98-255, which created a service in the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services to provide information on rights and responsibilities under the Americans With Disabilities Act. By January 1999, a toll-free TTY number was added to make this service accessible to persons with hearing or speech impairments. Calls received on either line after regular office hours are recorded by an answering machine. A data base was compiled to collect and analyze information made available through each call. At the beginning of each call, it is expressly stated that any information provided is nonbinding and that there is no attorney-client relationship established.
Confidentiality is maintained at all times unless expressly waived by the caller.
This annual report outlines the performance of this service during Fiscal Year 1999. The Americans With Disabilities Act was signed into law July 26, 1990. Many of its provisions did not become effective until two years later. The law was drafted in very broad terms in order to benefit as many persons as possible. Due to this fact, there is much confusion regarding applicability and interpretation of its terms, such as disability, reasonable accommodation, undue hardship, readily achievable, etc.