With jobs at stake and the threat of lawsuits alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities ACT (ADA) forcing businesses to pay up or shut down, Congressman Dan Lungren (R-Gold River-CA) last week introduced a bill to discourage vexatious litigants and make it easier for business owner/operators to stay open and still perform ADA code upgrades so they may better serve the disabled.
“Too often these lawsuits are filed and the accuser takes the settlement money and moves on down the road. Access for the disabled does not get fixed because the business owner has spent his money on the lawsuit. The business owner loses out, disabled Americans still can’t patronize the place -- only the pockets of the one bringing the suit are enriched,” said Lungren, who launched H.R. 3356, otherwise known as the ACCESS Act (ADA Compliance for Customer Entry to Stores and Services).
At 2 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10, Lungren will host a press conference at the Squeeze Inn Burger Joint, 5301 Power Inn Road, Sacramento. Joining him in support of his bill will be leadership from several area chambers of commerce, the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB), California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse and several business owners including Travis Hausauer of the Squeeze Inn.
“Abusive ADA lawsuits do nothing to improve access for the disabled; they merely line the pockets of the lawyers who file them, thereby taking away jobs and tax revenue,” said Tom Scott, Executive Director of California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse. “By establishing a short window of time for businesses to fix alleged ADA violations without legal action, we can help rid our courts of lawsuits motivated by greed and instead focus on ensuring that customers have a safe and comfortable experience while frequenting businesses in our communities.”
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