Oklahoma City Human Rights Commission hears 1-hour primer on Americans with Disabilities Act

The Oklahoma City Human Rights Commission on Tuesday received a one-hour educational presentation on the Americans with Disabilities Act from attorneys at the Oklahoma Disability Law Center and the city’s newly appointed ADA coordinator. Joy Turner, director of investigation and monitoring at the Oklahoma Disability Law Center, summarized the statute’s basics: “The ADA is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities. It guarantees that individuals with disabilities have the same opportunity as other individuals.” Turner and colleague Brian Wilkerson explained the ADA’s five titles and who is covered under each, and they described the three legal ways a person can qualify as having a disability under the statute: a current impairment, a record of impairment or being “regarded as” having an impairment. The presenters reviewed obligations for state and local governments under Title II —…