# Presentation: 519175

## Disability Access Issuesfor Religious Organizationsin the One-Stop System

- Questions and answers
- about your legal responsibilities
- when you receive
- Federal financial assistance

## Denise Sudell, Esq.

- Senior Policy Advisor
- Civil Rights Center
- U.S. Department of Labor

## What is different for religious organizations that receive Federal financial assistance?

- Religious organizations are exempt from the accessibility requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
- Religious organizations are *not *exempt from disability nondiscrimination laws that apply to recipients of Federal financial assistance

**Notes:**
This does not mean that you need to remodel your entire facility!  We will review the standards that apply, but for most religious organizations, the requirements are much less strict than you might fear

## What laws apply?

- Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) – applies to *all* recipients
- Section 188 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) – applies to programs and activities that are:
- Operated by One-Stop partners -- see WIA Section 121(b)
- Part of the One-Stop system

**Notes:**
Re:  Section 504:  your organization  doesn’t need to receive the financial assistance directly from the Federal government – it can come from another recipient, such as a State, a LWIA, or a service provider

If your organization is a One-Stop partner and it operates a program or activity as part of the One-Stop system, WIA Section 188 applies to you, even if the program or activity isn’t physically located at a One-Stop center

## What regulations apply?

- Subpart C of DOL’s regulations implementing Section 504 (29 CFR part 32) lists general accessibility requirements
- Regulations implementing WIA Section 188 incorporate this subpart by reference

## What is “accessibility”?

- It’s not just ramps and elevators!
- Providing *accessibility* means taking *generalized *action *in advance* (so you’ll be ready for people with disabilities)
- “Generalized” in this context = not tied to a particular person with a disability

## How is “accessibility” different from “reasonable accommodation”?

- Accommodations are actions that must be taken when a *particular person with a disability* seeks:
- to apply for / participate in a program or activity
- to apply for / perform the essential functions of a job

**Notes:**
We won’t be discussing accommodations in this workshop – I’m just comparing accommodations to accessibility to help you understand what accessibility is

## Two types of accessibility

- Architectural (sometimes known as “physical”)
- Program or programmatic
- We’ll discuss each of these types in turn

## Lack of access is no excuse

- 29 CFR 32.26 says you can’t:
*Exclude* a person with a disability, or
- Give *different benefits* to a person with a disability, or
*Otherwise discriminate against* a person with a disability . . .
- . . . because a program or activity is inaccessible

## What accessibility standards must you meet?

- It depends!
*How old* is the facility?  (When was it built?)
- Has the facility been, or will it be, *altered or renovated* for you to use?
- If so, *when* was it/will it be altered or renovated?  (What date?)
*When* did you first receive Federal financial assistance?

## What’s a “facility”?

- Not just a building!
- Definition in 504 regs also includes “all or any portion” of “structures, equipment, roads, walks, parking lots or other real or personal property” used in providing your program or activity

## Some things that you might not think of as “facilities” (but that are):

- Vehicles used for transportation
- Constructs such as office cubicles and computer kiosks

## The “hierarchy of obligations”

- New construction
- Alteration or renovation
- Done by you, on your behalf, or for your use?
- Before or after you received Federal financial assistance?
- “Existing facilities”

## New construction

- Facility must *fully meet*
-  legal standards for
*architectural accessibility*
- [required by 29 CFR 32.28(a)]

**Notes:**
We’ll talk about what those standards are in a little while

## Alteration or renovation

- Was it done:
- by you?
- on your behalf?
- for your use?
- If *no*, use *existing facilities* rules

## Alteration or renovation (con’t)

- If yes, when was it/will it be done?
*Before* you received Federal financial assistance:  use *existing facilities*** **rules
*After* you received Federal financial assistance:  altered/renovated part must comply with *architectural accessibility* standards
- 29 CFR 32.28(b)

**Notes:**
Again, we’ll talk about what those standards are in a few minutes

## Existing facilities

- Not new construction
- Either:
*Not* altered or renovated by you, on your behalf, or for your use; or
- Altered or renovated *before* you first received Federal financial assistance
- Must meet *program accessibility* requirements

