ADA Law Explained: What are common types of ADA violations?
What Is the ADA?
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal law designed to protect individuals with disabilities from discrimination. It aims to ensure that those with disabilities have equal access to employment, public accommodations, and various other areas of life.
Under the ADA, an individual with a disability is defined as
- a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities,
- a person who has a history or record of such impairment, or
- a person who is perceived by others as having such impairment.
The California State Law definition of disability, found in the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), is even broader: It applies to all persons who have a physical or mental condition that limits (rather than “substantially” limits) their major life activity.
Common Types of ADA Violations
Physical And Facility Violations
Common ADA physical and facility violations include but are not limited to absent or deficient:
- Ramps: California building rules typically mandate a minimum width of 48 inches for accessible ramps, stricter than the federal baseline;
- Disabled parking spots: Facilities must designate accessible parking, with specific ratios requiring at least one out of every eight accessible spaces to be van-accessible;
- Doors and entrances: Doorways need to provide adequate clear width, and accessible hardware must be easy to operate with one hand without tight grasping or twisting;
- Compliant restrooms: Among other issues, restroom and stall doors must provide a minimum clear width of 36 inches (stricter than the federal 32-inch minimum).
Employment And Workplace Violations
Both federal and state law prohibit discrimination in the hiring process and in the workplace treatment of persons with disabilities. Certain situations that can give rise to litigation under the ADA or the FEHA include:
- Making improper medical inquiries;
- Screening out applicants due to assumptions about their disability;
- Refusing reasonable accommodations, such as schedule changes, or bringing in certain equipment and technology like screen-reading software, or adjustable standing desks;
- Retaliation: For example, cutting hours, or demoting, in response to an employee complaint about discrimination;
- Constructive termination, namely making working conditions so intolerable, hostile, or discriminatory that a reasonable person would feel forced to resign;
Digital Accessibility
With more and more businesses and services moving online, accessibility has become a central issue. Specifically, websites that are not ADA-compliant can create significant barriers for people with disabilities, leading to legal challenges. In recent years, the number of ADA lawsuits related to website accessibility has increased significantly, particularly in states like California. Businesses and organizations across the country are finding that their websites may unintentionally violate the rights of disabled individuals under the ADA.
California leads the nation in ADA website accessibility lawsuits, with the trend intensifying in recent years. In 2023, the passage of California Assembly Bill 1757 placed even more focus on this issue. This law required all websites in California to adhere to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), a global set of standards aimed at improving web accessibility for all users, including those with disabilities. Although the bill failed to pass, the Department of Justice has issued a final rule requiring compliance with WCAG for all state and local public entities by 2028.
How the Law Offices of Ali Taheripour Can Help
Navigating the complexities of disability compliance, particularly with respect to websites, can be daunting. While we recognize the vital role that legislation such as the ADA plays in protecting individual rights, we believe that businesses, particularly smaller, family-owned establishments, are equally entitled to a meaningful defense against unwarranted or disproportionate claims. Whether your business has been contacted regarding an impending ADA claim, or you have already been served with a lawsuit, The Law Offices of Ali Taheripour is here to help.
Contact the Law Offices of Ali Taheripour today to schedule a consultation.