09 Nov Class 11: ADA Title III (Public Accommodations)
Purpose and Reading for Class 11
We will be studying title III of the ADA this week which makes it discriminatory for a public accommodation (a restaurant, office, private building) not to serve an individual with a disability. We will be reading about the requirements of Title III and then applying to a hypothetical about Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream (to add a little flavor to class discussion, excuse the pun!).
The readings for the week include:
1. The text of title II of the ADA — click here for the link
2. The ADA Notification Act - click here to read about it. This legislation would have given public accommodations 90 days to accommodate people with disabilities before an individual could file suit against the public accommodation. It has been introduced in Congress multiple time but be aware this Notification Act was NEVER enacted but there was a lot of push within Congress to pass it. In fact, one of the reasons it took so long for the ADA to be amended in 2008 was because advocates were worried that opening the ADA to scrutiny would also result in the passage of this Notification Act. Even though this Notification is not law, it is still important to know about it and to understand the pros and cons about it.
3. Skim: Table of Contents of ADA Accessible Guidelines (also known as ADAAG) (here)
4. Skim DOJ booklet for small businesses (here)
5. What’s a "drive-by lawsuit"? by CBS 60 minutes and a response
6. “A Plea to Take Action against the ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017” by Christine Griffin (here)
7. Hunters Point Library hit with lawsuit over accessibility issues
ADA Accessible Guidelines – Suggested Reading
Part of the reading this week is a booklet from the Department of Justice that details some of the requirements of the ADA’s regulations when it comes to local businesses complying with the ADA. I am not actually asking you to read the ADA regulations. However, below is a link to the ADA Accessible Guidelines. This explains in specific detail how construction needs to comply with the ADA in terms of being accessible. I am sharing it because I think it is interesting to see how specific it is and how many details an entity needs to take into consideration when creating an accessible space. Though not required reading, please take a quick look at it. The ADA Accessible Guidelines (also known as ADAAG) can be seen by clicking here.
Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Company recently repurchased their ice cream company back from Unilever. As a small local company and under the auspices of Unilever, B&J had always accommodated people with disabilities. In its plant in Burlington, Vermont, the company has a museum open to the public.
Ben Cohen (of Ben & Jerry’s) called for assistance. He wants to make sure the museum end of the B&J factory is accessible to visitors with disabilities. Some important details about the factory include:
The factory is about 30 years old and has not been renovated since it was built, but the company is now thinking about updating the facility
There are three parts of the facility: (a) a museum and store (b) the factory that has public-viewing areas; and (c) the back of the factory that is only accessible to employees
Members of the public who visit the facility have the opportunity to take a guided tour of factory led by a B&J Flavor Expert
The store that is attached to the museum has 5 aisles, 2 check-out counters, three-steps to get in and 10 parking spaces
Ben would like to know what are the ways he needs to make the museum accessible to people with disabilities. Ben is aware that he is going to need to spend money on this endeavor, but he did mention that the museum has not been receiving as many visitors as it had in past years and as a result has taken a financial hit. He also thought it was important to tell you that he has seen visitors at the museum who use wheelchairs and have visual impairments. However, he claims to have never had an individual who was deaf or hard of hearing.
Questions:
1. What are some actions Ben needs to take to make his facility accessible to people with disabilities? He especially wants to know which individuals with disabilities he needs to accommodate and which he may not have to.
2. Would your answer change if the company undertook major renovations to the whole complex? If it built a whole new factory and museum?
3. Do you think the ADA is too tough on businesses? Should the ADA be amended to include a notice requirement to give businesses a chance to fix accessibility issues before they can be sued?
