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Pool Facilities Get Another Extension to Be ADA Compliant

 

Update on the Pool requirement for hotels under the ADA.

Hotels, water parks, and other facilities with pools recently got another extension to comply with American Disability Act standards, the Associated Press reports.

The Justice Department initially set a March 15, 2012 deadline, but last week extended it to early next year. The ADA rules in question, published in 2010, require new pools to have built-in lifts. Owners of older pools hoped they could be ADA compliant with portable lifts, but in January the Justice Department issued technical guidance, requiring fixed lifts at existing pools. The document was updated May 24.

Also, there’s an exemption that allows existing pools to avoid the requirement if owners find compliance is “not readily achievable.” Determining if a pool could use that exception, the AP reports, could be difficult.

On Thursday, the Justice Department said pool owners who bought portable lifts before the previous March 15 deadline would be in compliance, providing the lift is in place when the pool is open.

“We got such an overwhelming response indicating the widespread misunderstanding of the law and indicating that the pool lift manufacturers are having trouble meeting the demand, so we wanted to make sure people had enough time,” Eve Hill, a senior attorney in the Justice Department’s civil rights division, told the AP.

Some say the hotel industry is behind the deadline extention. They also blame election year politics.

“It’s a little disingenuous to say that came out of nowhere,” Heather Ansley, a lawyer with United Spinal Association, told the AP.

You can read the original story here.

Any thoughts or comments? Call us at 866 982 3212 or email us at help@accesssolutionllc.com

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Tenants Beware, New Possible Legislation

The recent ADA lawsuit scare has had some landlords behaving strangely.

One of our clients a few months ago was sued by her landlord for not making ADA upgrades.

This is a troubling turn of events. It’s in the ADA that one’s responsibility cannot be passed onto another. The way the chips fell in this case was that the landlord had his tenant sign an updated lease otherwise he would not renew the contract with her. There was a clause in this contract which stated that she was to perform all necessary ADA upgrades to become ADA compliant within 45 days of signing the lease.

She obviously did not know what this meant.

She signed the lease, and was later sued by her landlord for failing to enlarge the restroom.

In this situation, we do not have a complaint stemming from a violation of the ADA — we have a complaint stemming from a breach of contract.

How everything stands from here depends on what can be reasonably understood by both parties as being their responsibility within the ADA — and if when signing she understood what ADA upgrades entailed.

Nonetheless, tenants should more than ever educate themselves about what ADA compliance means, and in all cases at least 1) get an estimate for the work and 2) inform their landlord of the issues with a report of their shared liability. Landlords are legally required to comply with the ADA as well — but this tactic does provide an interesting twist. We’ll have to see if he is successful at forcing his tenant to pay for all the upgrades.

Thoughts? Comment below, or write us at help@accesssolutionllc.com. If you have specific questions about your own fiduciary responsibilities, you can call us at 866 982 3212.

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Rosemead Chamber, Temple City Chamber and Monterey Park Chamber

We are having an ADA compliance seminar free to the public on April 3rd from 1130 to 1pm.

The address is 1409 N. Walnut Grove Avenue, Rosemead CA 91770,
University of the West.

There won’t be a lunch but there will be drinks and snacks.  The cost to attend is free.

 

We hope to see you all there.

If you have questions about attending this seminar or if you want a presentation of your own, don’t hesitate to call us at (866) 982 3212 or email us at help@accesssolutionllc.com.

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ADA Safe Harbor is over in 2 weeks.

Just a reminder, as of March 15, 2012 safe harbor is over.

 

All facilities not in full compliance with the ADA of 1992 need to comply with the ADA of 2010.

 

All facilities which have amenities not covered in the ADA of 1992, such as pools, need to comply with the ADA 2010.

 

If your commercial property has a pool, it needs to have a lift in place for the public during the ours of operation.  It can be removed during hours of non-operation, but otherwise it needs to be in place.  Lifts cannot be shared between pools.  Also, expenses such as insurance cannot be added to determine hardship cost.

These are just a few of the items hotels and resorts with pools need to consider.

 

If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact us at 866 982 3212 or email us at help@accesssolutionllc.com.

Or you can also use our new contact form. Send us a message.

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ADA suit seeks to take a bite out of Arcadia’s Bit

More news on ADA lawsuits.

Mike Mandala knows a little bit about the Americans with Disabilities Act.

And he should.

Mainly because the two Arcadia bars he runs have been targeted by attorneys filing suits. Essentially, the suits allege his taverns violate the federal law designed to help the disabled get access.

You know: handicapped parking spots; extra-wide toilet stalls with metal rails; and signs that point out those amenities.

Mandala, part owner of The Bit on Live Oak and owner of First Cabin on Huntington Drive, was one of several local business owners blanketed with thick sheaves of legal paperwork filed on behalf of plaintiffs represented by H.J. Sims, a San Diego attorney who specializes in ADA law.

Read more here from San Gabriel Tribune

Don’t let this happen to you. Find out more about services that can help prevent litigation by helping you become compliant. ADA consultants.

Otherwise email us at help@accesssolutionllc.com or call us at 866 982 3212

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ADA lawsuit in Pico Rivera Area

Don’t find yourself blindsighted.

PICO RIVERA – Audrey and Dan Miller have owned Barney’s Coffee Shop for nearly three decades.

In that time they’ve never had one complaint about whether their restaurant met the needs of their disabled patrons.

That changed just over a year ago when they were slapped with a lawsuit by a disabled man.

“It wasn’t a fun situation,” said Dan Miller, 59, about the litigation.

The Millers were sued Sept. 21, 2010 by Salvador Vargas, who claimed his rights were violated when he was at the restaurant, 4923 Rosemead Blvd., because its restroom facilities were not accessible to the disabled.

