As a business owner, understanding the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and California Building Code is critical to the ongoing operation of your business.
What is the Americans with Disabilities Act and how does it affect me?
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a Federal civil rights law that prohibits the exclusion of people with disabilities from access to a public accommodation’s goods and services. It requires businesses to provide full and equal access to goods and services by their customers with disabilities. To meet the goals of the ADA, the law established architectural standards in The ADA Standards for Accessible Design. These requirements first went into effect on January 26, 1992, and continue for both for-profit and non-profit organizations.
What is California Building Code and how does it affect me?
The California Building Code refers to the California Code of Regulations Title 24, Part 2, Volume 1 & 2 and is more commonly referred to as the CBC.
Chapter 11B of the CBC contains the construction-related accessibility requirements that apply to public accommodations and commercial facilities when newly constructed or altered.
California first adopted its building code in 1982. The building code is updated triennially.
A failure to comply with the accessibility requirements found in the CBC during the construction of a new building or the alteration of an existing building may constitute a violation of a person with disabilities civil rights (under California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act and Disabled Persons Act).
What are my responsibilities under the ADA and California Accessibility Laws?
The Americans with Disabilities Act did not “grandfather” any existing businesses regardless of age. What it did do, was establish different guidelines for businesses built prior to its enactment in 1992. Your responsibilities depend on when the building was constructed and whether or not alterations have taken place.
Facilities built since the enactment of the ADA must fully comply with the requirements of the ADA and the version of California Building Code in effect when the facility was constructed. If elements or features of the facility do not conform they must be altered to comply. These non-conforming features are called barriers to access.
Facilities built prior to the enactment of the ADA must conform to the Readily Achievable Barrier Removal Standard set forth in the ADA. The facility is compared to the requirements of the ADA and those features which do not comply must be altered if it can be done “easily and without much expense”. This is referred to as readily achievable barrier removal.
Facilities undergoing alterations must make the altered space comply with the alteration requirements of the ADA and the current version of California Building Code. In addition, both the ADA and California Building Code require improvements to the route to the altered area and to the restrooms and other amenities serving the altered area.
What are my responsibilities if my building was built prior to the ADA enactment?
Public Accommodations constructed prior to the ADA must remove barriers to access when the removal of the barrier is readily achievable, i.e. easily accomplishable and able to be carried out without much difficulty or expense. This requirement applies to all places of public accommodation regardless of whether they have undergone an alteration or remodel.
If you can demonstrate that fully removing the barrier is not readily achievable, as a business owner you can make your goods and services available through alternative methods.
We can help you determine your responsibilities and what, if any, accommodations and barrier removal is necessary.
What are my responsibilities if my building was built after the ADA enactment?
As a business owner you are responsible for making sure that your place of business is accessible to people with disabilities.
If the last application for a building permit was certified complete on or after January 26, 1992 or if the first certificate of occupancy was issued after January 26, 1993, then a facility must fully comply with the requirements of the ADA Standards.
All buildings and facilities in California are also required to be in full compliance with the requirements of the California Building Code in effect at the time of the construction.
We can help you determine your responsibilities and what, if any, accommodations and barrier removal is necessary.
What if I want to remodel my place of business?
When you remodel the altered area must be readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities to the maximum extent possible. California Building Code goes a step further and requires the altered area to conform to the current California Building Code requirements. You need to survey your site to determine what areas need to be brought into compliance.
In addition to the improvements made to the altered area, the path of travel, restrooms, telephones and drinking fountains serving the altered area must also be made readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities to the maximum extent feasible. Again California Building Code exceeds the requirements of the ADA and requires that these areas must conform to current California Building Code code.
We can help you with site planning, reviewing your construction plans or consulting with you and your architect and/or contractor to determine the best way to remodel your facility.
What if I am occupying a new building?
Your architect and contractor should have designed your building or facility to meet the current requirements of the ADA and CBC, however, experience shows that mistakes are frequently made. If they made a mistake, you are still responsible to comply with the ADA and California Building Code.
You should conduct a site survey to ensure compliance, and take advantage of the opportunity to require your design and construction team to make the repairs.
My facility has barriers. What’s the next step?
Regardless of when your building was constructed, if you have identified barriers you need to address these issues.
Buildings and facilities constructed prior to the ADA must remove barriers to access when the removal of the barrier is readily achievable, i.e. easily accomplishable and able to be carried out without much difficulty or expense. This requirement applies to all places of public accommodation regardless of whether they have undergone an alteration or remodel.
Buildings and facilities constructed after the ADA must fully comply with the ADA, removing all barriers to access, and must conform to the version of California Building Code in affect on the original date of construction.
Once the barriers have been identified, you need to research solutions, prepare a budget and create a business plan that prioritizes barrier removal. The ADA allows you to prioritize your compliance. If there are barriers that are not readily achievable, you need to determine if there is an alternative way to gain accessibility for your customers. In addition, you may be expected to remove the barrier fully at some time in the future.
What are the priorities for barrier removal?
As a business owner you are basically expected to:
- Provide a way for your customers to get into your place of business
- Make your goods and services accessible to your customers
- Make your amenities accessible to your customers (restrooms, pay phones, ATM’s etc)
The priorities for barrier removal, as set by the Department of Justice are:
- Provide access from public sidewalks, parking or public transportation
- Provide access to the place where goods and services are made available to the public.
- Provide access to restroom facilities.
- Provide access to any other facility elements.
We can help you determine your responsibilities and what, if any, accommodations and barrier removal is necessary.
