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Signs can highlight businesses compliance with the ADA

Originally Posted: 2011/04/18
By , Staff Writer
Getting around can be tough for the disabled, with many being confined to either a wheelchair or crutches. Thanks to federal legislation, all public stores and restaurants must be handicap accessible and have bathrooms that meet their needs. If a store owner fails to follow the procedure properly, then he or she could risk being forced to pay a sizable fine if someone were to complain to government regulators.

One of the best ways to highlight the fact that an establishment is following regulations set out in the American with Disabilities Act is by having the proper signs. The symbol, which is familiar to most people, features a stick figure sitting on a wheel chair, and is universally understood to mean that the establishment has taken the necessary steps to make its facility accessible to those who are handicapped.

The Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 was signed into law on July 26, 1990 by President George H.W. Bush and lays out a variety of conditions that all businesses must follow.

In addition to having signs that highlight wheelchair-accessible access, businesses must also have signs that are readable to those who have trouble seeing.

Section 1 of the ADA's general guidelines stipulate the following sign rules for businesses: Building Directories mounted behind glass must use non-glare glass; character proportions must meet the proper width to height ratio; characters and backgrounds of signs must be of an eggshell, matte or other non-glare finish; characters and symbols must contrast with their background (light background with dark letters or dark background with light letters); directories can be installed either as a projecting unit or integrated into a wall surface; projecting units, however, must provide a skirt or "cane strike" to meet ADA requirements.

Businesses all over the country have landed in legal trouble for not bringing their establishments up to par under the ADA. KXTV-TV reports that Attorney Scott N. Johnson filed a lawsuit against Redrum Burger in Davis, California, after he discovered that service counters, restrooms and tables were not accessible to wheel chairs. In an interview with the station, the restaurant's owner, Jim Edlund, said that he did not believe that he needed to follow the law because the establishment was built in 1949.

In order to avoid unwanted lawsuits, it is vital for businesses to make sure that they have made their places wheel chair accessible and have the proper signs to signify that they are up to code.
© 2011 All rights reserved. Reproduction with permission.

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