Disability Discrimination in Public Accommodations

The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in places of public accommodation. This does not mean the place must be public. Many private entities that serve the general public or are open to the public are subject to the ADA's requirements.

Examples include restaurants, hotels, theaters, doctors' offices, pharmacies, retail stores, museums, libraries, parks, private schools, recreation facilities and day care centers. Private clubs and religious organizations are exempt.

A covered entity clearly cannot expressly bar entrance based on a disability. The more common question is whether the business has to make changes to accommodate people with disabilities. This could include installing wheelchair accessible entrances. It could include other auxiliary aids and services, such as helping a blind customer read price information in a store.

What Accommodations Are Required

There are several ways in which a business may need to adapt in order to allow access to disabled patrons.

The business may need to modify policies, practices, or procedures. For example, a "no pet" policy may need to be modified to allow access to customers with service animals. The ADA will not require the business to modify policies if it would fundamentally alter the nature of the goods or services provided.

The business may need to provide auxiliary aids and services to enable a disabled customer to access the goods or services. An example would be a movie theater offering closed captioning devices for hearing impaired customers.

A business will not be required to provide additional services if that would put an undue burden on the business. Similarly, additional services that would result in a fundamental alteration of the goods or services are not required.

There may also be a need to remove barriers for people with disabilities. This usually involves physical alteration of the premises. It is only required when removal of the barrier is readily achievable.

For example, installing an elevator is likely not readily achievable for most businesses. Installing a ramp or a handrail, however, may be considered reasonable and achievable.

Disability Discrimination and Non Physical Disabilities

Not all disabilities are physical. It may not always be readily apparent that an individual is suffering from a non physical disability. Examples include anxiety disorders, other mental illness, cognitive or developmental impairments and autism.

By way of example, slnlaw represented a client and his autistic young adult son. The young man was a regular at a public library where he used to go as a child with his parents. He enjoyed using the computers and seeing people. As a result of his autism, however, he had difficult responding appropriately to social cues.

The library director was uncomfortable with the fact that the young man stared at people. He filed a "no trespass" order with the local police, and banned the young man from the library.

The library was informed that the young man was autistic. It was also informed that the behaviors they were concerned about were simply a behaviors associated with his disability. Nonetheless, they took no action and did not remove or modify the no trespass order.

The library ultimately had to settle the ADA case. The settlement included a payment to the family and agreement to implement autism awareness training for all library staff.

The "Direct Threat" Exception to the ADA

The ADA includes an exception if a disabled individual poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others. This exception is available if the business makes an individualized assessment of risk.

The assessment must include consideration of the best available objective evidence. It also must include consideration of whether reasonable accommodations as described above would mitigate the risk.

How We Can Help

We can help you understand your rights under the discrimination laws and your options for protecting those rights.  You can use the button below to schedule a call back from a member of our team, give us a call at  781-784-2322, or fill out our web form  to let us know a little more about your situation.

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