Comment NumberOL-100299
Organization
Received04/20/2005 04:25:31 PM
Commenter
First NameLast NameState/Province
EdwynaBarstowNY
AgencyU. S. Department of Justice
Docket IDCRT Docket No. 2004-DRS01
RuleNondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in State and Local Government Services; Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability by Public Accommodations and in Commercial Facilities
AttachmentsNo Attachments

CommentsAnswers to Specific Questions

General Comments
I appreciate the opportunity to comment on this proposed revision to the Americans with Disabilities Act Standards and encourage the Department of Justice to consider the special challenges that small businesses would face under the proposed new standards. Although the ADA is national in scope, a small-business owner wishing to renovate his or her business must work through numerous city, state and federal building requirements. To truly ensure compliance, I would have to hire an attorney or ADA consultant who is familiar with the intricacies of the local building codes, zoning laws, and state and federal ADA requirements. Small businesses like me cannot afford this expense. Small businesses that are in compliance with the current ADA regulations should be exempted from any rule. Businesses like mine have spent significant amounts of money to meet existing ADA requirements. Significant additional costs would be incurred by my business and other small businesses unless the Department of Justice exempts small businesses that are already meeting current standards. The new ADA requirements contain changes that could affect many small businesses. In particular, the new requirement that there be an accessible circulation path within employee work areas will cost businesses a lot of money in construction and alteration costs. These modifications will lessen the space actually available for work areas and may force businesses like mine to cut back on the services we offer. The Department of Justice must exempt employee work areas from any requirement that deals with removing barriers. The Department of Justice must provide clearer guidance on what is required under the ADA barrier removal requirements. For existing businesses, removing barriers for disabled persons is both difficult and expensive due to differing opinions of what constitutes a barrier, the lack of useful guidance on what kind of barrier can be easily removed, and discrepancies between laws. DOJ should adopt regulations that provide certainty and direction to small businesses about how much they must spend on barrier removal in order to comply with the ADA. Currently, the slightest deviation from ADA guidelines can prove disastrous for a small business that is targeted by a plaintiffs trial lawyer. Many small businesses have become the targets of ADA lawsuits designed to generate quick settlements and/or the award of attorneys fees. A small business could spend tens thousands of dollars defending a lawsuit even though it has complied with the ADA. The high cost associated with lawsuits resulting from confusion over ADA requirements does nothing to improve access for disabled customers. The Department of Justice must prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis to assess the significant economic impact to small business as mandated by Congress in the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) and the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement and Fairness Act (SBREFA). DOJ should be certain that there is not a less costly way to achieve the ADAs goals.