Disability Law Summaries

Alabama's employment-related disability discrimination law is located in the Code of Alabama at Title 21, Chapter 7. The law covers public employers only (Sec. 21-7-8).

Full text of Alabama's employment-related disability discrimination law is at Employment Practices Guide at 1-20,650.01.

Other disability provisions are located in the Code of Alabama at Title 21, Chapters 4 (Accessibility) and 7 (Accessibility, Transportation, Housing); Title 24, Chapter 8 (Housing); and at Title 12, Chapter 1, Title 37, Chapter 1 (Telecommunications).

Interaction of disability laws. --State or local disability laws that provide protection greater than or equivalent to that of the Americans with Disabilities Act are not nullified by the Act, and neither are laws that provide less protection than the ADA. However, if either law provides less protection than the other, the law with the lesser standard cannot be used as a defense to the law with the higher standard.

Before making any decisions that will affect the rights of people with disabilities, state laws should be compared to the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. A person with a disability may prefer to file charges under a state law with fewer protections if that state law has greater remedies than the ADA.

Accessibility

The blind, visually handicapped and persons with other physical disabilities have the same right as persons without disabilities to the full and free use of the streets, highways, sidewalks, walkways, public buildings, public facilities and other public places (Sec. 21-7-2).

The blind, the visually handicapped and persons with other physical disabilities are entitled to full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities and privileges of all hotels, lodging places, places of public accommodation, amusement or resort and other places to which the general public is invited, subject only to the conditions and limitations established by law and applicable alike to all persons (Sec. 21-7-3).

Service animals. --Every totally or partially blind person has the right to be accompanied by a guide dog, especially trained for the purpose, every hearing-impaired person has the right to be accompanied by a hearing dog, especially trained for the purpose, and every person employed by an accredited school for training guide dogs in any of the following places: all hotels, lodging places, places of public accommodation, amusement or resort and other places to which the general public is invited. The person must not be required to pay an extra charge for the dog, but will be liable for any damages done to the premises or facilities by the dog (Sec. 21-7-4, as amended by S.B. 23, L. 1999, effective March 1, 2000).

Accessibility standards. --The State Fire Marshal will prescribe and publish standards and specifications for public buildings, premises and facilities, which will make such buildings accessible to and functional for persons with physical disabilities who are confined to wheelchairs and to those ambulating on braces or crutches, or both, or on canes, to the blind and to the deaf. Such standards and specifications, which may be based on the American National Standards Institute specifications, will apply to internal building features as well as the grading of lots and to walks and parking areas (Sec. 21-4-3).

Accessibility standards apply to all buildings and facilities used by the public that are constructed in whole or in part by the use of state, county or municipal funds, or the funds of any political subdivision of the state. All such buildings and facilities constructed in Alabama after October 10, 1975, must conform to each of the standards and specifications (Sec. 21-4-4(a)).

Enforcement. The State Fire Marshal and the Director of the State Building Commission are authorized to construe and interpret the accessibility standards, and each officer, with the concurrence of the other, may grant a waiver of a particular standard or specification upon proper application and where compliance would be unreasonably costly and impractical or where an alternative facility is already reasonably available (Sec. 21-4-5).

The State Fire Marshal enforces accessibility standards and may inspect buildings, facilities and premises for this purpose. If the State Fire Marshal finds that a building does not comply with accessibility standards, he or she will immediately order compliance. This order may be appealed and enforced in the same manner as the fire marshal's orders relative to the elimination of fire hazards (Sec. 21-4-7).

Penalties. --Any person, firm or corporation, or the agent of any person, firm or corporation, who denies or interferes with admittance to or enjoyment of streets, highways, sidewalks, walkways, public buildings, public facilities, hotels, lodging places, places of public accommodation, amusement or resort and other places to which the general public is invited, or who otherwise interferes with the rights of a totally or partially blind person or person with other disabilities will be guilty of a misdemeanor (Sec. 21-7-5).

Employment

Public employers must employ persons who are blind or visually handicapped and persons with other physical disabilities on the same terms and conditions as persons without disabilities unless it can be shown that their disability prevents them from doing the job (Secs. 21-7-1 and 21-7-8).

