On April 2, the Office of Advocacy sent a letter commending the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for publishing a final rule that extends by 60 days the date of compliance with certain requirements in the 2010 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Standards for accessibility of existing swimming pools and spas.
As stated in Advocacy’s letter, “DOJ is extending the compliance date in order to allow additional time to address misunderstandings among pool owners and operators regarding these ADA requirements. Advocacy has heard from small hotel owners and their representatives who continue to have questions regarding their obligations to remove barriers and provide accessibility in their existing swimming pools and spas. Advocacy is pleased that DOJ has released new compliance materials on this issue on the ADA website.1 Advocacy looks forward to continuing to work with the DOJ on educating small businesses about the requirements of this rule.2”
The full letter is on Advocacy’s website.
Footnotes:
1. See DOJ, Revised ADA Requirements: Accessible Pools (Jan. 2012); DOJ, Letter to the American Hotel and Lodging Association (Feb. 21, 2012); DOJ, Letter to the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (Feb. 21, 2012). 2. Advocacy commends DOJ for taking the comments and concerns of small businesses into account during the development and implementation of these ADA rules. Advocacy submitted a public comment letter on the proposed rule that adopted these new ADA standards. When DOJ finalized this rule, it adopted Advocacy recommended alternatives that provided significant cost savings to small businesses. See comments from the Office of Advocacy to DOJ (Aug. 6, 2008).