## Federal standards for architectural accessibility

- Two different sets of Federal standards exist
- Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS) – 41 CFR 101-19.6
- Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG)

**Notes:**
UFAS – developed under Rehab Act -- first published in 1984

## Which standardsshould you use?

- DOL’s Section 504 regs say UFAS
*But *. . . regs also allow “alternative standards” to be used if they will allow “equivalent or greater access”
*So . . .*** **you may use *either* UFAS or ADAAG

## New standards to come?

- The Access Board is updating both UFAS and ADAAG to make them more consistent
- Once approved, standards will be published in final form (until then, old standards apply)
- For more info, see _[www.access-board.gov/ada-aba/status.htm](http://www.access-board.gov/ada-aba/status.htm)_

## What is program accessibility?

- What it *does* mean:
- Your program or activity must be accessible *when viewed in its entirety*
- Every *aspect* of your program or activity must be accessible
**Examples:  intake, assessment, training courses**

**Notes:**
If a program or activity is available at only one site:
Either:
That site must be accessible, or
The program must be made available at an alternate accessible site or sites
True for every program or activity you provide that receives Federal financial assistance

## Program accessibility (con’t)

- What it does *not* mean:
- Making each of your existing facilities accessible
- Making every part of your facility accessible
- Making structural changes where *other ways* of providing access are *possible*

## Program accessibility:  Exception for small recipients

*If* your organization . . .
- Has 15 or fewer employees at all times during the grant year, *and*
- Serves 15 or fewer beneficiaries during the grant year, *and*
- Consults with one or more qualified people with disabilities, *and*
- Determines that it cannot provide program accessibility without making significant alterations to its existing facilities . . .

## Program accessibility:  Small recipients (cont’d)

*Then* . . .
- you may **refer** participants with disabilities to **other service providers** that have accessible facilities
- 29 CFR 32.27(b)(3)

## Examples of possible changes to provide program accessibility

- Redesigning equipment
- Moving classes or other services to accessible locations
- Assigning aides to participants/ beneficiaries

## Program accessibility:  two key points

- You must provide programs and activities in *most integrated setting possible* for people with disabilities
- You *may* be required to alter or renovate your facilities if there is *no other possible way* of providing program accessibility

## How soon must you comply?

**Programmatic accessibility:  **within 60 days of the date on which you receive Federal financial assistance
**Architectural accessibility / structural changes:**
*Transition plan:  *developed within six (6) months of the date on which you receive assistance
*Completion*:  as expeditiously as possible, but maximum of three (3) years from date of receipt of assistance

**Notes:**
Regulatory requirements found at 29 CFR 32.27(d), (e)

## Some questions your organization might ask . . .

- “A local business donates office space where we offer some of our programs.  Are we exempt from accessibility requirements because we do not own the space?”

## CRC’s answer . . .

**No**, you are not exempt from accessibility requirements for the space.
- Some possible options:
- ask the business to provide you with accessible space
- renovate / alter the space yourself
- move the programs to another space that is accessible

## More questions your organization might ask:

- “Where can we get advice about making our facilities accessible?”
- Some examples:
- The U.S. Access Board:  http://www.access-board.gov/indexes/technicalindex.htm
- Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers (DBTACs):  http://www.adata.org/
- Organizations in your local community that serve people with disabilities

## More questions your organization might ask:

- “Where can we get information about how to communicate with people with various types of disabilities?”
- Some examples:
- The Job Accommodation Network (JAN):  _[http://www.jan.wvu.edu/](http://www.jan.wvu.edu/)_
- DOL’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP):  http://www.dol.gov/odep/
- Organizations in your local community that serve people with various types of disabilities

## Any more questions?

## How to contact me

*Postal Mail:*
- Denise Sudell, Civil Rights Center, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave. NW, Room N-4123, Washington, DC 20210
*Telephone:*
- 202-693-6554 (voice)
- 800-877-8339 (toll-free Federal Information Relay Service – TTY/TDD)
*E-Mail:  *sudell.denise@dol.gov