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Enabling the Americans with Disabilities
Act
By Bob Andelman
(Written in Jan. 1991 for Association Meetings
magazine)
A year after the Americans with Disabilities
Act took effect, meeting planners are getting the hang of it.
But questions still remain
Hands-on experience is teaching most meeting planners that
they do not have to be miracle workers in order to meet the requirements
of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). What the Act does
demand is flexibility. And it doesn't hurt to be able think 20
minutes into the future.
Persons with all kinds of disabilities - 43-million Americans
who deal with everything from hearing and sight impairments to
wheelchair users - must be accommodated under the Act, which
took effect on January 26, 1992. It guarantees them access to
employment, public transportation, accommodations and telecommunications.
Title III of the Act, which particularly impacts the meetings
industry, prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability.
It requires new public facilities to be designed, constructed
and altered for greater standards of accessibility. And existing
public facilities are strongly encouraged to be reasonably altered.
The main question of concern to meeting planners are, what
constitutes accommodation? And what are my responsibilities under
the law?
But the law is packed with gray areas.
"In some respects, I think it is to everyone's advantage
that the Act doesn't answer all our questions," says Don
Nowack, program director for conferences of the Association for
Computing Machinery. "As we encounter questions on a case-by-case
basis, we're working out the details. It's taking the cooperation
of all three sides - the associations, the facilities and the
attendees."
"The Act encourages you to be flexible and creative in
working out solutions," says Mary Cavallini, director of
meetings and travel for the American Bar Association. "How
could they make one rule that covers San Francisco - with those
hills - and Chicago? As soon as you tried to put it in black
and white, you'd have exceptions. And the whole world is full
of exceptions."
There's quite a few people telling meeting planners what they
have to do - very few people telling them how. "Everybody's
learning what needs to be done," says Jane E. Jarrow, Ph.D.,
executive director of the Association on Higher Education and
Disability (AHEAD). "But this is not that different from
what the goal has always been - the best service you can give
your meeting. You want to provide access. It doesn't have to
be complicated or expensive if you do some advance planning."
Jarrow says that for associations and convention hotels, accommodating
the disabled is just good business. "There are 43-million
disabled people," she says. "And all of them belong
to families. All of them may want to bring spouses or children
to meetings. Maybe their spouse or child is disabled." Making
their travel arrangements and participation in meetings easier
will make them more eager to attend.
* * *
Who is covered by the Act?
Anyone with a physical or mental impairment that substantially
limits one or more of the major life activities of the individual.
According to materials compiled by Chicago attorney Kimberly
M. McCarter, this means any physiological order or condition,
cosmetic disfigurement or anatomical loss affecting one or more
of several body systems, or any mental or psychological disorder.
This includes persons with symptomatic or asymptomatic HIV disease,
drug addiction or alcoholism.
What is not covered by the Act?
Pregnancy, current illegal drug use, homosexuality or bisexuality,
genetic identity or sexual behavior disorders, compulsive gambling,
kleptomania and pyromania.
What is the first step toward complying with the the Americans
with Disabilities Act?
Most meeting planners have added a check-off box on their
meeting and convention registration forms. "In terms of
proving auxiliary aids and services, you may need them, but have
you asked yet?" Jarrow says. "If there is a special
need, such as adaptive housing, you plan accordingly."
"We always ask whether the registrant or attendee needs
any specific services," Nowack says. "We may give a
check-off list or we may say, if you need service, call."
While most planners ask their members about special needs,
how many ask their presenters?
The potential for disaster doesn't stop with presenters, though.
Jarrow can tell horror stories of exhibitors unable to get into
exhibit rooms for which they've paid a pretty premium. And then
there's the story of the disabled reporter who showed up at a
meeting in a wheelchair. He went to a registration table and
asked, "How do I get to the press room?" Without looking
up, the woman at the desk said, "Take the escalator."
No, the reporter said, "How do I get there?"
