The California Department of Justice’s Disability Rights Bureau, announced the release of the fifth edition of “Legal Rights of Persons with Disabilities,” a publication that provides information regarding the rights of people with disabilities in California.
This handbook summarizes state and federal laws that protect the rights of individuals with disabilities in many arenas, including in the workplace and in accessing facilities open to the public. The handbook covers disability rights and obligations in a variety of contexts including businesses and places of public accommodation, employment, housing, K-12 education, healthcare, voting, and telecommunications, with chapters released on an ongoing basis since January 2024.
All chapters of the “Legal Rights of Persons with Disabilities” handbook are available at https://oag.ca.gov/civil/disability-rights including new and updated chapters on:
– – Introduction to State and Federal Disability Rights Laws: This chapter provides an overview of major California state and federal laws that protect the rights of people with disabilities.
– – Access to Businesses and Other Public Accommodations for People with Disabilities: This chapter discusses California and federal laws that prohibit disability-based discrimination in business establishments and other public accommodations. It also describes an individual’s options when they have experienced disability-based discrimination in business establishments and other public accommodations.
– – Access to Healthcare for People with Disabilities: This chapter describes the state and federal laws that protect the rights of people with disabilities to access healthcare services, including hospitals and other facilities, services, insurance plans, and information offered by doctors’ offices and other medical providers. It also describes an individual’s options when they have experienced disability-based discrimination in healthcare services.
– – Disability Rights in Employment: This chapter discusses major California and federal laws that protect people with disabilities from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in employment. It also describes an individual’s options when they have experienced discrimination in employment because of their disability.
– – Disability Rights in Housing: This chapter discusses California and federal laws that protect persons with disabilities from public and private housing discrimination. It also describes options when persons with disabilities have experienced discrimination in housing because of their disability.
– – Disability Rights in K-12 Education: This chapter discusses the rights of students with disabilities in pre-school, primary, and secondary education under California state and federal law.
– – Access to Voting for People with Disabilities: This chapter discusses access to polling places and the voting process under federal and state election laws. Additionally, this chapter describes an individual’s options when they have experienced discrimination because of their disability while registering to vote or voting.
– – Access to Public and Private Buildings and Facilities for People with Disabilities: This chapter provides an overview of state and federal laws that set requirements for physical accessibility of both public and private buildings and facilities. In addition, this chapter provides information regarding options for individuals who have experienced discrimination regarding physical accessibility.
– – Access to Telecommunications for People with Disabilities: Telecommunications services are services that allow people to communicate through cable, radio, television, satellite, or wire equipment and include a variety of services like telephone and text message services. This chapter details state and federal laws regarding telecommunication services ensuring that people with disabilities have equal access to said service. It also provides information if there are concerns about accessibility of a product or service.
– – Benefits and Services for People with Disabilities: This chapter highlights state and federal benefits, programs, and services that are designed to assist people with disabilities.
– – Service Animals: This chapter discusses the rights of people with disabilities to use service animals and emotional support animals under both federal and California laws. This chapter also provides the various complaint options people have when their rights regarding service or emotional support animals have been violated.
Nearly one quarter of adults in California have a disability – 7,090,015 adults according to 2019 CDC data. The disability demographic is broken down into the following groups: – Mobility 11%: Serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs – Cognition 11%: Serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions – ;Independent living 5%: – Serious difficulty doing errands alone, such as visiting a doctor’s office – Hearing 5%: – Deafness or serious difficulty hearing – Vision 5%: Blind or serious difficulty seeing, even when wearing glasses – Self-care 4%: Difficulty dressing or bathing.