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Rep. Calvert Introduces the ACCESS Act to Help Small Businesses Comply with ADA Law

January 5, 2021

Today, Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-42) announced he has introduced the ACCESS Act, H.R. 77, legislation designed to help small businesses comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

"Small business owners face tremendous challenges to keep the doors open and should be protected from serial litigants trying to exploit laws, like the ADA, for personal gain," said Rep. Calvert. "We can protect the disabled, small businesses, and the jobs they create by passing the ACCESS Act and giving owners a small window of time to address any disabled access issues. Let's protect disabled Americans without exposing our businesses on Main Street to costly and unnecessary lawsuits."

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.