Greetings all

The modification of the Department of Justice’s ADA for 2010 and the introduction of the new California Building Code of 2010 effective as of Jan 1, 2011 has given all of us a pause. But that’s our issue and not yours. Keeping on top of accessibility issues is a full time job, but that’s why we are here.

Of some interest to many of you may be forth coming issues with accessibility. The Department of Justice has been busy with new legislation seeking to more solidly define the scoping requirements for access for the disabled. This has been long in coming. People with special needs have special needs — and it’s hard for many of us, even those of us in the health industry to understand what it’s actually like to have needs different from your average patient. The health industry has been very slow to adapt to 21st century standards when it comes to providing adequate health care for the disabled. Often times, health care facilities may not have a gurney for disabled patients — those that do often don’t have staff who know how to use a gurney or how to treat a patient. This can endanger a patient’s life, making for an uncomfortable situation where a patient may find themselves in the hands of staff who don’t know how to treat them. No one wants to feel like they are a piece of meat, or to lose control over how or where they can be taken.

I write this by way of example. Here is a webpage: Notice of Advanced Hearings on Proposed Rulings.

On this page is covered are laws regarding Web Information and Services (what is to be accessible and how), standards for movie captioning for the deaf and video description for the blind, standards for future 9-1-1 issues and standards for the accessibility of equipment and furniture. This last one is especially important for business owners as items covered include:

Medical Equipment and Furniture

Electronic and Information Technology such as ticket kiosks
and point-of-sale devices

Beds in Accessible Guest Rooms and Sleeping Rooms

Exercise Equipment and Furniture

Accessible Golf Cars

Beds in Nursing Homes and Other Care Facilities

What’s significant about putting this online is that often you business owners out there, complain that you don’t get a say in these laws. They get passed and you don’t know about them or who decided these issues. I think many business owners think that a bunch of disabled people sit around with law makers and try and make trouble for business owners. This isn’t true, these discussions need to be balanced. Many disabled individuals are as much ‘in the dark’ as your common business administrator about these things. That’s why these discussions are public. Everyone involved needs to come to the table.

Here is your chance to be ‘in’ on the discussion. Take advantage of the transparency of government! We get blind-sighted by these things when we have tunnel vision in running our business. A business isn’t really about just offering a good or service, it’s about interfacing with society. How do you handle customers, how do you meet the needs of the public, how does the public come in and become a customer…

It’s so important to not forget: what your business means to others is as important as what others mean to your business.

Interesting story about Morse Merban and Thomas Mundy.

LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Serial plaintiffs are targeting Southern California businesses, suing for alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Your tax dollars are paying for hundreds of these lawsuits.

No one disputes that the ADA is an important and valuable law. But some disabled plaintiffs have turned this type of litigation into a full-time, high-paying job.

Kathie Reece-McNeil owns the historic Aztec Hotel in Monrovia.

“Marilyn Monroe stayed here, Clark Gable,” said Reece-McNeil.

When the hotel was slapped with a fraudulent ADA lawsuit, Reece-McNeil fought back.

She could have settled the suit for $18,000. Instead she hired an attorney and won the case. But she paid a steep price in attorney fees.

“Ultimately it ended up being in excess of $100,000 dollars,” said Reece-McNeil.

“This is more profitable than narcotics, literally,” said attorney David Warren Peters.

Peters is with Lawyers Against Lawsuit Abuse.

“You can make $12,000 a day just eating three meals out,” said Peters.

(Continue…)

This could happen to you!  Read our ADA FAQ for more information.  For information about assessing your site yourself or hiring an ADA expert, please look at our ADA Consultation page.  Or call us at 866 982 3212 x2 or email us at help@ytaccess.com

It didn’t take long to figure out why a man in a wheelchair had been snapping photographs of the aisles, counters, shelves and bathrooms inside eateries and watering holes in a fashionable eastern Long Beach enclave.

On June 30, Powell’s Sweet Shoppe; Open Sesame, a Lebanese restaurant; and Panama Joe’s Grill & Cantina were served with lawsuits on behalf of Eric Moran alleging that they were in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act. The violations, each of which could cost a minimum $4,000 in damages, ranged from lacking a restroom grab bar to a restaurant chair out in an aisle.

