A look at ADA’s lasting impact in metro Detroit

Twenty-five years ago, America took a bold leap toward becoming a more perfect union when we rejected the old prejudices that restricted people with disabilities to institutions, isolation and exclusion from American life. In enacting the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, our nation embraced the idea that all Americans should be able to participate fully in our society.

The ADA guarantees equal access for Americans with disabilities to education, jobs, health care, transportation, housing, polling places and other public places such as restaurants, hotels and entertainment venues.

Despite the sweeping provisions of the ADA, we still have more work to do to fully realize its promise. Indifference and ignorance of the law continue to create barriers to Americans with disabilities.

The Civil Rights Unit at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan is working to remove those barriers. Along with the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S Attorney’s Office has handled cases involving discrimination against people with disabilities in every facet of life.

Our lawyers have removed physical barriers by obtaining legal agreements to provide wheelchair ramps on city buses in Detroit and at polling places in Flint, access to hotels in Ann Arbor and seating at entertainment venues, including DTE Energy Theater, the Palace of Auburn Hills, Joe Louis Arena and local movie theaters.

We have removed barriers to communication with health care providers by obtaining settlements ensuring sign language interpreters for deaf and hard-of-hearing patients at area doctor’s offices and hospitals, including Henry Ford Health System.

We have removed barriers to transportation by obtaining settlements permitting individuals with service animals to ride with medical transportation and taxi services.

And we have removed barriers to public dining by obtaining a settlement with a Westland restaurant whose manager asked a family to leave because their children had a genetic skin condition, the very kind of discrimination based on unfounded fears that the ADA was meant to prohibit.

In these cases, we not only obtained cash settlements for individual victims, but also convinced defendants to change their policies to comply with ADA going forward. As we remove these barriers, one case at a time, we hope to raise awareness to increase compliance with the ADA.

No one is immune from disability. Anyone’s life can change in an instant, and any one of us may find ourselves needing a wheelchair ramp or a closed-captioning device to go about our daily lives. The promise of the ADA is that those things will be there when we need them.

Citizens may report cases by telephoning us at 313-226-9151 or e-mailing us at usamie.civilrights@usdoj.gov.

Barbara McQuade is U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan.