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

U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran today highlighted the important work carried on by the Civil Rights Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Washington, as part of the 30^thAnniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (the ADA).  The law, a critical civil rights measure that aims to eliminate discrimination against people with disabilities, was signed into law on July 26, 1990. 

“Well before the ADA was passed, I grew up with a family member who relied on a wheel chair.  I remember the added challenge to daily life this presented to our family, and appreciate how much we have progressed in ensuring access and participation,” said U.S. Attorney Brian Moran.  “I want to thank the members of the community who have brought complaints to our attention in recent years, allowing us to use the ADA to advance the cause of equal access throughout this District. The more we know about barriers facing members of our community with disabilities, the more we are able to vindicate their rights under this important legislation.”

In recent years, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has investigated a number of ADA cases.  This includes working with the City of Aberdeen to improve access for people with visual impairments; working with Chateau Ste. Michelle and its concert venue to improve access for people with disabilities; working with childcare centers to improve access for children with diabetes; and working with Highline Medical Center, Overlake Medical Center, and the Washington Health Care Authority to improve access for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

The promise of the ADA is its wide-ranging efforts to eliminate disability discrimination across the range of services, programs, and activities that most Americans take for granted, but were largely inaccessible to individuals with disabilities prior to the law’s enactment.  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 ensures that individuals with disabilities enjoy the same opportunities as all Americans to participate in everything this nation has to offer.

Over the past 30 years, the United States has undertaken the challenge of changing perceptions about disability, tearing down barriers to equality, and altering the systems that have historically excluded people with disabilities.  The Justice Department commemorates the many ways that the ADA has transformed society—by replacing exclusion with access, segregation with integration, and limitations with self-determination.

For more information about the 30^th 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).  For information on filing an ADA complaint in the Western District of Washington visit the civil rights section on our website.

The year 2020 marks the 150^th anniversary of the Department of Justice.  Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.