ADA Compliance Obligations for Businesses: Minimizing Legal Risks and Reputational Damage

Regardless of whether you own or manage a hotel, store, restaurant, hospital, or any other place of business frequented by members of the public, you have an obligation to both (a) remove physical barriers to access at your facility in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”); and (b) make sure that your website is accessible so that it can be read and understood by individuals with disabilities.

Every year, we continue to see an increase in lawsuits alleging, among other things, that restaurants do not have accessible tables, that hotels do not have proper access aisle at the passenger loading zone, and that public restrooms do not have ADA compliant grab bars, paper towel dispensers, or knee clearance under the sink. At the same time, lawsuits continue to be filed in increasing numbers against businesses with websites that are not accessible (e.g., not compatible with screen reader software), and thus not usable by individuals with visual and hearing impairments. Accordingly, to reduce the threat of lawsuits, businesses must have a plan in place to inspect their physical properties, test their website’s accessibility, and implement necessary changes to improve overall compliance with the ADA.

Participants in this webinar will learn:

• What issues to look for when determining whether there are barriers to access at your property
• When to involve legal counsel in conducting such accessibility tests and remediation efforts (relating to either physical barriers or websites) in order to preserve attorney-client privilege
• What specific accessibility-related information should be listed on your website
• Whether your company should include an “Accessibility Statement” on its website and, if so, what information should be included in that statement

This program has been approved by SHRM for 1 hour of HR professional development credit.

This program has been approved for 1 (General) recertification credit hour toward aPHR™, aPHRi™, PHR®, PHRca®, SPHR®, GPHR®, PHRi™ and SPHRi™ recertification through the HR Certification Institute.