Joe Zesski: Hello. Welcome to Ask About the ADA, the podcast where we answer your questions about the Americans with Disabilities Act and how it applies to everyday life. Hopefully, along the way, you'll learn more about the law and what your rights or responsibilities are under the Americans with Disabilities Act. On this week's episode, we're going to address two issues that focus on religious organizations and how the law applies to them, so let's look at the first question.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Is a hospital controlled by a religious organization covered under Title III of the ADA, and this isn't exactly a yes or no question, in fact, it's a little bit of both. And there's more on top of that as well. First of all, a religious organization, or an organization controlled by a religious entity, is not covered under the ADA under Title III of the law.
Now, remember, Title III is a part that deals with public accommodations, which typically are businesses or nonprofits. This would include hospitals. So in one hand, no, this hospital presumably would not be under Title III of the ADA. Now, that being said, if a hospital, even a religiously controlled hospital has 15 or more employees, then in that case, they will be subject to Title I of the ADA, and of course Title I is the part of the law that deals with employment.
Now, beyond the ADA, if the hospital receives federal financial assistance, for example, reimbursement for Medicare or Medicaid, then it would be subject to a different law called Section 504. This comes under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and if it is covered by this law, then the hospital would be required to make its services accessible. They are generally going to be the same requirements as under the ADA, however, there are a few differences, and to take things one step further beyond section 504, a hospital generally may also be subject to some state or local laws.
And again, that's going to be determined on a case-by-case basis, of course. But in general terms, hospitals are going to be required to comply with local building code at the very least, and they may also be subject to state or territory nondiscrimination laws. This is one of those instances, where it's really helpful to contact your center to ask for help sorting through a situation, because these can be very complex, and again, to parse through the different parts of the law that might apply and to figure out what does apply in a given situation can be a little bit tricky.
So I suggest you reach out to your ADA center if you find yourself in a situation where you need to try to figure this out.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Our next question comes from a person with a disability. I'm applying for a clerical position at my church. I may need a reasonable accommodation. Are churches exempt from the ADA? Well, as we began to talk about in our last question with the hospital controlled by religious entity, you might have guessed, the answer, that the answer is both yes and no.
Churches are not considered a public accommodation. So in other words, they are not covered by Title III of the ADA, that part of the law that deals, again, with businesses or nonprofits and providing access to their goods and services. Now, that being said, as with the hospital and the prior question if a church has 15 or more employees, then Title I of the ADA would apply.
Of course, that is employment provisions, so if a person is applying for a clerical position who has a disability and the church is a large enough employer, then they could ask for reasonable accommodations and expect to have their rights protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Now, again, there are a few other things to keep in mind. A religious entity or employer is permitted to give preference to people of its same religion or perspective, and an employer who is a religious entity can expect applicants and employees to follow the regulations of the religion.
Beyond that, it's always important to check state or local laws. Many states have different requirements for who is a covered employer under nondiscrimination laws, including those laws that apply to people with disabilities. Now, often, religious organizations are going to be exempt from these nondiscrimination laws, but it's important to find out in your particular state or territory what law does apply beyond the ADA and to take a look at that as well.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
That's it for this edition of Ask About the ADA. Hopefully, we cleared up some confusion around religious entities and how the Americans with Disabilities Act does or does not apply to them. If you have other questions about that or any other issues related to disability rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act, please don't hesitate to contact us here at the Northeast ADA Center.
You can visit us at northeastada.org, where you can submit an email. You can always follow us on social media or call us at 1-800-949-4232 if you live in the New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, or US Virgin Islands. And if you live outside of that territory, when you call that 1-800 number, you may reach your local ADA center as well.
I'd like to thank, as always, Grace Fairchild for producing and editing our podcast. Thank you as well to Peter Quinn of the Yang-Tan Institute's media team for doing final edits, and thank you all for listening and being a part of our conversation.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
