Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Closing Speed with doors and gates

- *Door Closers and Gate Closers*. Door closers and gate closers must be adjusted so that from an open position of 90 degrees, the time required to move the door to a position of 12 degrees from the latch is 5 seconds minimum. - *Spring Hinges*. Door and gate spring hinges must be adjusted so that from the open position of 70 degrees, the door or gate must move to the closed position in 1.5 seconds minimum

W/C Turning Radius

- *The turning space must be a space of 60 inches diameter minimum. The space must be permitted to include knee and toe clearance*

Window

- *Window openings must only require ≤ 5# of force to open*

Ramps

- *slopes of 1:16 or 1:20 are preferred* - new construction: max slop is 1:12 - Max rise for any run shall be 30 inches - If ramp run rise is >6", handrails are required - 36" clear width is required between handrails - Level landings are required at the top and bottom of each ramp run, change in direction and at the accessible door

Parking 2010 standards

- 1 in 6 accessible spaces must be van accessible -- 11ft wide or 8 ft if adjacent access aisle is 8 ft (or 5ft aisle if shared with standard accessible space -- Van-accessible space, access aisle and vehicular route must have 98" vertical clearance -- 1991 Standards required 1 in 8 - Hospital outpatient facilities must have 10% of parking spaces accessible - Rehab and outpatient PT facilities must have 20% of parking spaces accessible - Slopes of parking spaces not to exceed 1:48

Grab Bars in Bathrooms

- 36" minimum bar back wall - 42" side wall - *33-36" from the floor* - Must extend beyond 12" from the corner of the wall (be secured 12" from corner of wall)

Disability

- A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities - a record of such an impairment - being regarded as having such an impairment. - To be protected by ADA laws, must have a 'Disability'

Fair Housing and Architectural Barriers Act 1968, 1988

- AKA the Fair Housing Act (Title VIII) - Prohibited discrimination for the sale, rental or financing of housing based on race, color, sex, religion or national origin. - Amended in 1988 to prohibit discrimination based on disability or familial status & established new enforcement mechanisms with HUD attorneys

Education of Handicaped Act 1975

- Addressed educational needs of children with disabilities from ages 5-21 - Needed IEP and LRE for students with FAPE - After amended in 1990, now known as: *IDEA* —Individuals with Disabilities Education Act - In order for states to receive federal funds: they must comply with IDEA to assure free appropriate public education (FAPE) 1997 Amendment included Assistive Technology for LRE

Revisions to Title II and III

- Amended by the Department of Justice - Effective March 15, 2011 - Effective Communication - communicate with companions with/without disabilities alike - Must not rely on accompanying person to provide interpretation, except in limited circumstances - Exams and Courses - Places of Lodging—addresses reservation process - Service Animals -- Service animal is defined as a dog individually trained to perform work or tasks to benefit a person with a disability. Other species, trained/untrained are not service animals -- Entities may have to make reasonable modification in policy to allow individually trained miniature horses performing disability-related tasks - Ticketing—guidance on requirements related to ticketing of accessible seating - Wheelchairs & Other Power-Driven Mobility Devices (OPDMD) -- W/C's permitted in all pedestrian areas -- OPDMD incls any mobility device powered by batteries, fuel or other engines, used by individuals with disabilities as their mobility device of choice, whether designed primarily for use by individuals with disabilities or not (such as the Segway® PT)

Reasonable Accommodations

- Any change or adjustment to a job, the work environment, or the way things usually are done that would allow an individual to apply for a job, perform job functions, or enjoy equal access to benefits available to other individuals in the workplace. There are many types of things that may help people with disabilities work successfully - Some of the most common types of accommodations include: -- physical changes, such as installing a ramp or modifying a workspace or restroom -- sign language interpreters for people who are deaf or readers for people who are blind -- providing a quieter workspace or making other changes to reduce noisy distractions -- training and other written materials in an accessible format, such as in Braille, on audio tape, or on computer disk -- TTYs for use with telephones by people who are deaf -- Hardware and software that make computers accessible to people with vision impairments or who have difficulty using their hands -- Time off for someone who needs treatment for a disability

Compliance

- Civil v. Criminal law - Attorney General is allowed to certify under State or Local laws whether or not building codes meet or exceed ADA requirements. - Tax incentives - Real Costs

Title IV - Telecommunications

- Closed captioning for federally funded PSA's - Requires telephone and Internet companies to provide a nationwide system of interstate and intrastate telecommunications relay services (TRS) 24/7 that allows individuals with hearing and speech disabilities to communicate over the telephone, using AT as necessary

2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design

- Compliance with 2010 ADA Standards is required for all new constructions and alterations undertaken as of March 15, 2012 - Not every single part of the facility must be accessible, but those areas that must be accessible are not limited to the following: parking spaces, drinking fountains, bathrooms.

