I talked today with a soon-to-be graduate who is looking at office space in a large city. He found a great office but it has only a stairway as access. He is also going to have to do some renovations to the office. The question is: What does he have to do in order to comply with the ADA requirements for public access?
The ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) says that if you build a new building or undertake "alterations" to an existing building, you must comply with ADA public access requirements. So does he have to put in an elevator? Good question. There is an "elevator exemption" for buildings with fewer than 3 stories or if the facility has less than 3,000 square feet per story, but, "the professional office of a health care provider" is an exception. That is, if you can follow the double negative, the elevator exemption doesn't apply to health care offices.
There are also requirements on changes to facilities that alter the "path of travel." For example, if you altered your office to create some barrier to wheelchairs, that would not be allowed.
NOTE1: There are tax incentives for expenditures for complying with the ADA requirements, so it would be good to check on those.
NOTE2: Your local (city) building department may also have its own requirements.
NOTE3: There are also some different requirements for putting a business in a private residence.
I spent some time trying to figure all of this out and concluded that you should call the local building department and let them tell you what to do. It's quite complicated and I don't want to lead you astray on this one.
One final note: ADA is administered by the Dept. of Justice. So if you don't comply and someone complains, the "Feds" will be at your door. It's not nice to fool with the IRS or the DOJ. Just figure out what you need to do and do it.
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