U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division DJ# 182-06-00024 Coordination and Review Section P.O. Box 66118 Washington, D.C. 20035-6118 MAR 31 1992 Mr. Neil E. Reichenberg Director of Government Affairs International Personnel Management Association 1617 Duke Street Alexandria, Virginia 22314 Dear Mr. Reichenberg: This letter responds to your recent inquiries requesting clarification of the employment requirements of title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). I am enclosing for your information a copy of the Department of Justice's title II implementing regulation, which establishes, effective January 26, 1992, employment nondiscrimination requirements applicable to all State and local governments. 28 C.F.R. S 35.140. Your letter inquired whether the regulations implementing title I of the ADA, 29 C.F.R. pt. 1630, issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), are effective on January 26, 1992, for State and local governments. The EEOC regulations are effective: (1) for all employers, including State and local government employers, with 25 or more employees after July 26, 1992; and (2) for all employers, including State and local government employers, with 15 or more employees after July 26, 1994. For additional information about title I requirements, you may contact: Christopher G. Bell Acting Associate Legal Counsel for Americans with Disabilities Act Services Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 1801 - "L" Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20507 Your letter also inquired about the requirements that will apply to employment under title II as of January 26, 1992. As set forth in the enclosed regulation, the nondiscrimination requirements of section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. S 794, apply, under title II, to all State and local government employment effective January 26, 1992. 28 C.F.R. S 35.140(b)(2). (The section 504 employment requirements are set out in the section 504 coordination regulation issued by the 01-00530 - 2 - Department of Justice, 28 C.F.R. pt. 41.) Thus, under the title II regulation, all State and local governments are subject to the employment nondiscrimination requirements of section 504 during the period from January 26 to July 26, 1992. As of July 26, 1992, at the time that any State or local government becomes subject to title I, the title II regulation incorporates the nondiscrimination requirements of title I for those public entities. 28 C.F.R. S 35.140(b)(1). Any State or local government that does not become subject to title I on July 26, 1992, remains subject to the employment requirements of section 504 during the period until, if ever, it meets the jurisdictional standards for title I coverage. Because title I was modeled on section 504 regulations, employment requirements under the two authorities are, for the most part, the same. Another question your letter raises concerns Federal enforcement responsibility for employment discrimination claims from January 26 to July 26, 1992. Subpart F of the enclosed regulation sets forth the compliance procedures that are applicable to title II complaints, including employment complaints, and subpart G designates the Federal agencies that will be responsible for title II complaint investigations. In addition, each Federal agency that extends financial assistance to State or local governments is responsible for ensuring compliance with section 504, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in federally assisted programs, in the State or local programs it assists. Each Federal agency with a program of Federal financial assistance has issued section 504 regulations, which establish nondiscrimination requirements and compliance procedures. Accordingly, between January 26 and July 26, 1992, complaints alleging discrimination on the basis of disability in employment by State or local governments, may be processed, as appropriate, by a Federal agency designated in the title II regulation to process title II complaints, or, where the State or local program receives Federal financial assistance, by a Federal agency responsible for processing section 504 complaints. Sincerely, Stewart B. Oneglia Chief Coordination and Review Section Civil Rights Division Enclosure 01-00531