State and federal law give people with disabilities the right to access everyday activities such as buying an item at the store, watching a movie in a theater, enjoying a meal at a restaurant, exercising at the health club and getting their car serviced.
If you own, operate, or lease to a business that serves the public you are subject to the ADA and other disability rights laws.
Non-profit and private businesses, sometimes referred to in the ADA, Title III as Public Accommodations, have obligations for existing facilities as well as when a facility is altered or newly constructed. They may also have obligations in employment, housing and other areas protected from discrimination.
Public accommodations include stores, shops, restaurants, bars, service establishments, theaters, hotels, recreation facilities, private museums and schools, to name a few.
Information on compliance can be found by following the links for each specific law.
Resources for Public Accommodation Issues
General Information
Construction/Design
- Department of Justice ADA Standards for Accessible Design
As published in the Title III regulations (28 CFR Part 36, revised July 1, 1994) issued by the Department of Justice. The ADA Standards for Accessible Design are in Appendix A of the Title III Regulations
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/stdspdf.htm
- Division of the State Architect (DSA) acts as California's policy leader for building design and construction, and provides design and construction oversight for K-12 schools and community colleges. DSA has offices in Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, and San Diego. DSA also develops and maintains the accessibility standards and codes utilized in public and private buildings throughout California. DSA incorporates the offices of the independent State Historical Building Safety Board, caretaker of California's State Historical Building Code.
Contact DSA:
http://www.dgs.ca.gov/dsa/AboutUs/contact.aspx
Accessibiity Section:
http://www.dgs.ca.gov/dsa/Programs/progAccess.aspx
State Historical Building Safety Board:
http://www.dgs.ca.gov/dsa/AboutUs/shbsb.aspx
Access Compliance Reference Manual provides information and the text of selected California Accessibility Statutes:
http://www.dgs.ca.gov/dsa/Programs/progAccess/accessmanual.aspx
- Building and Standards Commission's: mission is to produce sensible and usable state building standards and administrative regulations that implement or enforce those standards.
http://www.bsc.ca.gov
Tax Incentives
As part of the President's New Freedom Initiative, the Department of Justice is providing information to small businesses about the ADA and tax benefits to help them comply with the law.
The ADA Tax Incentives Packet contains information about the disabled access credit that is available for small businesses and the tax deduction that is available for businesses of any size to help offset some of the costs of improving accessibility for customers or employees with disabilities. It also includes the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) form and instructions for claiming the disabled access credit, a list of ADA publications available free from the Department of Justice, and a list of telephone numbers and Internet sites to which you can turn for answers to your ADA questions.
President's New Freedom Initiative:
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/bushdod.htm
The ADA Tax Incentives Packet:
http://www.ada.gov/publicat.htm#anchor403629
Service Animals
Service animals are animals that are individually trained to perform tasks for people with disabilities such as guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling wheelchairs, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, or performing other special tasks. Service animals are working animals, not pets.
Service Animals are addressed in California law under Civil Code Section 54.1(6) through 54.1(7)(b).
For more information on Service Animals go to the:
Department of Fair Employment and Housing Website at http://www.dfeh.ca.gov
Legal Rights for Persons with Disabilities Chapter 2-Housing Discrimination and Chapter 3-Non Discrimination in Business and Services. This publication can be found under Publications on the Attorney General's Website at http://ag.ca.gov/consumers/pdf/disabled.pdf
Commonly Asked Questions About Service Animals In Places of Business a Department of Justice's publication at http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/qasrvc.htm
The Mission of the Department of Fair Employment and Housing is to protect the people of California from unlawful discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations, and from the perpetration of acts of hate violence.
http://www.dfeh.ca.gov
Employment/Public Accommodations/Hate Violence:
1-800-884-1684 (Within California)
1-916-227-0551 (Outside California)
The ADA requires the Department to provide technical assistance to businesses, State and local governments, and individuals with responsibilities and rights under the law.
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm
Toll-Free ADA Information Line:
800-514-0301 (voice)
800-514-0383 (TDD)
The Section serves as a centralized resource for providing public information, training, and technical assistance on FEHA, ADA, and other related disability laws to state entities, agencies, and One-Stop service delivery systems serving persons with disabilities and employers.
E-mail: adatf@dor.ca.gov
916-558-5755 Voice
916-558-57582 TTY
The leading national law and policy center in disability civil rights-- DREDF--founded in 1979 by a unique alliance of adults with disabilities and parents of children with disabilities. DREDF's name was chosen to associate and align with the tradition of other civil rights legal defense funds, starting with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
http://www.dredf.org
510-644-2555 Voice/TTY
Provides information, problem solving assistance and referrals for implementing the ADA and Accessible Electronic and Information Technology (E&IT).
http://www.adapacific.org
1-800-949-4232 (Voice &TDD)
510-848-2980 (Voice)
510-848-1840 (TDD)
As part of President Bush's New Freedom Initiative, his comprehensive plan to reduce barriers to full community integration for people with disabilities, the Department of Labor, in collaboration with other Federal agencies, is in the process of expanding and improving the DisabilityDirect.gov web portal. Accordingly, the existing site will be shut down for a brief period while the new site is under construction. Please join our subscriber list to learn more about the new site as it becomes available
http://www.disabilityinfo.gov
