ADA
June 8, 2004

Q:  Steve, we are moving into a new building and I was wondering whether I need to make it ADA compatible. Our current store is already handicapped accessible. Thank you. -- Rodney, Nantucket, Mass.

A:  I hate to sound like the lawyer I am, but — it depends. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal civil rights law that prohibits excluding people with disabilities from everyday activities, such as going to a movie, eating a meal at a restaurant or shopping for clothes at a store.

The law applies equally to businesses large and small. If you own, operate, lease, or lease to the public, a business that serves the public, then you have obligations under the ADA.

However, Congress, when it passed the law, understood that small businesses would have a harder time complying with the law than larger businesses that have more money, and wrote several features into the law intended to make small business compliance doable.

First, ADA requirements for building built before 1993 are less stringent than those built after 1993. Most buildings built before 1993 were not built to accommodate people with disabilities, including those in wheelchairs or who are blind. Buildings built after 1993 have to meet ADA standards. While a small-business owner is not required to redo a building if it was built more than 11 years ago, you are expected to do what you can.

The second provision of the law that you need to know is that you must remove those physical barriers which are "readily achievable." That is, you must remove barriers to access that can "easily be accomplished without too much difficulty or expense."

The law takes into account that what is "readily achievable" for a small business is different from that of a large business.

So what is expected of the small business?

Architectural barriers removed: Physical features that limit or prevent people from obtaining your goods or services need to be altered where financially feasible. Aisles can be widened to accommodate wheelchairs (typically, 36 inches is required), and parking spaces can be widened (van accessible handicap spaces should be at least eight feet wide.)

Entrances should be accessible: If you have a step or two leading up to your place of business, access by someone in a wheelchair is obviously difficult. However, if you have an alternate entrance that doesn't have a step, and you also offer that as an entrance, you comply with the law and you didn't spend a penny (though you must provide a sign explaining where the alternate entrance is.) If an alternate entrance is not possible, and adding a ramp financially unfeasible then you should offer your services in alternate way, if possible (for example, a restaurant offers home delivery.)

Sales and service counters: When sales and service counters are provided, the counters must be accessible if doing so is readily achievable. If possible, counters should be no more than 36 inches high. Food service counters should be no more than 34 inches.

Policies and procedures: You need to review policies and change any that exclude or limit participation by people with disabilities. A restaurant cannot limit seating of disabled patrons to one area, for instance. Another example: You must allow service dogs on your premises.

If all of this sounds daunting, remember that you are only expected to do that which is readily achievable. To assist you, section 44 of the IRS code allows tax credits up to $5,000 for ADA improvements for businesses with revenue less than $1 million. All businesses are also offered a tax deduction up to $15,000 a year for ADA improvements.

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Today's tip: To get answers about your ADA questions, call the ADA information line at 800-514-0301.

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