As a bank Personnel Director, I faced an audit by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance. I worked in a recently renovated two story building, and we had, in compliance with the law, made the first floor bathroom accessible and installed an elevator connecting the two floors. The auditor insisted that the law required us to make the second floor bathroom accessible. We had complied fully, and when I proved it, he backed down. This instance to the contrary, I discovered that capricious oversight is rare.
Businesses complain about bureaucratic inflexibility and regulatory rigidity.
The law responds by providing a general framework rather than imposing rigid standards. It imposes some precise architectural standards, but generally the Act gives businesses room to maneuver. People with disabilities negotiate more than they sue. Most accommodations flow from private, inexpensive negotiations, not from courtrooms. A July Harris poll forcefully says otherwise.