Again, she told him to take the escalator. One more time, the
reporter asked how he could get to the meeting. Finally looking
at him, the registrar said, "I don't think you can get there
from here."
What are some examples of services a meeting planner should
be prepared to supply?
"If I have a hearing disability, the meeting planner
has to provide a reasonable alternative to my disability,"
says Jonathan Howe, a Chicago-based attorney who specializes
in handling concerns of the meetings and hospitality industry.
"It might mean a signer, or a stenographer who can do on-screen
closed-captioning.
"If I'm sight impaired," he says, "I might
need a large print outline. I might need some kind of Braille
or an audiotape.
Howe says that coping with disabled meeting attendees begins
at the beginning. "What do you do when go into a meeting?
You go to a registration desk. If I'm in a wheelchair, how do
I handle the counter? Somebody coming around with a clipboard
or alternative desk shows sensitivity," he says.
How can meeting planners protect the association's interests?
"The law does not allocate responsibility," Howe
says. "Responsibility is delegated by way of contract between
the planner and the facility or a third party. They need to spell
out specifically what responsibility each party has."
Write the division of responsibilities between associations,
hotels and suppliers into all contracts. For the correct language,
contact an attorney. Jarrow and Ciritta B. Park have also published
a book, "Accessible Meetings and Conventions," that
offers a page of detailed contract suggestions.
"A good meeting planner should have an ADA clause in
every contract they sign in this day and age," Jarrow says.
"That says, 'I have programmatic responsibility, you (the
hotel or supplier) have physical access responsibility. If they
screw up and I get screwed, they are going to pay the bill."
The ACM puts a clause in all its facilities and services contracts
that requires the other party to verify that they're in accordance
with the ADA.
Should site inspections be conducted any differently under
the ADA?
Many meeting planners take two tours of a prospective hotel
or meeting facility. First they do their traditional walk-through.
Then they do it all over again, in a wheelchair.
"We suggest to our clients that if they really want to
do a site inspection, do it in a wheelchair. Roll it," Howe
says. "And when you're in the elevator, close your eyes
and plug up your ears and figure out how you're going to get
to your room.
"The new weapons that every hotelier and meeting planner
has to have in-pocket are a tape measure and a light meter,"
he says. "And sensitivity."
Can all needs be met?
No, probably not. But most can. And most planners interpret
the Act as requiring them to try darned hard to meet those needs.
"A lot of things that might seem to be a problem from
the meeting planner's perspective, the hotel deals with all the
time," Jarrow says. "It may be the hotel's responsibility,
or they can provide the supplier." For national meetings,
local planners should be responsible for compiling supplier lists
for services such as sign interpreters, Braille printers, wheelchair
rentals and wheelchair transportation. In the future, Jarrow
expects most hotels will provide lists of local suppliers who
can help planners comply with the ADA. It'll be as common as
handing out lists of taxi companies, florists and printers.
What is 'alternative media'?
The term refers to many things, from Braille and audiotape
to sign language interpreters and computer displays. In its application
to meetings and ADA requirements, it means any form of communication
that can give disabled association members the same access to
information as able-bodied members. In the case of a speech,
it might mean providing enhanced hearing equipment for the hearing-impaired,
or sign interpreters for the deaf. Or, for the blind, a convention
program printed in Braille.
Aren't the costs of these services prohibitive?
"You can't tell me that spending $125 a day for a sign
language interpreter is going to break an association meeting
that takes in $300,000," Jarrow says.
What does lighting have to do with the ADA?
Try watching a sign language interpreter with the lights out
during an audio-visual presentation. In this situation, it's
important to find a way to light the interpreter so as not to
interfere with a presentation and still allow the interpreter
to be seen.
When is an association responsible for a disabled member's
transportation?
That depends on what kind of transportation is being provided
to able-bodied members. If the annual convention is in Los Angeles
and the disabled member - in this case, a wheelchair user - is
in New York, he or she is on their own in arranging cross-country
accommodations.
