11 March 2022 By Admin
As a business or property owner in California, you are probably already aware of the importance of making your facility safe and accessible to everyone. The question is, are you fully compliant? As an ADA concrete contractor serving the Bay Area, around 25% of our work is redoing work that the property owner believed was ADA compliant. This is because the previous contractor did not have the knowledge and experience we do as a dedicated ADA concrete contractor that only performs this type of work.
The Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA as it is more often known, was enacted in 1990 to protect people with disabilities from discrimination. It is a Federal law and applies to :
It is a highly complex piece of legislation covering many different things, but for our purposes, as an ADA concrete contractor, the essential part to focus on is that it makes it illegal for a business or property owner not to ensure people with disabilities have equal access to primary areas of the property. This includes restrooms, parking, entrances, and safe paths of travel.
The ADA covers the entire United States and supersedes any local or state laws. However, California is known to be particularly litigious in terms of ADA violations and not always where warranted. In recent years there has been a real problem of ‘Drive-By’ ADA lawsuits in California. This is where someone drives around trying to spot potential ADA violations and files a lawsuit without ever having any intention of entering that business. This is not the spirit in which the law was intended, but it is, unfortunately, something that business owners do need to protect themselves against by becoming ADA compliant.
Drive-by lawsuits have become particularly prevalent in California because, under California law, ADA violations are considered civil rights violations and carry a minimum statutory penalty of $4,000 plus legal costs. That is over and above any Federal lawsuit that is filed under the ADA. Your business cannot afford to ignore ADA compliance! In addition to this ruling, California also has additional accessibility requirements over and above the ADA guidelines. That means as a business or property owner in the Golden State, you need to not only be ADA compliant but also up to the California Building Standards Code!
The only exemptions to the ADA are religious organizations, private clubs, or any other organization that is historically exempt from Federal civil rights laws. This includes places of worship and schools or daycare centers controlled by religious organizations.
Contrary to popular belief, there are no exemptions for buildings built before the ADA was implemented in 1990. Those properties must also make the necessary upgrades to allow equal access to all.
If you have concerns over whether or not your property is compliant with the ADA and the California Building Standards Code, the best course of action is to book a CASp inspection. This involves a certified individual evaluating the property and producing a report detailing any present violations. This will then give you a place to start when working with an ADA concrete contractor to remove these barriers to accessibility.
Choosing the right ADA concrete contractor to work with is important. As previously mentioned, 25% of our work is redoing work that failed a CASp inspection. This is likely not intentional from the contractor who completed the work; they may have thought they had accomplished ADA compliance but were unaware of changes in guidance.
As a dedicated ADA concrete contractor, ADA work is all we do at Protrk Construction. We are in this industry day in and day out; it’s what we do. We know the precision it takes to meet the required standards, and we guarantee to get it right the first time. The difference between compliance and non-compliance can be a matter of millimeters. We have a finely tuned proprietary process that we have perfected over the past 40 years. We combine the latest technology with our industry experience to ensure our customers benefit from the most cost-effective and time-saving solutions to help make their business ADA compliant.
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Design | Build | Certified
Why Wait to be "Forced" into ADA Compliance. If you are a public business or public property owner, save money, lawsuits, time and headaches by being prepared and avoiding it all in the first place. It’s time to call in the ADA pros. Use Protrk, an ADA construction expert, to Get it Done Right Prior to Forced Compliance.
Call 415-813-9877 today or visit www.protrkconstruction.com for more details.
Being involved in ADA design and construction has given me the opportunity to help a lot of business owners and commercial property owners prevent costly ADA compliant lawsuits.
Owner & Founder Protrk®
Tested & Proven
Working For You
For ADA Compliance
The Right Call