ACCESS Act

Subjects: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues, Alternative dispute resolution, mediation, arbitration, Building construction, Civil actions and liability, Disability and health-based discrimination, Government studies and investigations, Internet, web applications, social media, State and local government operations, Telephone and wireless communication

Summary:  <p><b>ADA Compliance for Customer Entry to Stores and Services Act or the ACCESS Act</b></p> <p>This bill establishes certain procedural requirements in relation to complaints under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) regarding access to public accommodations (i.e., businesses and nonprofits that are open to the public, such as stores, restaurants, and hotels). It also requires educational outreach and studies by federal agencies to promote ADA compliance. </p> <p>Specifically, the bill establishes a notice and cure period before a claimant may file a civil action against a public accommodation for failing to remove a barrier to access. Claimants must first provide the owner or operator of the public accommodation with a written notice specific enough to identify the barrier and the circumstances under which access was denied. An owner or operator then has 60 days to respond with a description of forthcoming changes and another 60 days after providing the description to make the changes, or show substantial progress in making the changes, before the claimant may proceed with a civil action.</p> <p>The bill also requires (1) the Department of Justice (DOJ) to develop a program to educate state and local governments and property owners on strategies to promote ADA compliance, (2) the Judicial Conference of the United States to develop a model program to promote alternative dispute resolution to resolve claims, and (3) the DOJ to study whether certain web content accessibility standards and telephone services provide reasonable accommodations under the ADA.</p>

<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 241 Introduced in House (IH)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 241

    To amend the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to promote 
 compliance through education, to clarify the requirements for demand 
      letters, to provide for a notice and cure period before the 
    commencement of a private civil action, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 10, 2023

 Mr. Calvert (for himself, Mr. Waltz, and Mr. Grothman) introduced the 
  following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to promote 
 compliance through education, to clarify the requirements for demand 
      letters, to provide for a notice and cure period before the 
    commencement of a private civil action, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``ADA Compliance for Customer Entry to 
Stores and Services Act'' or the ``ACCESS Act''.

SEC. 2. COMPLIANCE THROUGH EDUCATION.

    (a) In General.--Based on existing funding, the Disability Rights 
Section of the Department of Justice shall, in consultation with 
property owners and representatives of the disability rights community, 
develop a program to educate State and local governments and property 
owners on effective and efficient strategies for promoting access to 
public accommodations for persons with a disability (as defined in 
section 3 of the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. 12102)). 
Such program may include training for professionals such as Certified 
Access Specialists to provide a guidance of remediation for potential 
violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
    (b) Materials Provided in Other Languages.--The Disability Rights 
Section of the Department of Justice shall take appropriate actions, to 
the extent practicable, to make technical assistance publications 
relating to compliance with this Act and the amendments made by this 
Act available in all the languages commonly used by owners and 
operators of United States businesses.

SEC. 3. NOTICE AND CURE PERIOD.

    Paragraph (1) of section 308(a) of the Americans with Disabilities 
Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12188(a)(1)) is amended to read as follows:
            ``(1) Availability of remedies and procedures.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), the 
                remedies and procedures set forth in section 204(a) of 
                the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000a-3(a)) are 
                the remedies and procedures this title provides to any 
                person who is being subjected to discrimination on the 
                basis of disability in violation of this title or who 
                has reasonable grounds for believing that such person 
                is about to be subjected to discrimination in violation 
                of section 303. Nothing in this section shall require a 
                person with a disability to engage in a futile gesture 
                if such person has actual notice that a person or 
                organization covered by this title does not intend to 
                comply with its provisions.
                    ``(B) Barriers to access to existing public 
                accommodations.--A civil action under section 302 or 
                303 based on the failure to remove an architectural 
                barrier to access into an existing public accommodation 
                may not be commenced by a person aggrieved by such 
                failure unless--
                            ``(i) that person has provided to the owner 
                        or operator of the accommodation a written 
                        notice specific enough to allow such owner or 
                        operator to identify the barrier; and
                            ``(ii)(I) during the period beginning on 
                        the date the notice is received and ending 60 
                        days after that date, the owner or operator 
                        fails to provide to that person a written 
                        description outlining improvements that will be 
                        made to remove the barrier; or
                            ``(II) if the owner or operator provides 
                        the written description under subclause (I), 
                        the owner or operator fails to remove the 
                        barrier or, in the case of a barrier, the 
                        removal of which requires additional time as a 
                        result of circumstances beyond the control of 
                        the owner or operator, fails to make 
                        substantial progress in removing the barrier 
                        during the period beginning on the date the 
                        description is provided and ending 60 days 
                        after that date.
                    ``(C) Specification of details of alleged 
                violation.--The written notice required under 
                subparagraph (B) must also specify in detail the 
                circumstances under which an individual was actually 
                denied access to a public accommodation, including the 
                address of property, whether a request for assistance 
                in removing an architectural barrier to access was 
                made, and whether the barrier to access was a permanent 
                or temporary barrier.''.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act and the amendments made by this Act take effect 30 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 5. MEDIATION FOR ADA ACTIONS RELATED TO ARCHITECTURAL BARRIERS.

    The Judicial Conference of the United States shall, under rule 16 
of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or any other applicable law, in 
consultation with property owners and representatives of the disability 
rights community, develop a model program to promote the use of 
alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, including a stay of 
discovery during mediation, to resolve claims of architectural barriers 
to access for public accommodations. To the extent practical, the 
Federal Judicial Center should provide a public comment period on any 
such proposal. The goal of the model program shall be to promote access 
quickly and efficiently without the need for costly litigation. The 
model program should include an expedited method for determining the 
relevant facts related to such barriers to access and steps taken 
before the commencement of litigation to resolve any issues related to 
access.

SEC. 6. STUDY REGARDING WCAG 2.0 STANDARDS.

    Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Attorney General shall complete a study to determine whether WCAG 2.0 
standards, accessibility widgets, or providing a telephone number 
through which members of the public can obtain the same information and 
services as they would on a website would all provide reasonable 
accommodations for individuals with disabilities who are protected by 
the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
</pre></body></html>