"Transportation is a third-party responsibility,"
Howe says. "The meeting planner is not going to be responsible
for getting the person to the meeting."
If the disabled registrant does fly in, and the convention
hotel provides airport transportation, it is the hotel's responsibility
to arrange equivalent transit to the disabled as it would the
able. However, the hotel may rely on the meeting planner to provide
some advance notice of which association members need assistance
and when they will be arriving.
Upon the disabled member's arrival, the basic rule of thumb
is that whatever transportation is being provided to the membership
at large must be extended to the disabled. This is the association's
responsibility. If the meeting is being held at multiple locations
and ground transportation is being provided, alternatives for
wheelchair users must be made available.
"You must look at whether you need adaptive ground transportation
and where to get it," Jarrow says. "A couple years
ago, I was asked to do 'special services' for someone else. They
had seven people who indicated they had limited mobility. The
meeting was split between the Hyatt and Marriott in Chicago,
which are separated by hills. The association was prepared to
hire an adaptive van to stand by 12 hours a day to shuttle people
between the sites. I applauded that, but I said, 'Let me talk
to the people first.'
"One had a motorized wheelchair. He had no problem with
hills. One person was on crutches. Three were in manual wheelchairs.
All of them could go in and out of a standard taxi with help,"
Jarrow says. "Instead of hiring a van, we gave each of these
people special badges and a log. At the end of the convention,
we reimbursed them for their taxi expenses. It cost them about
$180 for taxis versus $2,200 for a driver and van. All it took
was planning."
Situation: A blind person asks that her personal signer,
who always travels with her, be allowed to attend the meeting.
Does the association have to pay for the person's accommodation?
Does the association have to pay the signer's salary during the
time of the meeting? What are the association's responsibilities
in this situation?
Not for the accommodations, Kimberly McCarter says, but they
would be obligated to provide complimentary registration.
Salary is a tougher call. "You have to provide reasonable
communications," she says. "The Act is not clear whether
you have to pay the salary of the personal signer. One possibility
is to go to a third party to find a signer. You shouldn't have
to pay more than if you were to go outside. If you have several
people who need signers, it's not going to be cost-effective
to pay for the personal signer. That should be something that's
somewhat negotiable. I'd say you might have to (pay)."
Does the association have to provide a wheelchair onsite
for a disabled attendee?
No.
"You do not have to provide wheelchairs," McCarter
says. "It's considered a personal device. But as a convenience,
I would be prepared to provide it. Most hotels will be equipping
themselves with one or more wheelchairs."
Are optional tours offered at a meeting affected by the
ADA?
"That's a tricky one," McCarter says. "The
meeting planners are responsible for wherever their association
leases space in a public facility. If it's a tour of a place
of accommodation, like a museum, if they're paying the facility
some money, I'd say yes, the meeting planner has to make that
tour accessible."
Do all persons using wheelchairs have the same requirements
in adaptive hotel rooms?
No.
During AHEAD's last convention, 27 wheelchair users needed
adaptive rooms. There were only 26 adaptive rooms available.
"So we called and asked more questions," Jarrow says.
" 'Do you need grab bars in the whole room or do you just
need access to the bathroom?' Fourteen of our 27 people only
needed access to bathrooms. In this hotel, all the bathrooms
were large enough. A lot of our people were used to dealing with
a whole lot less. We called and said, 'What do you need? Can
you manage with this?' "
What kind of seating adjustments will better accommodate
wheelchair users?
Think about seating someone in a wheelchair. Move a chair
away from a table so someone in a wheelchair can pull up without
making a fuss. Leave aisles wide enough for wheelchairs to maneuver.
"Banquets are a major issue," Jarrow says. "Not
only do we insist on eight people at round tables rather than
10, but we insist on more room between tables."
What responsibility does an association have when a disabled
member registers on the day of a meeting?
