scan the QR code or use the link on page 38 to take the Compliance Corner quiz. Receive a score of at least 80 percent, and AOPA will transmit the information to the certifying boards.
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This section also may be viewed as the transportation title, as it applies to public transportation provided by public entities. It establishes detailed standards for the operation of public transit systems, including commuter and intercity rail. This section requires local public transit systems to offer paratransit services or similar options. Title III, Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability by Public Accommodations and in Commercial Facilities, prohibits private places of public accommodation—such as hotels, restaurants, or healthcare facilities—from discriminating against individuals with disabilities and sets the building standards for accessibility. This title directs businesses to make reasonable modifications to their normal daily operations when serving people with disabilities, and requires that these businesses take the required and necessary steps to communicate effectively with customers with vision, hearing, and speech disabilities. Title IV, Telecommunications, requires that all telephone and Internet companies provide a system that allows
