Over the law two days, I have gone to a few places – successful places with plenty of profit and income – that are woefully inadequate in regard to access for handicapped people, especially wheelchair users. There is a law that was passed in 1991, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), that sets specific standards for access that any public accommodation is to follow. Unfortunately, the ADA also included lame, inconsequential penalties for breaking those laws – so inconsequential that most lawyers wouldn’t take a case as the pay-out would be too small.
I lived in Columbus, Ohio from ~2002 ~ 2006 or so, and I guess I didn’t know how good I had it. When I moved back to Mississippi, I was shocked at the number of places that were not accessible, and apparently had not ever heard of the ADA as no attempt at access had been made. I was in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico in 2000 – even a third world country had benner access than some places in Hattiesburg, Mississippi – and that is no joke or stretch. The public market had ramps, and the restaurants I went to had plenty of access.
The penalty for not being accessible is $3000 – the penalty for willful discrimination against handicapped people is $50K. I would have to state that blatantly ignoring a law that is almost 20 years old would rise to the level of willful discrimination. I believe I can file a case in Federal court for $50. Part of why I went to law school was to enforce the ADA, so I guess I will file a few cases to right some wrongs in Hattiesburg. Be warned business owners in Hattiesburg, Mississippi; there is a new sheriff in town, and his name is Justin Martin.
I will probably post the names of businesses that are not in compliance with the ADA.
#1 on my list is Mug Shots – there is ONE barely marked “handicapped” parking space that is almost always filled with some able-bodied person; the bottom of the ramp they have on the side of their building is impassable without some major maneuvering – a person in a power chair would be SOL; the front door is a double door, but one side is always locked, so you have to wait and bug the shit out of someone to let you in, and the door closest to the ramp has a 4″ or so threshold, which is not within ADA standards; the bathroom is a treat – the floor is unbelievably nasty, there is no accessible stall/toilet, and the sink is recessed into a place so narrow that I can’t even reach it to wash my hands – I went in the kitchen and washed my hands the last time I was there
See these pictures:
