Compliance
An individual or a specific class of individuals or their representative alleging discrimination on the basis of disability by a state or local government may either file:
- An administrative complaint with the Department of Justice or another appropriate federal agency; or
- a lawsuit in federal district court.
Potential remedies (both for negotiated settlements with the DOJ court-ordered settlements when the DOJ files a lawsuit include:
- Injunction relief to enforce the ADA
- Compensatory damages for victim; and/or
- Back pay in cases for employmeny discrimination by state or local governments.
In cases where there is federal funding, fund termination is also an enforcement option that federal agencies may pursue.
A lawsuit or complaint can be brought against anyone involved in the violation, including:
- Developers
- Builders
- Architects/ Engineers
- Homeowner associations
- Any other design professional
There are many strong reasons to comply with Accessibility laws including avoiding liability and the cost of correcting violations. Non-compliance can require expensive retrofitting. Litigation is also a time consuming process. The most effective ways to comply with the requirements of accessibility laws is to fully comprehend the scope of the law and ensure anyone involved in the project is aware of the need for compliance. Another way to ensure compliance is to incorporate requirement consideration early in the planning phase of the project. Ultimately, the best reason for compliance is to provide disabled individuals with the right to have accessibility.