ADA Compliance Training
ADA is the Americans with Disabilities Act and there are things related to the act that business need to comply with. There is training every year that needs to be done to comply with the act. Businesses can do these trainings on their own or they can have a training company come in and do the training for them.
Companies need to comply with ADA, and they need to train their employees. There are many businesses that are available to train your employees and help them learn about ADA compliance training and you can find them by doing a quick internet search. Make sure the company is reputable and they know what they are doing.
Here is a list of things that you can do to ensure that your business is ADA compliant. You can use this list as a starting point to train your employees about ADA compliance.
- Architectural Barriers
Title III of the ADA act says that there should be no architectural barriers that will prevent people with disabilities from having access to your building. You need to make sure that if there are stairs, that you also have a ramp for wheelchairs. You need to make sure that the doors and other access points are wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair. You also need to have handicap parking available so that people with wheelchairs can exit their cars safely.
- Alternate Ways Individuals Can Access Your Company
Sometimes the architectural barriers cannot be removed, and you will need to find a way for individuals with disabilities can still access your services. If you are a restaurant and there are barriers in the way, you can offer take out and delivery services to ensure that those individuals can still enjoy your services.
- Train Staff to Work with Individuals with Disabilities
Make sure that you train your staff to work with individuals with disabilities. Let them know that they can help those individuals with getting things off higher shelfs, for example. Or that they can help a blind individual to navigate the aisles of your store. When individuals with disabilities can get the assistance they need, they will be more likely to return to your business and feel safe about being there. If you need to know more about ADA laws and compliance, check here: https://www.ada.gov/. This site will tell you what you need to know.
- Welcome Service Animals
You need to have signage that lets individuals with disabilities know that their service animals are allowed to be in your business. You also need to let your employees know that they cannot ask the individual what their disability is, but they can ask two questions: “Is this animal required because of a disability?” and “What has your animal been trained to do?” Anything else is not allowing the individual to have their privacy.
- Make Sure That Signage is ADA Friendly
Make sure that your signs are in large enough font so that individuals with sight loss can still read them and add Braille to the signs so they can read them. Ensure that the signs are non-discriminatory and depict individuals with disabilities when it is possible to do so. Make sure that you can include them in your signage as much as possible and make it friendly.
- Make Sure That Your Website is ADA Friendly
You also must make sure that your website can accommodate assistive technology so that everyone can enjoy what you have to offer. You need to make sure that your images have text that can be read with the special text readers that individuals with limited sight may use. You also must do what you can to ensure that all individuals can have easy access to your website.
- Do Not Discriminate When Hiring
Do not discriminate against individuals with disabilities while you are doing the hiring and make sure that your employees do not do that either. You cannot ask an individual about their disability, but you can ask them to show you how they would perform the necessary tasks for the job. You cannot ask inappropriate questions to the individual with disabilities just as you would not do with any other individual.
- Research Anti-Discriminatory Laws in Your State
Research all the anti-discriminatory laws in your state to ensure that you are not doing anything illegal and harmful to individuals with disabilities. Some states have more strict laws than the Federal government’s laws, so make sure that you know them, as well. There are websites that can tell you about some of the anti-discriminatory laws and help you to learn them. Do some research and make sure that you are being ADA friendly.
- Make Sure Door Are Accessible
You need to make sure that you have automatic doors and doors with levers that can be easily opened. Make sure that your bathroom is accessible with easy-to-open doors and hooks that are placed lower on the walls. See that shelves are lower so that individuals in wheelchairs can access them, as well.
- Consult an ADA Specialist or Attorney
If you are unsure about the laws in your state or the federal laws, consult a specialist that can help you. If you are not sure that your business complies with all the laws, contact the specialist. You want to make sure that you are following the laws to ensure that all customers get a quality experience at your business.
These are just some of the things that you can do to make sure that you are compliant with ADA laws. This is a starting point so that you can train your staff to make sure they know the laws, as well.
