Rep. Calvert Introduces the ACCESS Act
Today, Representative Ken Calvert (R-Corona) introduced the ACCESS Act, H.R. 994, legislation designed to help small businesses comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
"The Americans with Disabilities Act was created to protect the rights and access of disabled Americans, it was not created to penalize our small businesses," said Rep. Calvert. "In recent years we have seen a disturbing trend of frivolous lawsuits being filed against small businesses with the goal of obtaining financial settlements. Our goal should be improving access for disabled Americans to go about their day, not improving access for trial lawyers to the pockets of our small business owners."
The ACCESS (ADA Compliance for Customer Entry to Stores and Services) Act would alleviate the financial burden small businesses are facing, while still fulfilling the purpose of the ADA. Any person aggrieved by a violation of the ADA would provide the owner or operator with a written notice of the violation, specific enough to allow such owner or operator to identify the barrier to their access. Within 60 days the owner or operator would be required to provide the aggrieved person with a description outlining improvements that would be made to address the barrier. The owner or operator would then have 120 days to remove the infraction. The failure to meet any of these conditions would allow the suit to go forward.
The purpose of the ADA is to ensure appropriate remedial action for those who have suffered harm. Although there are times when litigation by harmed individuals is necessary, there are an increasing number of lawsuits brought under the ADA that are based upon a desire to achieve financial settlements rather than to achieve the appropriate modifications. ADA lawsuits are especially prevalent in California. According to the California Chamber of Commerce, California has 40% of the nation's ADA lawsuits but only 12% of the country's disabled population. These lawsuits place exorbitant legal fees on small businesses and often times they are unaware of the specific nature of the allegations brought against them.
The following members are Original Cosponsors of the ACCESS Act:
Paul Cook (CA-8)
Jeff Denham (CA-10)
Duncan Hunter (CA-50)
Darrell Issa (CA-49)
Lynn Jenkins (KS-2)
Doug LaMalfa (CA-1)
Tom McClintock (CA-4)
Dana Rohrabacher (CA-48)
Ed Royce (CA-39)
Mike Simpson (ID-2)
David Valadao (CA-21)
Lynn Westmoreland (GA-3)