Enforcement, Incentives, and Assistance Because the ADA is a civil rights law, rather than a building code, enforcement is accomplished through litigation. Private individuals may bring lawsuits in which they obtain court orders to stop discrimination. Individuals may also file complaints with the Attorney General, who is authorized to bring suit in their behalf in cases of general public importance or where a pattern or practice of discrimination is alleged. To encourage creative solutions to accessibility, the ADA includes a provision, known as equivalent facilitation, that allows for alternative design and technology that provides substantially equivalent or greater access to a property as that specified in the ADA Accessibility Guidelines. This is of particular importance given the development of access-related technology that the ADA has already inspired.
Tax incentives are available to help absorb the costs of accessibility alterations.
Publications on accessibility issues, including the ADA Accessibility Guidelines, available upon request. Responds to inquiries on disability issues, Federal legislation, and programs benefiting the disabled. Assistance by staff architects on barrier-free design and removing barriers from existing buildings. Provides policy and technical guidelines for project treatments on historic buildings and landscapes. In Ohio, serves in an advisory capacity to the Governor and the General Assembly on issues related to the needs, programs, and concerns of Ohioans with disabilities.