Transportation

The blind, the visually handicapped and persons with other physical disabilities are entitled to full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities and privileges of all common carriers, airplanes, motor vehicles, railroad trains, motor buses, streetcars, boats or any other public conveyances or modes of transportation, subject only to the conditions and limitations established by law and applicable alike to all persons (Sec. 21-7-3).

Service animals. --Every totally or partially blind person has the right to be accompanied by a guide dog, especially trained for the purpose, every hearing-impaired person has the right to be accompanied by a hearing dog, especially trained for the purpose, every person employed by an accredited school for training guide dogs in any of the following places: all common carriers, airplanes, motor vehicles, railroad trains, motor buses, streetcars, boats or any other public conveyances or modes of transportation. The person must not be required to pay an extra charge for the dog, but will be liable for any damages done to the premises or facilities by the dog (Sec. 21-7-4, as amended by S.B. 23, L. 1999, effective March 1, 2000).

Penalties. --Any person, firm or corporation, or the agent of any person, firm or corporation, who denies or interferes with admittance to or enjoyment of common carriers, airplanes, motor vehicles, railroad trains, motor buses, streetcars, boats or any other public conveyances or modes of transportation, or who otherwise interferes with the rights of a totally or partially blind person or person with other disabilities will be guilty of a misdemeanor (Sec. 21-7-5).

Telecommunications

TDD service. --The Alabama Public Service Commission will implement a dual-party relay system within the state and will establish procedures for continuation of the system (Sec. 37-1-80.2).

Court proceedings. --If any plaintiff, defendant, or witness in any proceeding before the district court, circuit court, appellate court, or grand jury is in need of special services or equipment as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act, the court must make every effort to make reasonable accommodations for the services or equipment to allow the person to fully participate in the proceedings (Sec. 12-1-23, H. 311, L. 2000, effective July 1, 2000).

Housing

Blind persons, visually handicapped persons and persons with other physical disabilities are entitled to full and equal access, as are other members of the general public, to all housing accommodations offered for rent, lease or compensation in Alabama, subject to the conditions and limitations established by law and applicable alike to all persons (Sec. 21-7-9(a)).

This does not require any person renting, leasing or providing for compensation real property to modify his or her property in any way or provide a higher degree of care for a blind person, visually handicapped person, or person with other physical disabilities than for a person without a physical disability (Sec. 21-7-9(c)).

The Alabama Fair Housing Law also prohibits housing discrimination based on disability. Under this law, it is unlawful (Sec. 24-8-4):

(1) to make, print or publish, or cause to be made, printed or published, any notice, statement or advertisement with respect to the sale or rental of a dwelling that indicates any preference, limitation or discrimination based on disability or an intention to make the preference, limitation or discrimination;

(2) to represent to any person because of disability that any dwelling is not available to inspection, sale or rental when the dwelling is available;

(3) for profit, to induce or attempt to induce any person to sell or rent any dwelling by representations regarding the entry or prospective entry into the neighborhood of a person or persons of a particular disability;

(4) to discriminate in the sale or rental, or to otherwise make unavailable or deny, a dwelling to any buyer or renter because of a disability of that buyer or renter; a person residing in or intending to reside in that dwelling after it is sold, rented or made available; or any person associated with that buyer or renter;

(5) to discriminate against a person in the terms, conditions or privileges of sale or rental of a dwelling, or in the provision of services or facilities in connection with the dwelling, because of a disability of that person; a person residing in or intending to reside in that dwelling after it is sold, rented or made available; or any person associated with that person.

Service animals. --Every totally or partially blind person who has a guide dog or who obtains a guide dog is entitled to full and equal access to housing accommodations, and he or she must not be required to pay extra compensation for the dog, but will be liable for any damage done to the premises by the dog (Sec. 21-7-9(d)).

Who to contact

For accessibility standards issues, contact the State Building Commission at 770 Washington Avenue, Suite 444, Montgomery, AL 36130. Telephone: (334)242-4801.