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Substantial changes to the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, better known as the ADA, are going into effect in January.

The general public is probably most familiar with ADA structural requirements intended to provide physical access to people with various disabilities — handrails, wide bathroom stalls and ramps come to mind.

But the ADA also deals with access and accommodation to employment for people with a wide variety of disabilities. It "prohibits discrimination and ensures equal opportunity for persons with disabilities in employment, state and local government services, public accommodations, commercial facilities, and transportation," according to the U.S. Department of Justice's ADA Web site.

Tucson attorney Thom Cope went through some of the changes to the ADA in a seminar at the Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce Thursday morning.

Highlights of changes in the Americans with Disabilities Act:

Several definitions of terms used within the ADA to determine whether someone is qualified, or covered, under the act are changing:

• "Disability" will be defined as "Physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record of such impairment, or being regarded as having such impairment."

• "Physical" disability will be defined to include disfigurement, loss of function (reproductive, cardiovascular, skin disorders, endocrine system, urinary).

• "Major life activity" will be defined to include: walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, learning, performing manual tasks, sitting, standing, lifting, caring for oneself and working.

• A qualifying "mental disability" will include psychological disorder, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness and learning disabilities.

• The term "substantially limits" means "unable to perform a major life activity that the average person in the general population can perform."

• "Being regarded as having an impairment" has been defined to mean an "employee is subjected to an action illegal under the act" and "because of an actual or perceived physical or mental impairment" and "whether or not it limits a major life activity."

• "Major life functions" will include: eating, standing, lifting, bending, reading, concentrating, thinking and communicating.

ADA and the city

Cope, of the Udall Law Firm, said the city of Tucson has adopted the federal ADA as a city ordinance but made it applicable to businesses with 1-100 employees. The federal ADA applies to firms with 15 or more workers.

The city of Tucson itself ran afoul of the ADA and is under federal scrutiny while it corrects problems. The city was cited for more than 1,200 "deficiencies" in 2005, said Liana Perez, director of the city's Office of Equal Opportunity Programs. She said the audit that resulted in the citations was part of a nationwide program intended to assure access to civic facilities.

Web sites and phone numbers

• Federal Americans with Disabilities Act Web site: www.ada.gov

• City of Tucson's ADA Web site: www.tucsonaz.gov/eoo/ada.html

• The U.S. Department of Justice maintains toll-free ADA information lines, both voice and TTY. 1-800-514-0301 (voice), 1-800-514-0383 (TTY)