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Small Business Owner Guides to ADA Requirements
Is your business ADA Compliant?
ADA Guidelines for Small Businesses
The attached guide presents an informal overview of some basic ADA requirements for small business owners that provide goods or services to the public.
The Americans with Disabilities Act
The American with Disabilities Act or ADA, is a Federal civil rights law that prohibits the exclusion of people with disabilities from everyday activities, such as buying an item at the store, watching a movie in a theater, enjoying a meal at a local restaurant, exercising at the local health club or having the car serviced at a local garage. To meet the goals of the ADA, the law established requirements for private businesses of all sizes. These requirements first went into effect on January 26, 1992, and continue for both for-profit and non-profit organizations.
For small businesses, compliance with the ADA is not difficult. To help businesses with their compliance efforts, Congress established a technical assistance program to answer questions about the ADA. Answers to your questions about the ADA are a phone call away.
The Department of Justice operates a toll-free ADA Information Line (800.514.0301 voice and 800.514.0383 TDD). In addition, tax credits and deductions were established that can be used annually to offset many costs of providing access to people with disabilities.
In recognition that many small businesses can not afford to make significant physical changes to their stores or places of business to provide accessibility to wheelchair users and other people with disabilities, the ADA has requirements for existing facilities built before 1993 that are less strict than for ones built after early 1993 or modified after early 1992.
Title II of the ADA applies to State and local governments, including towns and township, school districts, water districts, special purpose districts, and other small local governments and instrumentalities. It prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in all services, programs, and activities provided by towns. Thus, people with disabilities must have an equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from a town's services, programs and activities. To accomplish this, the ADA sets requirements for town facilities, new construction and alterations, communications with the public, and policies and procedures governing town programs, services and activities.
*Please note, title II applies to all State and local government entities, regardless of size, including State governments, local governments, special government entities such as transportation authorities, school districts, water districts and other special purpose districts.
