Are Small Businesses Required to Provide ADA Accommodations for Blind Customers?

If you are blind or have low vision, or if you have another disability according to the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), you have a right to be able to access, use, shop at, and employ the services of a business in South Florida the same as any other customer. In practice, that means businesses must have accommodations in place to ensure that you are able to patronize the business in person just as a customer would be able to who is not blind, and to ensure that you are able to use the business’s website just as a customer who is not blind. If a business is not accessible to blind customers or customers with low vision, it may be breaking the law.

Yet as you may know, many federal laws that protect people against unlawful discrimination only apply to businesses of a certain size. As such, you may be wondering: are small businesses actually required to provide ADA accommodations? For customers, the answer is yes. Our Palm Beach Gardens ADA violation lawyers can explain in more detail.

Title III of the ADA and Blind Customers

The ADA in general is designed to make sure that anyone with a disability has equal access to participate in daily life, and to ensure that they have equal access to facilities, businesses, and opportunities. Yet there are different parts of the ADA, and they have distinct applications. Title III of the ADA specifically applies to all places of “public accommodation,” which essentially means any business or non-profit entity that serves the public in any capacity. Title III requires places of public accommodation to ensure that their businesses are accessible. It does not matter if the business has only one employee or hundreds of employees; the business must comply with the ADA.

Distinction for Title I of the ADA and Blind Employees or Job Applicants

Unlike Title III of the ADA, which provides protections in all places of public accommodation for customers regardless of the business’s or non-profit’s size, Title I of the ADA, which provides protections against disability discrimination to job applicants and employees, only applies to businesses with 15 or more employees.

In practice, this means that essentially all businesses must comply with the ADA under Title III to ensure that their businesses are accessible to disabled customers. At the same time, however, only businesses with 15 or more employees are required to comply with Title I of the ADA. It is important to understand the distinction since many people know Title I only applies to businesses with at least 15 people, and thus often assume that the same is true of Title III.

Contact a Palm Beach Gardens ADA Violation Lawyer

Were you denied service, or did you have trouble patronizing a business because it was inaccessible for blind customers? If so, it does not matter how small or large the business is; you may be able to file an ADA claim. It is important to discuss your circumstances with an experienced Palm Beach Gardens ADA violation attorney at Sconzo Law Office as soon as possible. Contact our firm today to learn more about how we assist members of the blind community in South Florida.

Sources:

ada.gov/topics/title-iii/

eeoc.gov/statutes/titles-i-and-v-americans-disabilities-act-1990-ada