The Americans With Disabilities Act

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law by President George Bush on July 26, 1990 as Public Law 101-336.

It extends the prohibitions against discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex or religion, contained in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, to individuals with disabilities. These may include wheelchair users, the visually impaired, the hearing impaired, the elderly, those with upper limb impairments, those with mobility impairments not requiring the use of a wheelchair, and the mentally disabled.

In other words, no individual may be denied full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of any public place, based on a physical or mental impairment. Discrimination in employment, public transportation and government are also prohibited.

In addition to the provisions covering employment and government funded facilities and programs, the ADA applies to privately owned public accommodations including the following types of establishments:

• Hotels and motels
• Meeting halls
• Museums
• Galleries and theaters
• Business services
• Recreational areas
• Educational facilities
• Restaurants and bars
• Public transit stations
• Social service providers
• Sales and rental outlets
• Gyms and spas

Basically, if you are an employer, with more than 15 employees, or you are a business that serves the public, or you are a public entity, and you are not an exempt private club or religious organization, the ADA applies to you.

If your business or agency is located in a facility constructed or last remodelled prior to about 1980, it is almost certain that you have one or more architectural barriers, as defined in the ADA, which exclude disabled users from your services. These barriers may also exclude otherwise qualified potential employees. In either case, this is discrimination. Potential architectural barriers could include:

• No wheelchair accessible parking
• Steps, high door thresholds or steep ramps
• Public telephones unusable
• Doors lacking maneuvering room or appropriate hardware
• High pile carpets
• Unreachable drinking fountains
• Lack of signs in braille
• Inaccessible restrooms

The ADA requires the removal of these and other types of barriers, when such removal is readily achievable. This means that it can be accomplished without undue difficulty or expense. The determination of readily achievable must be made by your accessibility team.

The first step in ADA compliance is to assemble your accessibility team. This is a group of individuals who assess your existing facilities, and prepare a transition plan of what measures to take in order to bring your facilities into compliance. This team should include:

• Architects - to explore compliance strategies, design options and code issues
• Individuals with Disabilities - to assist in identifying barriers
• Your Accountant - to assess your financial ability to implement various measures
• Your Attorney - to evaluate all of the above data and advise you on how to proceed

bfgc is fully prepared to assist you in your efforts to comply with the ADA.

• Americans with Disabilities Act home page
• California Department of Rehabilitation