Statement of the Department of Justice on Application of the Integration Mandate of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Olmstead v. L.C. to State and Local Governments’ Employment Service Systems for Individuals with Disabilities

1. What is the ADA’s Title II integration mandate, and how does it apply to state and local governments’ employment service systems?

A: The ADA’s integration mandate requires public entities to “administer services, programs, and activities in the most integrated setting appropriate to the needs of qualified individuals with disabilities.” ¹² Accordingly, public entities must reasonably modify their policies, procedures, or practices when necessary to avoid discrimination, unless the entity can demonstrate that making the modifications would fundamentally alter the nature of the service, program, or activity.¹³

The integration mandate is implicated when a state or local government administers the services, programs, and activities of its employment service system in a manner that results in unjustified segregation of persons with disabilities in segregated employment settings.¹⁴ A public entity may violate the ADA’s integration mandate when it plans, administers, operates, funds, or implements its employment service system in a way that unnecessarily relies on segregated employment facilities or programs for individuals with disabilities. This includes the public entity’s planning, service system design, funding choices, and service implementation practices that require or promote segregated employment settings for persons with disabilities.¹⁵