First of all, we’ll deal with that above acronym for those who are unfamiliar with it. Fleshed out, ADA stands for the Americans With Disabilities Act. The ADA is protective federal legislation enacted back in 1990.
The thrust of the ADA is direct and simple. The federal law erects safeguards for disabled individuals against discrimination, similar to the protections afforded by seminal legislation passed decades earlier via Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. That law did not include disabilities among its enumerated protected categories, an omission subsequently addressed by the ADA.
Notably, the ADA also mandates reasonable lodging accommodations and linked accessibility for disabled persons.
Deborah Laufer knows all about that.
Laufer is a visually impaired person with some physical limitations who is now termed in the media as a “tester.”
Here’s what she tests: hundreds of lodging facilities spanning the country that allegedly fail to comply with various ADA requirements. Laufer hasn’t personally visited any of those properties, but that hasn’t stopped her from filing federal lawsuits grounded in ADA-linked discrimination allegations.
What Laufer – and others – stress is that legions of lodging facilities’ websites and online booking platforms materially disservice disabled Americans. Filed litigation cites failure to identify accessible rooms and an absence of booking options for such accommodations. Moreover, Laufer contends, companies often don’t even provide skeletal information concerning accessible features.
A managing partner at one of the sued properties says that she welcomes Laufer’s litigation stance in a sense.
“Communication is key,” she said in commenting on the litigation, adding that, “We’re open to doing whatever we can to help.”
Questions or concerns regarding the ADA or any discrimination-linked matter can be addressed to an experienced legal team that specializes in discrimination cases.