The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law on July 26, 1990. The ADA is a farreaching law that prohibits discrimination against disabled persons in employment, public accommodations, government services, and telecommunications. On January 26, 1992, the law went into effect for existing buildings. Building owners are now required to remove barriers that inhibit accessibility where "readily achievable" — that is, where "it is able to be accomplished easily and without much difficulty and expense." The ADA affects five million public buildings — shops, stores, hotels, restaurants, theaters, doctors' offices, libraries, museums, day care centers, private schools, parks, bowling alleys, etc., as well as office buildings, warehouses, factories, and state and local government buildings. The ADA places a high priority on enabling people
