Americans with Disabilities Act: Public Accommodation in the United States
Americans with Disabilities Act: Public Accommodation
Title III of the ADA prohibits all places of public accommodation from discriminating against people with disabilities. A place of public accommodation is a private business that offers goods, services, or activities to the general public. Title III provides an exhaustive list of categories of public accommodations. These categories are: places of lodging, establishments serving food or drinks, places of exhibition or entertainment, places of public gathering, sales or rental establishments, service establishments, public transportation facilities, places of public display or collection, places of recreation or exercise, places of education, and social services establishments. Private membership clubs and religious entities (such as churches and religiously affiliated schools) are not subject to these ADA requirements.
Under Title III, places of public accommodation must provide auxiliary aids and services when necessary to ensure effective communication with people with disabilities. They must remove architectural barriers in existing facilities when it is readily achievable to do so – for example, by installing wheelchair ramps. Furthermore, these places must ensure that all modifications and all new buildings are readily accessible to and usable by people with disabilities. Businesses may not impose surcharges on people with disabilities to cover the cost of providing accessibility. (1)
In this Section: Americans with Disabilities Act, Americans with Disabilities Act Provisions, Americans with Disabilities Act: Employment, Americans with Disabilities Act: Public Services, Americans with Disabilities Act: Public Accommodation, Americans with Disabilities Act: Telecommunications, Americans with Disabilities Act History and Americans with Disabilities Act Supreme Court Decisions.