Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Many changes have occurred in recent years to help protect businesses from frivolous lawsuits concerning the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  Unfortunately they require you to take positive action on the part of the business to take advantage of the benefits to their full extent.  CIOMA and the Pacific Oil Conference (POC) have presented several workshops on these updates over the last few years, but the topic certainly deserves even more attention.

 

There are many advocates in California who seek to assist you in compliance by finding violations at your facilities and threaten to sue your business for the violation.  They claim the violation denied a disabled person access to your business and are seeking reparations.  They are willing to settle the matter for a typical sum of $5,000 in lieu of a lawsuit.  Many businesses are unprepared for the potential of a lawsuit, so they begrudgingly pay off the party to make the problem go away.  If you have been a victim, or want to avoid the process, you need to take advantage of the new requirement in the California Code of Regulation, Title 21.  Have your facility inspected by a CASP (Certified Access Specialist Program) inspector.  Their job as certified inspectors is to help you get into compliance before you have trouble. 

 

I have listed a couple of issues which businesses are routinely targeted for in the hopes that you are able to look at your facility and see just how much effort it will take to pass a CASP inspection.  These items are just a few of the many items you can get into trouble for.

 

Parking spaces (This is a popular one for advocates to come after because they can evaluate

your parking spaces from a satellite photo. So what are the big targets for parking?)

·       Signage – you must have a Caltrans R100B sign located at each entrance to the property, or located at each handicap parking space.  Don’t forget to fill in the required information regarding where vehicles can be claimed at and the telephone number with 1-inch high letters (note: the letter itself needs to be 1-inch tall, not the decal).

·       Number of spaces – make sure you have the correct number of handicap spaces.  You must have 1 handicap space for every 25 regular parking spaces.  Remember to make sure you have the correct number of van accessible spaces as well.

·       Slope – the entire space and access aisle must be no more than 2% slope, no exceptions.

·       Size – The parking space must be 9 feet from center of line to center of line wide, and the aisle must be 5 feet wide for standard handicap spaces and 8 feet wide for van spaces.

·       Stencils – There needs to be a handicap symbol at the foot of the space with the profile at 36 inches tall.  Also the words "no parking" needs to be stenciled at the foot of the aisle with 12 inch high letters AND in a contracting color.  The stripes need to be 36 inches in the center and in a contrasting color.

 

Doors

·       Doors must have grab handles, rather than knobs.

·       Required pulling force to open the door cannot exceed 5 lbs.

·        Must have a level platform in for doors 48 inches by 36 inches not exceeding 2% slope.

·       The opening, when the door is open to 90 degrees, but be a minimum of 32 inches.

·       The door must have 12 inches of clearance on the latch side of the door on the push side, more for the pull side.

·       If equipped with a closer, the door must not close faster than 5 seconds from 90 degrees to 10 degrees.

 

As you can see, these are just a few of the items, for two areas.  There are many more rules for fixture heights, reach distances, protruding objects, card readers, counters, store product, ADA keypads and bathrooms.  It is critical to be proactive and get a CASP inspection.  Many business owners think that because the City inspected the facility when it was built that they are covered, WRONG.  The City does not inspect facilities for ADA compliance, only compliance with City standards.  Protect yourself, educate yourself, and cover your bottom line.

 

For more information regarding specifics on California’s CASP program click here.

 

Article Provided By:

Brian Decker

DeWitt Petroleum

POC 2014 Speaker: "TEN Ways to Prevent Fuel Theft"