Since the early 1990s, many California small businesses are going out of business due to ADA lawsuits. California is one of the most stringent states when it comes to the ADA Act, and any violation of ADA is considered a Civil Right violation.  Also, the CBC (California Building Code) can charge anywhere from $4000 to $6000 per violation. The number of lawsuits has increased significantly over the past 20 years as California laws are making it easier for attorneys to win cases against businesses. Businesses that are forced to shut down are usually smaller mom and pop businesses in suburban California. 

Some of these businesses have been operating for over 20 years, and are using buildings that were built in the 1960’s or before.  A large majority of those buildings are not in compliance with modern building codes, the Americans with Disabilities Act.  While most businesses are able to accommodate to person with disabilities coming into their restaurant, they often don’t have the necessary funds to re-do the whole bathroom according to ADA code and re-do the whole parking lot structure. Over 20,000 lawsuits have been filed since 1992, and litigation has cost California businesses over $20 million each year.

How can these businesses prevent this, and overcome financial hardship in dealing with ADA Act?   . Fortunately, recent California legislation has passed that gives the opportunity to business and property owners to get their properties inspected beforehand in order to meet the building codes and ADA rules.  This entails a Certified Access Specialist inspecting the facility to make sure the interior and exterior are meeting all standards. 

This inspection will: 
-    Protect against unwarranted ADA lawsuits
-    Ensure compliance with federal and state accessibility requirements
-    Identify “readily achievable” issues requiring correction
-    Provide reasonable time frames to make required corrections
-    Ensure that your business is accessible to all potential customers, regardless of disability 

Business owners are able to establish the intent of fixing the issues, which helps them in the Court of Law and California Building Code department if a case comes up in between the time of the notice and the steps taken to meet the standards. Another benefit is that there is a tax credit for all the construction costs related to code repairs of up to $5000 for small businesses. 

It is important for business owners to be constantly educated on what the new laws are, even when they have been in business for many years.  There are now concessions in place that help small businesses to easily abide by state codes.  Businesses that fail to utilize these tools run an even greater risk of litigation if no visible measures of compliance are taken.  So the long and short of it is, get the inspection done and begin making the necessary changes.  It’s not worth losing your business over.