It is widely agreed that people with disabilities are treated unfairly, that they are the victims of pervasive discrimination, and that they have been denied adequate accommodation in areas ranging from housing construction to hiring practices. The ADA is intended to provide legal recourse by requiring employers, transit systems, and public facilities to modify their operations, procedures, and physical structures to make reasonable accommodation for disabled persons. The ADA recognizes broad exceptions in cases where modifications may result in undue hardship or pose risks to third parties. The ADA's antidiscrimination framework serves several important functions: emphasizes similarities between the treatment of people with disabilities and the treatment of other minorities; encourages society to identify the source of disadvantages experienced by disabled persons; and supports the proposition that accommodating disabled persons is a matter of justice. The ADA has obvious similarities with recent civil rights legislation in that is designed to protect members of a group long subjected to exclusion and prejudice. Provisions of the ADA are discussed in terms of how much society should spend to improve the opportunities of people with disabilities and the recognition of impairments as biological disadvantages.