10 Easy Steps to Make Your Business ADA Friendly – Part 2
Here at Acorn Sign, we are passionate about the widespread understanding of the ADA and accessibility for members of the disabled community. We believe in creating innovative signage that help individuals across all ability levels to experience built environments.
This list is a continuation of “10 East Steps to Make Your Business ADA Friendly – Part 1”! If you haven’t read steps 1-5 in Part 1, make sure to check those out as well!
6. Ensure that your website is friendly to assistive technologies
a. ADA friendliness applies not only to your physical building, but also your digital presence. Websites can utilize assistive technologies to make them more friendly to those with various disabilities. Individuals that have vision impairments often use screen reader programs to use the internet and their smart devices. By adding features throughout your website like alternative text on images, you guarantee that screen reading programs can translate the message you are wanting to convey through photos or graphics on your website.
7. Understand employment discrimination and train your staff to not utilize discriminating hiring practices
a. The ADA has specific requirements about equal employment opportunities and how that influences the hiring process. When training your staff about the ADA, make sure they understand what constitutes as inappropriate questions to ask to those with disabilities. For example, interviewers are not allowed to ask if interviewees have a disability, however they can ask them to show how they would perform the job. Understanding discriminatory hiring practices is of the utmost importance for improving your business’s ADA friendliness and compliance.
8. Research anti-discrimination laws in your state
a. Even though the ADA is a federal law, each state has different requirements in addition to equal opportunity for disabled individuals. Make sure that you research your state requirements and if necessary, consult an attorney to make sure that you are covered and are not missing any important accessibility requirements.
9. Install automatic door openers, lever-style door handles, and lower coat hooks in bathroom stalls
a. While some of the tasks for making your business more ADA friendly can take more time, walk through your business and notice easy changes you can make to make your building more accessible. This can include installing automatic door openers, lever-style door handles, lower shelves, lower coat hooks in restrooms, exterior ramps, and more.
10. If you are unsure about if your changes are compliant or not, consult a certified access specialist or employment attorney
a. When it comes to the ADA, it is always a good idea to consult professionals who are experts in accessibility and the ADA. Consider hiring an attorney to be on retainer for your company so you always have access to them for any questions you may have for ongoing accessibility matters.
If you have any questions about whether or not your business has adequate ADA-compliant signage, contact Bob Greenberger, our EVP of Sales and Marketing, who is a leading signage industry expert on the ADA! We would love to talk with you to explore new ideas for how to make your business more accessible and ADA compliant. Not only are we at Acorn passionate about signage and the ADA, we believe in creating a future that is more inclusive and innovative for all individuals.
Sources:
https://smallbiztrends.com/2016/05/small-business-ada-guidelines.html
https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/smallbusiness/smallbusprimer2010.htm#steps
https://brailleworks.com/compliance-with-ada-laws-can-improve-small-businesses/
https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/2010ADAStandards/2010ADAstandards.htm
https://www.wikihow.com/Ensure-ADA-Compliance-at-Your-Place-of-Business
https://gettecla.com/blogs/news/make-your-small-business-or-nonprofit-wheelchair-accessible-draft