PRACTICE AREAS
CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIONS
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Individuals with disabilities are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and similar state laws. These laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability in public, and some private, accommodations and employment. They also require commercial property owners and government agencies to comply with established accessibility standards. The laws require the removal of both deliberate and unintentional barriers that prevent persons with disabilities from participating in community life. Such barriers remain at places of public accommodations. Places of public accommodation -- such as hotels, restaurants, bars, theaters, concert halls, stadiums, auditoriums, convention centers, lecture halls, bakeries, grocery stores, clothing stores, hardware stores, shopping centers, laundromats, dry-cleaners, banks, barber shops, beauty shops, travel services, shoe repair services, funeral parlors, gas stations, professional offices, pharmacies, hospitals, terminals, depots, museums, libraries, galleries, parks, zoos, amusement parks, places of education, social service center establishments, gymnasiums, health spas, bowling alleys, golf courses must make their facilities safe and readily accessible to persons with disabilities.
Although the Americans with Disabilities Act has mandated accessibility for people with disabilities since 1992, many entities fail to comply. As a result, people with disabilities continue to be discriminated against and, in many cases, are injured when they attempt to use the services or facilities others take for granted. People with disabilities shall take the affirmative step of fighting back through the legal system. Although not injured, many cases are filed by individuals with disabilities because barriers to access exist or to enforce the spirit and purpose of the law enacted by congress and the state legislatures.
For more information or for a free consultation, please call Lifshitz Law PLLC at 516-493-9780.