ADA Considerations for Safety Managers

Creating a safe and healthy environment in your workplace is an important part of facility management. Part of that initiative is ensuring every employee can perform their jobs properly, regardless of their physical or mental abilities.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has become a fundamental legal requirement for many businesses across the United States, including commercial facilities. Learn more about the ADA, its guidelines, and ways it might be relevant for your facility in our guide to ADA compliance.

What Is the ADA?

The ADA is a federal civil rights law enacted in 1990 that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities. According to the law, a “disability” is a physical or mental impairment limiting one or more major life activities. The ADA covers several areas, including employment, state and government services, public transit, public businesses, and telecommunications.

If your facility is in an industry affecting commerce and employs 15 or more employees, it’s required to meet ADA standards. As such, you should understand ADA accessibility guidelines and how they fit into your organization. This way, you can ensure your facility complies with the law — and, even more importantly, provide your employees with an accessible and comfortable work environment.

Overview of ADA Accessibility Standards

The ADA can be broken down into five main categories or “titles.” Each title encompasses the required standards for different organizations.

Title I

Title I of the ADA concerns employment and applies to employers with 15 or more employees, including government agencies. Under Title I, employers are expected to give people with disabilities equal opportunity for employment-related activities.

For example, it’s illegal to underpay an employee with a disability solely based on their disability. In other words, Title I of the ADA forbids disability discrimination in any aspect of employment.

Title II

Title II of the ADA covers state and local government services and public transit. Title II, Subtitle A, applies to all local and state government activities, programs, and services, while Title II, Subtitle B, surrounds public transit systems.

Under Subtitle A, local and state governments must give individuals with disabilities equal access to public education, social services, voting, and other government offerings. Similarly, Subtitle B mandates that all public transit systems are accessible for people with disabilities.

Title III

According to Title III of the ADA — which covers businesses that serve the public — companies, nonprofits, and privately operated transit must provide equal opportunity to ensure people with disabilities can benefit from the goods and/or services they offer.

This generally means ensuring the property features accessible pathways, entry and exit points, parking spaces, checkout counters, and other accessibility adjustments. Additionally, businesses must make reasonable modifications in their practices and procedures to accommodate individuals with disabilities.

While commercial facilities like warehouses aren’t businesses that serve the public, they fall under Title III and must comply with ADA Standards for Accessible Design.

Title IV

Title IV applies to telecommunication companies and mandates that they provide accessible services for callers with disabilities. Telephone companies must provide 24/7 telecommunication relay services, enabling individuals with hearing or speech impairments to communicate using a teletypewriter (TTY) device or other third-party communications assistant.

Title V

Title V establishes other requirements for implementing and following the ADA’s standards. For example, some requirements include forbidding retaliation against someone who has asserted their rights under the ADA and telling an individual with a disability that an offer of aid or accommodation is optional.

Making Your Facility ADA-Compliant

As a safety manager, the most relevant ADA requirements to understand are Title I and Title III. Title I applies to your facility’s employee management activities, from recruitment and hiring to reasonable work accommodation. Title III determines how your facility should be designed to promote and ensure accessibility.

Under Title I, the employer is responsible for ensuring all employees can reasonably complete the basic functions of their jobs. This means providing the appropriate equipment and devices, training materials, and workspace. However, the employer is not required to make accommodations that would place undue hardship on the business, such as financial strain.

According to Title III, public places of accommodation are required to make alterations that ensure customers with disabilities have equal access to the property. However, commercial facilities that don’t conduct business with the general public aren’t required to make all of the same adjustments, and they must only do so when completing new construction and renovations.

For example, an exception for commercial facilities is floor height — where an elevation of 7 inches or higher from the finish floor is essential for the job task performed in that area, the floor doesn’t have to be modified for accessibility. However, it would be necessary to make an assembly line accessible during a related remodeling project, as assembly lines are considered primary function areas.

Overall, the ADA requirements for commercial facilities are generally the same as for other businesses, but it’s important to be aware of potential design exceptions. In general, anything built on or after March 15, 2012, must comply with the 2010 standards. Be sure to read through the ADA Standards for Accessible Design to understand which aspects your facility must comply with moving forward.

How the ADA Intersects With OSHA Standards

When working toward ADA compliance, it can help to review how the ADA connects to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards. Just as following OSHA requirements helps you create a safer and healthier work environment, so does meeting ADA requirements — and many ADA and OSHA guidelines intersect.

For example, building brighter, more visible employee work areas can help decrease accidents while creating a more accessible space for visually impaired workers. Additionally, writing workplace emergency plans that include steps and strategies for employees with disabilities is essential.

At the same time, some OSHA standards may conflict with ADA accessibility guidelines. For instance, OSHA-required testing may violate ADA guidelines when handled improperly. Since the ADA forbids pre-employment medical testing, employers should consider when they conduct OSHA medical examinations.

As you follow OSHA standards and guidance from other regulatory agencies, referring to the ADA is important to create a protected work environment for every employee — and is often a matter of compliance. When implementing safety-related functions throughout your facility, consider each worker who will use the space to create the most conducive conditions possible.

Become Certified with The National Association of Safety Professionals

In your role as a safety manager, you have one top priority — developing a work environment that keeps employees protected. Alongside maintaining compliance with federal laws like the ADA, you need to implement safety and environmental management systems to keep your facility safe. A high-level, in-depth course can help you take the next step toward a compliant facility that prioritizes its employees’ well-being.

No matter your career goals, comprehensive training can help you become more experienced in safety, health, and environmental applications, giving you the knowledge to make your facility a safer place. To sign up for our ADA Specialist Course, click here now.