The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 replaces preexisting laws (collectively referred to as the Vocational Rehabilitation Act) to extend and revise the authorization of grants to States for vocational rehabilitation services, with special emphasis on services to those with the most severe disabilities, to expand special Federal responsibilities and research and training programs with respect to individuals with disabilities, to establish special responsibilities in the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare for coordination of all programs with respect to individuals with disabilities within the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, and for other purposes.

[1] Section 503 requires affirmative action and prohibits employment discrimination by Federal government contractors and subcontractors with contracts of more than $10,000.

Section 508 requires Federal electronic and information technology to be accessible to people with disabilities, including employees and members of the public.

[1] An accessible information technology system is one that can be operated in a variety of ways and does not rely on a single sense or ability of the user.

Experts in civil rights laws are involved in education of governments, Americans with disabilities, citizens, special interest groups (e.g., disability classes), non-profit and for-profit agencies, and community groups on the "application of these federal laws" in daily lives, including workplaces.

[4][page needed][5] Hearings at the local levels often do not recognize experts in practice, and thus legal cases repeatedly must be appealed through the federal systems.

Personal assistance in the workplace has also been supported as a reasonable accommodation, a central concept in employment and disability law (Sections IV &4.8, 4.11; XI & 11.6, 11.8, 11.10; XVI & 16.7, 16.8).

The 1974 amendments provided a handicapped individual meant any person who (A) has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more of such person's major life activities, (B) has a record of such an impairment, or (C) is regarded as having such an impairment.Congress adopted that definition in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, substituting the term "disability" for "handicapped.

Title four created a national council on disability, appointed by the president, to link rehabilitation programs to state and local workforce development systems.