According to the lawsuit, there were no grab bars behind and beside the toilet plus the doorway to the men’s restroom and the paper towel dispenser were inaccessible.

A check of the men’s toilet at the time showed a grab bar on the side.

The Millers were surprised by the lawsuit.

“We were blindsided,” Dan Miller said.

[Original link here: San Gabriel Valley Tribune/a>]

Questions? Comments? Call us at 866 982 3212 or email us at help@accesssolutionllc.com

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Accessible Places of Public Accommodations are not Impossible

From the Chicago Tribute
[http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-x-c-ada-fear-haunts-20111102,0,4280545.story]

The website for Fear City features elements commonly used to advertise haunted houses — ghoulish photos, spatters of blood, a video featuring a disemboweled corpse and a woman being dragged down a dank hall by a pair of maniacs.

But one element on fearcitychicago.com stands out: A rotating banner boasts that Fear City is ADA accessible, meaning that the facility follows the standards established by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

In other words, Fear City welcomes guests with physical disabilities, just as long as they’ve got strong stomachs. The Morton Grove facility is one of a number of haunted places in the Chicago area that were made accessible to visitors with disabilities.

You can read the full story here: [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-x-c-ada-fear-haunts-20111102,0,4280545.story]

Questions? Comments? help@accesssolutionllc.com or 866 982 3212

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Converse store shut down for accessibility violation

ADA lawsuit reported by the Boston Herald.
[http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/2011_1029converse_store_shut_downfor_accessibility_violation/]

Converse’s flagship sneaker store on Newbury Street has been shuttered indefinitely by the state for failure to provide handicap accessibility to its entrance.

The Architectural Access Board, a regulatory agency of the Massachusetts Office of Public Safety, closed the store on Wednesday until the fixes are made to the entrance. The entrance has a seven-inch step that must be modified to make the shop wheelchair-accessible.

“Since 2009, the board and the city of Boston have tried to get Converse to comply,” said Terrell Harris, spokesman for the Executive Office of Public Safety. “Converse continued to say they would fix the problem – and they’ve been given at least four extensions to get the work done – and they’ve yet to do anything.”

Harris said the store will remain closed until the work is completed. “The ball is in their court,” he said. “Since they were shut down, they’ve done exactly what they had been asked to do in the first place: they filed a permit, submitted plans to make the fix and hired a contractor. They will have to return back to the board for approval to reopen.”

In an e-mailed statement, Terri Hines, a spokeswoman for North Andover-based Converse, said, “Converse is confident that the permanent solution and subsequent construction completion is within immediate reach and expects operations to reopen soon.”

Questions? Comments? Contact us at help@accesssolutionllc.com or 866 982 3212

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Helpful tips on Website Accessibility

 

Interesting and helpful article on website accessibility.

Researchers have just come up with a way to turn an iPad into a Braille keyboard–but until this kind of technology is on the market, it’s up to business owners to make sure that their websites meet the needs of clients with special needs.

According to accessibility guidelines from the U.S. government, 8 percent of Americans have a disability that affects how they can access and use websites. Among the conditions in this group, four percent are vision-related, two percent are movement-related, one percent hearing-related, and less than one percent relatedto learning disabilities. This means that accessibility may have more of an effect on Web sales than you may have previously thought. But what can you do to improve website accessibility for these customers?

An accessible website will also be friendly to seniors–and small businesses will need increasingly to cater to them. By 2018, almost 24 percent of the population will be over 55.

There are simple measures you can take that won’t require a lot of time, and that your clients will appreciate. To dig into it more, here’s a list of reliable accessibility resources.

Make Hyperlinks at Least Three Words Long

Users with motion disabilities may have a hard time clicking on one-letter or one-word hyperlinks. I try to make all of my hyperlinks three to four words long to make them accessible, after being told do so for this very reason for a client project earlier this year.

Make All Necessary Forms Fillable
If you have a form online, such as a PDF, you should transform it into a format where a user can either fill it out and email it or, ideally, fill it out and submit it online. Many of the PDF forms available online are static and can’t be filled out, which frustrates all Web users. It makes your organization look lazy and disinterested in business.

Use Words, Not Color to Communicate

If you use color to communicate, you’re losing 8 percent of your male audience, according toaccessibility guidelines from Usability.gov. While its creators say it isn’t perfect, Visicheck is a free tool that shows your website looks to color blind users.

Images and other elements on a site need to have their alternate tags (“alt” tags in HTML) filled in so that tools such as screen readers can describe the image or element to the visually impaired. This also can marginally help with your search engine optimization.

If you Must use Flash, Make It Accessible

I’m not a big fan of using Flash for websites, since it eviscerates search engine results unless you do workarounds, like create static HTML pages for search engines to go with the pretty Flash version. Accessibility requires an equal amount of craziness when dealing with a Flash website, but if you are completely married to Flash, you can learn how to make it accessible here.

Another great reason to start considering accessibility is that new regulations are coming that may cover your business. The tips above are a start, but keep going with your accessibility intiative by visiting more of these resources.

More Resources

Usability.gov
This government website has put accessibility best practices in a downloadable PDF, as well as other usability standards that can improve your site’s overall user experience.

Webaim.org
This is an initiative of the Center for Persons With Disabilities and Utah State University, with clear and concise accessibility information.

Section 508
For the U.S. government’s online guide to Web accessibility, the title refers to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, which states that all government websites must meet its accessibility standards.

Microsoft
Microsoft’s accessibility center helps you understand the accessibility features in Microsoft products, and outlines general best practices.

Dragon Naturally Speaking
Dragon’s dictation software has come a long way since it was first introduced. Users with limited mobility will find it indispensible on the desktop–and there are companion apps for tablets and smartphones.

link: [Make your small business website accessible]