How to Comply With the Americans With Disabilities Act

Breaking down what the decades-old act means for small businesses.

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Courtesy Gov.com

Langevin took questions outside of the White House after attending the White House signing of the Executive Order lifting the ban on embryonic stem cell funding.

Jim Langevin has been a quadriplegic since a shooting accident when he was a teenager. On July 26, Langevin, a U.S. representative from Rhode Island and the first quadriplegic elected to the House, rose to the speaker's podium in the House of Representatives with the help of a newly installed mechanical lift system.

Langevin was there to honor, and demonstrate the use of, the Americans with Disabilities Act. The paralyzed congressman was asked to be the first wheelchair user to preside over the chamber in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the law that prohibited discrimination against people with disabilities.

"It was a catalyst that ended permissible exclusions," says Jonathan Young, chairman of the National Council on Disability and a former White House liaison and counsel on disability policy initiatives. "It set a new level of expectation that people with disabilities ought to be integrated into society."

The ADA contains a lot of commonly known provisions ­— such as its necessary to provide ramps or elevators for wheelchair-bound employees — and some really technical ones, such as minimum widths for doorways and numbers of required accessible parking spaces. Complying with the act allows for tax breaks and deductions, but penalties in ADA lawsuits can come with big price tags.

Complying with the Americans With Disabilities Act: The ADA Basics

The ADA was established to recognize that people with disabilities deserve and need equal access to employment, transit, stores, restaurants, and other businesses to be a part of their community and have purchasing power. The act itself prevents anyone from being discriminated against on the basis of disability. It set requirements for making a workplace accessible. In doing so, it established new business construction guidelines.

The ADA recommends reviewing your business policies to make sure your compliance is comprehensive. For instance, segregating disabled customers or employees — such as in a designated seating area — is prohibited. Also, policies that prohibit animals should be sure to exclude service animals. You should also keep your employment records and other information related to applicants who are covered by the ADA. They'll come in handy in case you face a discrimination suit.

While experts say the law has succeeded in opening access to buildings and providing legal protections, it still hasn't been effective in changing attitudes about disabled people. Advocates lament that the employment rate among America's disabled population hasn't increased in 20 years. Of the 26 million disabled people in the country, 21 million are unemployed.

"We still need to work on the public attitudes about people with disabilities and their capabilities," says Richard Horne, director of the division of policy planning and research for the office of disability employment policy under the U.S. Department of Labor. "The attitudes in the work place haven't changed as much as they need to."

Dig Deeper: Inc.com's Articles on the Americans With Disabilities Act

Complying With the Americans With Disabilities Act: Who's Responsible for Complying?

• Businesses with at least 15 employees.
• Both landlord and tenant of the business. But the two parties can determine who is responsible for complying with the obligations through a lease or other contract.
• State and local government services, programs and activities, including public education and social services, state legislatures and courts, town meetings, police and fire departments, employment services, and public transportation.
• Commercial facilities, including privately owned businesses of all sizes such as stores and shops, restaurants and bars, theaters, hotels, recreation facilities, private museums, doctor's offices, health spas, convention centers and doctors' offices.
• Any business that serves the public must remove physical barriers when "readily achievable," which means it can be done without much difficulty or expense. But the ADA is flexible: The "readily achievable" label depends on the size and resources of your business. Larger companies are expected to take a more active role than smaller ones.  Compliance can be an ongoing process, so the ADA allows businesses to create a plan to remove barriers over time as resources become available.
• The law does not apply to strictly residential private apartments and homes.
• Experts say to be mindful that the inflictions considered disabilities run a wide gamut, from paralysis and mental health issues to alcoholism or recuperation from a disease, such as cancer. An employee might not disclose their condition right away either.

Dig Deeper: An ADA Checklist

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Tim Donnelly

Tim Donnelly is a freelance writer and former McClatchy newspapers reporter whose work has appeared in Billboard, Power & Motoryacht, and Brokelyn.com. He lives in Brooklyn. 

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