U.S. Attorney’s Office Commemorates 30th Anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama is proud to play a critical role in the Department of Justice’s enforcement efforts under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA was signed into law 30 years ago by President George H.W. Bush, and is the landmark law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of disabilities. The ADA empowers the Department of Justice to investigate, litigate, and resolve complaints of discrimination as well as authorizing the Government to conduct compliance reviews of covered entities.

“As the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, I am committed to continuing the important work of enforcing the ADA on behalf of our local citizens,” said Escalona. “I am proud of the work our office has done throughout our district to ensure that individuals with disabilities have equal access in our society.”

Since the passage of the ADA, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has brought numerous institutions into compliance with the ADA. The district has undertaken wide-ranging efforts to eliminate disability discrimination across a broad range of services, programs, and activities that most Americans take for granted, but for too long were largely inaccessible to individuals with disabilities. For instance, as part of the Justice Department’s ADA Voting Initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has worked collaboratively with local governments to increase accessibility at polling places. Whether in employment, areas of civic life, or in the day-to-day activities and access to goods and services that we all enjoy, the ADA requires that we take those steps necessary to ensure access for all.

For more information about the 30th Anniversary of the ADA, please visit www.ada.gov. To file a complaint with the Department, please visit the Civil Rights Division’s portal at https://civilrights.justice.gov/report/. For more information about the ADA, call the Department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TTY).