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ADA Defense & Compliance Lawyer: New ADA regulations kick in soon. Say goodbye to “grandfathering” under the ADA.

21 November 2011

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ADA Defense & Compliance Lawyers. Is your pool, spa and fitness facility compliant with the ADA 2010 Regulations? If you think your property is grandfathered, then you are wrong! There is no grandfathering.

As we mentioned in our recent posted article “Updating Service Animal Policies of Your Hotel,” the Department of Justice published revised final regulations implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for title III (public accommodations and commercial facilities) on September 15, 2010 (the “2010 Regulations”).

Based on the 2010 Regulations, all “Public Accommodations,” including “Places of Lodging” (hotels, resorts, most timeshares, restaurants, etc.) must bring certain elements of the facilities described below into compliance with the 2010 ADA Standards as of March 15, 2012.

  • No one is exempt.
  • There is no safe harbor.
  • The ADA’s “readily achievable” standard will apply.

 

If you are not already working on bringing your property into compliance, then you should call us to assist you with the creation of a compliance policy.


ADA Alert:
Attention all Owners and Operators of
hotels, restaurants, timeshares and
other places of “public accommodation”

by
Martin Orlick and David Sudeck | ADA Defense & Compliance Lawyers

Certain regulations become effective March 15, 2012. Hopefully, you are already working on bringing your swimming pools, wading pools and spas, golf facilities, fitness facilities, steam rooms, and saunas (and more — see below) into compliance with the 2010 Standards for Accessible Design (specifically the 2010 Standards for Public Accommodations and Commercial Facilities: Title III), which were adopted by the Department of Justice on September 15, 2010 as part of the revised Regulations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). Compliance with the 2010 Standards become mandatory for certain properties and certain elements of all properties as of March 15, 2012.

What is the standard and what facilities are affected? Title III of the ADA requires that each “public accommodation” remove architectural barriers where “readily achievable.” No property will be “grandfathered” (even if built prior to 1990; i.e., the implementation of the ADA). There is no “safe harbor” applicable with respect to those elements in existing facilities that are subject to supplemental requirements (i.e., elements for which there are neither technical nor scoping specifications in the prior 1991 Standards). By way of example only, the following elements of a public accommodation must be modified to the extent “readily achievable” to comply with the 2010 Standards:

  1. Exercise machines and equipment.
  2. Golf facilities.
  3. Miniature golf facilities.
  4. Play areas.
  5. Saunas and steam rooms.
  6. Swimming pools, wading pools, and spas.
  7. Shooting facilities with firing positions.

This is not an exhaustive list, and compliance requires expertise. Under the ADA, all businesses have an on-going obligation to evaluate their properties to bring them into ADA compliance to the extent “readily achievable.”

If you’re not well into your compliance program now, you may have some serious compliance challenges soon! By now, you should be well underway on your system wide ADA compliance program to meet the March 15, 2012 compliance deadline. You should be conducting professional, privileged accessibility surveys of your facilities and developing strategies to prioritize your compliance.

The March 15, 2012 ADA compliance deadline will be here before you know it. Are you confident that your facilities, including reservation systems, websites and Telecommunication Relay Service capabilities would pass Department of Justice or federal court scrutiny? You should be critically evaluating what your organization is doing to meet the impending deadline. Whether you own a single property or a portfolio of properties, you should be conducting a baseline ADA compliance audits of your facilities as part of a good faith effort to bring them into compliance.

Having litigated hundreds of ADA cases for property owners and managers, one thing is clear, the best way to avoid litigation from advocacy groups or the Department of Justice, is to bring your facilities into compliance.

A proactive approach to compliance can help you avoid or minimize liability and expensive governmental and private enforcement. Compliance is the law and as importantly, it is good business.

JMBM has conducted individual property and portfolio-wide ADA compliance audits and helped develop compliance programs for the nation’s leading hotels, financial institutions, restaurant chains and similar business. Consider your ADA compliance strategies and consider JMBM’s ADA expertise to help guide you through the process.

Other ADA defense and compliance resources

You can access the full library of ADA materials on Hotel Law Blog by going to the home page, selecting the tab at the top that says “HOTEL LAW TOPICS”, and then clicking on “ADA Defense & Compliance” in the drop down menu . . . or by clicking here.

Below is a partial listing of articles by JMBM’s ADA Defense Lawyer team:

The ADA Compliance and Defense Guide — Free Download

ADA Defense Lawyer: New ADA standards for website accessibility

FAQs on “service animal” requirements of the ADA. What every hotelier needs to know. Why Uber was sued over service animals.

Starwood Hotels and The Phoenician get an expensive (and unnecessary) lesson in ADA compliance. 

DOJ sues 3 of NYC’s top Zagat-rated restaurants for ADA violations

Charles Schwab settles claim over website accessibility

A blast against frivolous, serial ADA lawsuits in striking the right balance

New ADA compliance standards for golf courses. What do they mean to you?

How to handle an ADA lawsuit . . . and How not to do it

How a recent ADA case affects all hotels but particularly conference centers and meeting hotels

ADA Defense Lawyer Alert: Hilton’s ADA Settlement with the Department of Justice: Precedent-setting agreement delivers more than removing architectural barriers

When disabled hotel guests’ needs go beyond the norm for typical guests, what do hotel owners and managers have to do?

ADA Sweeps by U.S. Department of Justice — Coming to a theater district or Hotel near you soon? How to get ready before it’s too late.

Defending ADA lawsuits. How your hotel website can make you a target for ADA lawsuits

Martin OlrickMartin H. Orlick is one of the top ADA defense lawyers in the country. He has helped hotel, restaurant, retail and other commercial property owners defend more than 500 ADA cases. In addition to defending lawsuits and governmental investigations, Marty’s team of ADA specialists focuses on enterprise-wide ADA compliance and litigation prevention, including facilities, website and operational compliance. He is also is a senior member of the law firm’s Global Hospitality Group®, a partner in the real estate department, and a member of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL). For more information about ADA compliance and defense, contact Marty Orlick at 415.984.9667 or morlick@jmbm.com.
Picture of Jim ButlerJim Butler is a founding partner of JMBM, and the founder and chairman of JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® and Chinese Investment Group®. He is recognized as one of the top hotel lawyers in the world and has authored or co-authored The HMA & Franchise Agreement Handbook, How to Buy a Hotel Handbook, The ADA Compliance and Defense Guide, and The Lenders Handbook. Jim has led the Global Hospitality Group® in more than $87 billion of hotel transactional experience, involving more than 3,900 hotel properties located around the globe. Jim’s team has worked on more than 60 EB-5 projects over the past three years. 310.201-3526 or jbutler@jmbm.com

This is Jim Butler, author of www.HotelLawBlog.com and hotel lawyer, signing off. We’ve done more than $87 billion of hotel transactions and have developed innovative solutions to unlock value from hotels. Who’s your hotel lawyer?


Our Perspective. We represent hotel owners, developers and investors. We have helped our clients find business and legal solutions for more than $125 billion of hotel transactions, involving more than 4,700 properties all over the world. For more information, please contact Jim Butler at jbutler@jmbm.com or +1 (310) 201-3526.

Jim Butler is a founding partner of JMBM, and Chairman of its Global Hospitality Group® and Chinese Investment Group®. Jim is one of the top hospitality attorneys in the world. GOOGLE “hotel lawyer” and you will see why. Jim and his team are more than “just” great hotel lawyers. They are also hospitality consultants and business advisors. They are deal makers. They can help find the right operator or capital provider. They know who to call and how to reach them.

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