(Continue…)

For updated information on ADA legislation look at California Chamber’s ADA Reform page.

Also read more about CASp consultants.

This could happen to you!  Read our ADA FAQ for more information.  For information about assessing your site yourself or hiring an ADA expert, please look at our ADA Consultation page.  Or call us at 866 982 3212 x2 or email us at help@ytaccess.com

The new federal standards for the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law by Obama yesterday on the 20th Anniversary of the signing of the ADA by the first George Bush.

You can see Obama’s speech below:

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Good evening, everybody. (Applause.) Thank you so much. Well, we have a gorgeous day to celebrate an extraordinary event in the life of this nation. Welcome, all of you, to our White House. And thank you, Robert, for the wonderful introduction. It is a pleasure and honor to be with all of you on the 20th anniversary of one of the most comprehensive civil rights bills in the history of this country — the Americans with Disabilities Act. (Applause.)

(Obama’s Speech on the ADA continued…)

You can also read the updated guidelines as they apply to the older regulations. Basically the ANSI/IBC standards of 2004 which incorporated the ADAAG 2004 have been absorbed into the Revised Standards of 2010. Facilities which are going to undergo construction 18 months from this date need to comply with the 2010 standards IF they have not yet complied with the 1991 standards. You can see the text directly below.

Title 2 ADA regulations for 2010

Many of the 2010 requirements are stricter. A major difference is that the 1991 requirement for van accessible space be 1 for every 8 total accessible spaces has changed to 1 for every 6. Another difference is the increase of space required for a side transfer in a single user toilet stall from 3 feet to 5 feet. These new standards reinforce, add or revoke existing 1991 standards. If you are thinking of updating to these new standards, you may not have to. There is a short window for businesses to comply to the 1991 standards before the 2010 take effect. Where the 2010 standards revoke the 1991 standards we can point those out to save you the time and effort of complying to standards which will no longer be necessary. We can help you navigate these and more.

If you have any questions, of course feel free to email us at help@ytaccess.com or call our toll free number at 866-982-3212×2.

“Businesses that violate the Americans with Disabilities Act, even if unintentionally, can be sued for damages, the California Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Thursday.

“Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar concluded that was a reasonable interpretation of the state Legislature’s decision in 1992 to adopt Civil Code §51(f) to amend the state’s Unruh Civil Rights Act to include violations of the ADA. While the ADA provides only injunctive relief whether the harm was intentional or not, Section 52 of the Unruh Act provides for damages of at least $4,000 or as much as three times the actual harm.”

link: Law.com

Two large changes loom in the horizon for disability access in California. President-Elect Barack Obama plans to start a Disability Department to help integrate disabled Americans into mainstream society. Currently, a large number of Americans who have disabilities are barred from attending educational institutions or seeking employment with small businesses because 1) disabled Americans stand to potentially lose their government funding if they enter the work force and 2) small businesses can’t offer the comprehensive health care coverage that the disabled often need. Obama intends to change all this. His comprehensive plans include providing incentives for businesses to hire the disabled, incentives for businesses to provide increased health-care coverage and to fully fund the Disabilities Education Act. Combined with the ADA Amendment Act of 2008 which expands the definition of who is legally considered disabled, we can all expect a greater level of scrutiny applied to disabilities in general. With more disabled citizens out on the streets, going to school, going to work, and going out to lunch, there will be an definite increase in the need for public access on all walks of life.

The second change comes from the state level. Recently, Governor Schwarzenegger and the California State Assembly passed S.B. 1608, which is meant to curtail frivolous lawsuits and encourage business owners to make their buildings accessible. S.B. 1608 also has provisions for requiring cities and building departments to retain accessibility experts in order to ensure that the city become and maintain its accessible features. For those leasing or thinking about leasing, accessibility inspections become even more imperative. Instead of inheriting a building full of accessibility barriers, many business owners and landlords are taking the extra step to comply with the ADA. However, incomplete knowledge can give a false sense of security that still leaves your business open to a lawsuit.

For example, did you know that under California and Federal Law you need two signs for the restroom door?  Or that the accessible parking space must be on a level surface closest to the main entrance?

That’s why more and more businesses are turning to professional accessibility consultants before opening their doors. Protect yourself by requesting an accessibility assessment today. For questions, call Yours Truly Accessibility at (866) 982-3212.