Title II - Public Services (State and Local govnt)

- Covers all state and local governments regardless of size or amount of federal funding. - Title II gives persons with disabilities the right to equal opportunity to benefit from all the services that the governing body has available. - Accessibility necessary and use of AT required (e.g., museums, courts, licensing agencies, public transportation, etc.) - Public Transportation: must comply with requirements for accessibility including purchase new vehicles, obtain accessible buses, remanufacture buses in an accessible manner, or provide paratransit services. - Those with hearing, speech, or vision disabilities: AT must be used to assist with their deficits.

2010 ADA Standards for Accessible design: Safe Harbor

- Elements/spaces/facilities built/altered in compliance with 1991 Standards do not have to be brought into compliance unless undergoing alteration after March 15, 2012. - Parking alterations include re-striping, re-surfacing, etc - Excludes elements not included in 1991 but included as of 2010 (jails, court facilities, recreational facilities)

Title I - Employment

- Employers may not discriminate against an employee on the basis of disability in any part of the hiring or employment process; same opportunities and benefits available to individuals without disabilities - Employers with 15 or more employees - State, federal, private - Equal opportunity employer - Prohibits discrimination during recruitment, hiring, promotion, training, pay, fringe benefits or other privileges of employment - Restricts questions that can be asked in the interview process - Requires reasonable accommodations for qualified applicants or employees without causing "undue hardship"

Doors

- Exterior or Interior doors must open by no greater than 5# of force - Automatic or power assisted doors: not to open back faster than 3 seconds, not to require more than 15# of force to stop - The distance between two hinged or pivoted doors in series and gates in series must be 48"minimum plus the width of doors or gates swinging into the space.

Opening force with doors and gates

- Fire doors must have a minimum opening force -allowable by the appropriate administrative authority. The force for pushing or pulling open a door or gate other than fire doors must be: - Interior hinged doors and gates: 5 pounds maximum - Sliding or folding doors: 5 pounds maximum. - These forces do not apply to the force required to retract latch bolts or disengage other devices that hold the door or gate in a closed position

Penalties for non-compliance

- Individual may file a complaint with the Attorney General - Monetary damages and civil penalties may occur with ranges up to $55,000 for the 1st violation and up to $110,000 for the 2nd

Civil Rights Act 1964

- Made discrimination based on race, religion, sex, and national origin illegal - Outlawed racial segregation in all areas (primarily for schools, housing, and employment) - Barred unequal rights to register to vote - Created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

Curb Ramps

- Must comply with same standards as ramps - Landings at top must be >36" and >48" at bottom of diagonal/corner ramps - Flared sides of curb ramps cannot be steeper than 1:10 unless there is no landing, then it cannot be steeper than 1:12 - Curb ramps and flared sides cannot project into traffic lanes, parking spaces or parking access aisles

Audible Emergency Signals

- Must have an intensity and frequency that can attract the attention of individuals who have partial hearing loss. People over 60 tend to have difficulty perceiving frequencies higher than 10,000 Hz - Avoid continuous or reverberating tones. Select a signal which has a sound characterized by three or four clear tones without a great deal of "noise" in between.

Section 504 Rehabilitation Act 1973

- Non-discrimination - Reasonable Accommodations - National law that protects qualified individuals from being discriminated on based on disability - Created to prohibit discrimination for those offices/organizations that receive federal funding - Foundation for vocational rehab

Elevators

- Not required in facilities less than 3 stories or under 3,000 sq ft/floor unless the facility is a shopping center/mall, health care provider facility, or a public transit station (airport, bus, train). - Call buttons must be raised or flush except in existing elevators, and > ¾" diameter - Visible and audible hallway signals - Floor designations on both jambs of elevator entrance in both tactile characters and braille - Standard tactile characters for emergency stop, alarm, door open, door close, main entry/floor, emergency phone

Protruding Objects

- Objects projecting from walls (e.g., telephones) with their edges between 27 in and 80 in. above the finished floor shall protrude no more than 4 in. into walks, halls, corridors, passageways, or aisles.

