Americans with Disabilities Act

• The "Americans with Disabilities Act" (ADA) prohibits virtually all forms of discrimination against handicapped persons. It forbids discrimination in the training, activities, recruitment, promotions, or any other employment privileges. It also forbids state and local government discrimination against the handicapped in any of their programs or buildings. Public transportation must provide reasonable accommodation to the handicapped. "Public accommodations" (such as restaurants and malls) must treat the handicapped equally and provide them with reasonable accommodations to their facilities. Telephone companies are required to set up "Telecommunications Relay Services" (TRS). A TRS allows handicapped persons who use "Telecommunications Devices for the Deaf" (TDD) to correspond with others.
  
  

Telecommunications Act

• The "Telecommunications Act" (TA) gives handicapped persons the right to assistance in the use of telecommunications (i.e., telephones, pagers). TA requires that telecommunications providers offer their services to the handicapped and disabled in a manner that such persons can use and access.
  
  

Fair Housing Act

• The "Fair Housing Act" (FHA) prohibits discrimination against the handicapped in housing. It forbids private house owners, managers of homes or other dwellings receiving federal monetary assistance, or local and state housing from discriminating in renting or selling a home to a person on the basis of a handicap or disability. Housing providers must also offer reasonable accommodations and exceptions to persons with handicaps such as requiring apartment complexes to allow the blind who need a guide dog to use these dogs in the complex.
  
  

Air Carrier Access Act

• The "Air Carrier Access Act" (ACAA) forbids discrimination on the basis of a handicap or disability by certain aircraft transportation. Only those airlines that regularly fly passengers drawn from the public are covered by the ACAA. This means that passenger airlines in which anyone can pay a ticket to fly in are covered by this law, but airlines whose purpose is not to carry passengers (such as postal aircraft) are not covered by this law. It also requires that such airlines provide handicapped passengers assistance in boarding and ease of access to their aircraft.
  
  

National Voter Registration Act

• The "National Voter Registration Act" (NVA) gives handicapped persons the right to assistance in voting. NVA requires that state entities that are geared to help the disabled or handicapped must provide assistance in voting, such as help in filling out voter registration, free mailing to the appropriate voter registration office, and free forms for registering to vote.