Additional ADA Tips
The best of the rest
Casos
Escenario 1: Is that really a safety issue?
A youth wheelchair basketball team decides to have a team celebration dinner out following a tournament. The parents choose the Tasty Burger restaurant because it is affordable for a group of hungry kids and the food is good. When they arrive, the restaurant is only about half full, but the host tells the parents that the restaurant cannot accommodate the team because so many wheelchairs would pose a fire hazard to patrons and staff.
Liam, a waiter at the restaurant, overhears the exchange. He happens to have a sister who uses a power wheelchair and he recognizes that denying service to the youth team is not only unfair, but could cause legal trouble for Tasty Burger.
Piénselo. ¿Qué debe suceder?
Liam catches the attention of the host and has a quick conversation with him explaining that there is a civil rights law, the ADA, that says individuals using wheelchairs should have the same access to a business as anyone else.
Liam goes on to point out that there isn’t really a fire hazard here. The team can be accommodated by moving some tables together and taking away any extra chairs to make space.
The host agrees to Liam’s idea and tells the upset parents that Tasty Burger will be able to accommodate the team after all. The host later learns from management that Liam was indeed correct in his suggestion.
La conclusión
A decision that an individual or group of individuals with disabilities poses a direct threat to others must be based on actual evidence and not on an assumption or stereotype. An example of an assumption is the host’s idea that serving the team would create a safety risk. In fact, the safety risk is about the same as the risk of any other group. (And even if it was the case that the risk was greater, a business would need to look at offering modifications to lessen the risk.)
Following the ADA means that all employees in a business know about the law and the basics of what it requires. Sometimes, individual employees are able to improve a business’s customer service for people with disabilities, like Liam in this story. However, the best results happen when everyone is on the same page.
Escenario 2: Is this really necessary?
Maya and Nina want to get together on Saturday to relax after a long work week. Maya suggests that they treat themselves to manicures and pedicures at the new nail salon. That sounds good to Nina.
Maya calls the salon to make sure they are accessible because Nina uses a power wheelchair due to paraplegia. Maya is told that the salon is accessible, and she schedules appointments for both of them.
When they arrive at the salon, they have no trouble with physical access. Nina is told, however, that she has to transfer to a pedicure chair to have her toes done. This is a problem as Nina cannot independently transfer to the pedicure chair.
Piénselo. ¿Qué debe suceder?
Colleen is an employee at the nail salon. She knows that requiring customers to sit in the pedicure chair is mandatory, but she realizes that Nina’s disability prevents her from doing that. If Nina doesn’t mind, Colleen is glad to give Nina her pedicure in her wheelchair as an alternative. Colleen can also clear enough room near one of the salon’s chairs so Nina and Maya can talk while they both have their nails done.
Colleen offers this proposal, and Nina and Maya appreciate the flexibility and thoughtfulness.
La conclusión
When setting up the policy or practice for a service, keep in mind what is truly necessary. For the salon employees, seating a customer in a pedicure chair makes the process easier and more convenient. However, it is possible to give a pedicure to a client in another type of chair, such as a power wheelchair.
Applying a rigid policy can cause difficulty for following the ADA. An inflexible eligibility criteria (such as sitting in a pedicure chair) tends to screen out people with disabilities. However, flexible thinking and a willingness to change how things are normally done is often all that is needed to allow someone with a disability to enjoy a business’s goods and services.
Los escenarios, incluidos todos los nombres, personajes e incidentes descritos en esta página, son ficticios. No se pretende ni se debe inferir ninguna identificación con personas reales (vivas o fallecidas), lugares, edificios o productos.