Quick Reference of Federal Accessibility Laws Related to Information and Telecommunication Technology Go back to Table of Contents Go back to Where to Go for Legal Information and Help Go forward to Quick Reference of Key Organizations Return to Web Version

The abbreviations listed in each of the cells below highlight the primary Federal laws that apply to various situations involving inaccessible technology. For example, if you have encountered inaccessible telecommunications, then Section 255 of the Communications Act, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, Title IV of the ADA, and/or the Hearing Aid Compatibility (HAC) Act are your starting points for deciding which specific complaint procedures may apply to your situation. When you click on an abbreviation link below, you will see a page that lists highlights of the applicable laws.

Note: The laws listed in each cell do not indicate all of the Federal laws that could apply to a general situation. The intent of this quick reference is to give you the main starting points for deciding which complaint procedures may apply. After you choose a starting point and read the details, you may find that one or more additional laws apply to your situation. For instance, Section 504 may apply to a situation that involves inaccessible telecommunications if the telecommunications supports a program or activity that receives Federal financial assistance. In this case, however, the main "hook" in the quick reference is the "government-funded activity" and you can see that Section 504 is listed for that situation.

Does the situation involve...?
Telecom- munications	Job-related technology	Government-funded activity	Private business	Television
255 508 Title IV HAC	501 508 Title I	504 508 Title II (A) Title II (B)	Title III	713 TV Decod TV Emerg

Click here to see highlights of all of the Federal laws.

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Highlights of the Complaint Procedures that Apply to Telecommunications...

Section 255 of Communications Act	Section 508 of Rehabilitation Act
Consumers with or without disabilities Manufacturers and providers of telecom products and services Conformance with accessibility guidelines if readily achievable Enforced by FCC	Federal employees with disabilities Members of the public with disabilities Electronics, IT, telecom purchased by the Federal govt. after June 21, 2001 Conformance with accessibility standards or... Information delivered through alternative means Enforced by Federal Agency
ADA Title IV	Hearing Aid Compatibility (HAC) Act
Consumers with or without disabilities Telecom relay services Closed captioning of public service announcments Enforced by FCC	Consumers with or without disabilities Wireline, cordless telephones Future: wireless Compatible with hearing aids Volume control Enforced by FCC

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Highlights of the Complaint Procedures that Apply to Job-related Technology...

Section 501 of Rehabilitation Act	Section 508 of Rehabilitation Act
Federal employees and applicants with disabilities Employment discrimination Reasonable accommodations Enforced by EEOC	Federal employees with disabilities Members of the public with disabilities Electronics, IT, telecom purchased by the Federal govt. after June 21, 2001 Conformance with accessibility standards or... Information delivered through alternative means Enforced by Federal agency
ADA Title I
People with disabilities Employment discrimination Applicants and employees Private employers with >= 15 employees State and local governments Congress and legislative branch of Federal govt. Reasonable accommodations Enforced by the EEOC

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Highlights of the Complaint Procedures that Apply to Government-funded Activity...

Section 504 of Rehabilitation Act	Section 508 of Rehabilitation Act
People with disabilities Programs and activities that receive Federal financial assistance or are conducted by Federal executive agencies Reasonable accommodations Enforced by Federal agency	Federal employees with disabilities Members of the public with disabilities Electronics, IT, telecom purchased by the Federal govt. after June 21, 2001 Conformance with accessibility standards or... Information delivered through alternative means Enforced by Federal agency
ADA Title II (A)	ADA Title II (B)
People with disabilities Programs and activities conducted by state and local govt. Reasonable accommodations Enforced by DoJ	People with disabilities Public transportation Reasonable accommodations Enforced by FTA

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Highlights of the Complaint Procedures that Apply to Technology Used to Support Private Businesses...

ADA Title III

People with disabilities Business and non-profits Restaurants, retail stores, hotels, private transportation, etc. Reasonable accommodations Enforced by DoJ

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Highlights of the Complaint Procedures that Apply to Television...

Section 713 of Communications Act	TV Decoder Circuitry Act
Consumers with or without disabilities TV program captioning Enforced by FCC	Consumers with or without disabilities TVs with screens > 13 inches Digital TV receivers with screens >= 7.8 inches Closed captioning circuitry Enforced by FCC
Televised Emergency Programming
Consumers with or without disabilities Televised info on emergencies Regularly scheduled news and emergency news bulletins Enforced by FCC

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