Again, planners have to make a good faith effort to comply
with the law, McCarter says. "But that's going to be mitigated
by timing. Do your best, that's what we tell people. It's not
clear from the Act how much advance planning might be required.
That's going to be more clear after case law. The fact you don't
have enough time to prepare means you may not be as responsible."
Have any lawsuits been filed under the ADA?
Yes.
USA Today reported that the Justice Department filed
suit in early January against a California education company
for discriminating against the deaf. The first ADA suit was aimed
at a CPA review company that refused to hire sign language interpreters
or provide other aids for the hearing-impaired.
"Suits are always going to be a concern" McCarter
says. "There is no mechanism that discourages a person with
a disability from filing a suit. Although there's always the
threat of a suit, good faith efforts to comply should, most of
the time, eliminate that risk."
"You don't get in trouble for making an effort and blowing
it," Jarrow agrees. "You get in trouble for not making
an effort. The Department of Justice knows this is new. They
are willing to be patient. You don't have to be right the first
time; you just have to try."
Sidebar:
What does it cost to comply?
Obviously, the dollars will vary from meeting to meeting and
organization to organization. But as an experiment, the American
Bar Association budgeted $10,000 each for ADA-related costs associated
with its February 1992 mid-year meeting (2,500 registrants) and
its August 1992 annual convention (13,000 registrants). Director
of meetings and travel Mary Cavallini calls the $10,000 "a
wild figure."
"We didn't know how many people with disabilities might
be coming tour meetings. We had never tracked it," she says.
The bar association included a check-off box on its registration
form directed to anyone needing services for the physically disabled.
When a registrant checked off the box, they automatically got
a call from the bar's travel company: "How can we be of
service to you?" Hotel reservations were given special attention
this way. Closer to the time of the actual meeting, a letter
went out to registrants describing transportation from the airport.
The bar association wasn't paying for that transportation, but
did feel it would be helpful to provide the information. What
the ABA did provide was on-site transportation. Attendees could
call a special number and they received door-to-door service.
Cavallini was slightly taken back when someone requested a
copy of the convention program - in Braille.
"That scared us," she admits. "How were we
going to pay for this? And we're all so busy; when were
we going to do this? But everything is computer-programmed. With
a few pushes of a button, the program can be output in Braille,
and it's not that expensive." Having learned all that, Cavallini
found the attendee was ahead of her. He didn't want the entire
500-page program. "He told us what sections he wanted. And
he said, just send me the computer tape, I have the facilities
to produce it here.
"Every step we've taken which seemed so monumental -
it has not been as difficult as we thought it might be,"
Cavallini says.
At its midyear meeting, the ABA entertained 40 registrants
with some kind of disability, 60 at its annual convention. The
association spent $3,000 of its $10,000 ADA "wild budget"
at each event - primarily on transportation. Cavallini opted
for a standby wheelchair van rather than reimbursing taxi expenses.
"The people who needed it had it," she says. "It
was always accessible."
One of the registrants who checked off "disabled"
on the form for that meeting was a past-president of the bar
association. Cavallini, surprised because the man was not previously
disabled, called him immediately.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
"I'm alright," he said, laughing. "I just wondered
what you're doing and I hoped you were doing enough."
Sidebar:
Are You in Compliance?
1. Have you given disabled registrants to your meeting
or convention the opportunity to indicate a need for special
services?
2. Will you provide comparable transportation to able and disabled
attendees for multiple-site meetings?
3. Have you made arrangements, if necessary, so that your hearing-
and sight-impaired attendees will have equal access to whatever
sessions or speeches they plan to attend?
4. Did your site inspection include ramps, aisle and corridor
widths and bathroom facilities that might cause a problem for
the disabled?
5. If a disabled person registers on the day of your meeting,
will you be prepared to accommodate their needs?
6. Have you made every possible effort to ensure the comfort
and ease of access of all your attendees, not just the able-bodied
ones?
end
©2000,
All rights reserved. No portion may be reproduced without the
express written permission of the author.
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