Medical Examinations under Title I (Employment)

- Pre-employment physical exam results private by law (employer not privy to results) - However, must have ability to perform job duties - Defines "direct threat", i.e. risk of substantial harm to health or safety of employees with/without a disability

Title III - Public Accommodations & Services Operated by private entities

- Prohibits places of public accommodation from discriminating against individuals with disabilities. Public accommodations include privately-owned, leased or operated facilities like hotels, restaurants, retail merchants, doctor's offices, golf courses, private schools, day care centers, health clubs, sports stadiums, movie theaters, and so on. - Sets the minimum standards for accessibility for alterations and new construction of commercial facilities and privately owned public accommodations. It also requires public accommodations to remove barriers in existing buildings where it is easy to do so without much difficulty or expense. - Directs businesses to make "reasonable modifications" to their usual ways of doing things when serving people with disabilities. - Requires that businesses take steps necessary to communicate effectively with customers with vision, hearing, and speech disabilities - Public accommodations must prohibit exclusion, segregation, or unequal treatment. - Must remove barriers in existing buildings and must be ADA compliant with new construction - AT used when necessary - Courses or examinations must accommodate for disabilities as necessary.

Transportation

- Public Transportation is offered by a state or local government and is covered by Title II of the ADA. Publicly funded transportation includes, but is not limited to, bus and passenger train (rail) service. Rail service includes subways (rapid rail), light rail, commuter rail, and Amtrak. - If transportation is offered by a private company, it is covered by Title III. Privately funded transportation includes, but is not limited to, taxicabs, airport shuttles, intercity bus companies, such as Greyhound, and hotel-provided transportation.

Exclusion to ADA standards

- Public accommodations may exclude a person if - They are a threat to the health or safety of others - If the accommodations alter the true nature of the services provided

Accessibility NOT required on

- Raised areas used primarily for purposes of security - Non-occupied spaces accessed only by ladders, catwalks, or crawl spaces - Single occupant structures accessed only by a passageway that is below grade or that is elevated above standard curb height - Water slides - Raised areas such as boxing rings - Animal containment areas that are not public

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

- Signed into law on July 26, 1990; amended in 2008 - *Wide-ranging civil rights law* that prohibits, under certain circumstances, discrimination based on disability. - Affords similar protections against discrimination as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 - Covers all areas of public life, including employment, schools, transportation, public and private facilities that are open to the general public - discrimination based on race, religion, sex, national origin, and other characteristics illegal.

Drug and Alcohol abuse under Title I (Emplyoment)

- Tests for illegal drugs - Same performance standards as other employees

Title V - Miscellaneous Provisions

- The final title contains a variety of provisions relating to the ADA as a whole, including its relationship to other laws, state immunity, its impact on insurance providers and benefits, prohibition against retaliation and coercion, illegal use of drugs, and attorney's fees. - This title also provides a list of certain conditions that are not to be considered as disabilities. - (a) Homosexuality and Bisexuality.—For purposes of the definition of "disability" in section 3(2), homosexuality and bisexuality are not impairments and as such are not disabilities under this Act. - (b) Certain Conditions.'Under this Act, the term "disability" shall not include— - (1) transvestism, transsexualism, pedophilia, exhibitionism, voyeurism, gender identity disorders not resulting from physical impairments, or other sexual behavior disorders; - (2) compulsive gambling, kleptomania, or pyromania; or - (3) psychoactive substance use disorders resulting from current illegal use of drugs.

T-shaped space turning radius

- The turning space shall be a T-shaped space within a 60 inch square minimum with arms and base 36 inches wide minimum. Each arm of the T shall be clear of obstructions 12 inches minimum in each direction and the base shall be clear of obstructions 24 inches minimum. The space shall be permitted to include knee and toe clearance complying with section 306 only at the end of either the base or one arm.

5 Titles / Areas of Public Life

- Title I—Employment - Title II—Public Services: State & Local Government - Title III—Public Accommodations & Services Operated by Private Entities - Title IV—Telecommunications - Title V—Miscellaneous Provisions

Parking Space Requirement

- Total 1-15 = 1 accessible - Total 26-50 = 2 accessible - Total 51-75 = 3 accessible - Total 76-100 = 4 accessible - Total 101-150 = 5 accessible - Total 151-200 = 6 accessible