ADA Law Enforcement and the Real Costs of Non-Compliance

Author: Thomas C. Weiss
Published: 20 Dec 2009 - Updated: 17 Sep 2026
Publication Type: Informative

Table of Contents:
Synopsis - Definition - Overview - FAQs - Insights, Updates - Related Content

Synopsis

This report examines how the Americans with Disabilities Act is enforced in practice, drawing on documented Department of Justice actions from 2009 that include federal lawsuits, formal and informal settlement agreements, and professional mediation. Key facts include civil penalties reaching $55,000 for a first Title III violation and $110,000 for later ones, along with case outcomes such as Walmart paying $250,000 toward compensation and public awareness after service animal complaints, and Manhattan Theater District hotels agreeing to add accessible rooms with roll-in showers, TTYs, and service animal access. This affects the roughly one-fifth of Americans living with a disability, along with businesses, hotels, restaurants, public venues, and state and local governments subject to the law. It matters because the article shows that accommodating people with mobility, hearing, vision, and other disabilities is consistently far cheaper than the litigation, damages, and reputational cost of resisting compliance. The main finding is that more than seventy-five percent of completed ADA mediations were resolved successfully, and the piece is useful because it lays out the exact agencies, addresses, and phone numbers, including the EEOC TTY line, that seniors and people with disabilities can use to file their own complaints.*

At a Glance

• 1 - An Indiana fast food restaurant paid a deaf customer $30,000 after refusing service. It later added pictorial menus so customers could point to their orders.
• 2 - The Justice Department cannot sue until settlement negotiations have failed first. This rule pushed many businesses to resolve accessibility complaints without going to court.
• 3 - A lawsuit against an Alabama RV park alleged a two-year-old foster child was barred from the pool and showers over his HIV status. The owner reportedly demanded a doctor's letter before reconsidering.
• 4 - The Milwaukee World Festival settled a complaint that its 23,000-seat Marcus Amphitheater lacked wheelchair and companion seating. It added dispersed accessible spaces and fixed concession stands and restrooms during talks.

Topic Definition

ADA Enforcement

ADA Enforcement refers to the legal and administrative process by which the Americans with Disabilities Act is upheld, primarily through the U.S. Department of Justice and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. It works on several tracks at once: informal settlements in which a business quickly agrees to fix a barrier, formal settlement agreements that spell out required changes, federal lawsuits seeking court orders, back pay, compensatory damages, and civil penalties, and voluntary mediation handled by trained neutral parties. Under Title III, penalties can reach $55,000 for a first violation and $110,000 for subsequent ones, while remedies typically require the offending party to remove physical barriers, adopt written accessibility policies, train staff, and accommodate service animals and auxiliary aids. In practice, ADA enforcement is less about punishment than about compelling accessibility that the law already requires, giving people with disabilities a concrete way to challenge discrimination at hotels, restaurants, stores, venues, and government offices.

Overview

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), through formal and informal settlement agreements as well as lawsuits, and the department dedicated to enforcement of ADA law, has achieved a degree of accessibility in society for people with disabilities through pursuit of thousands of cases.

According to general rules which govern lawsuits that are brought before the federal government, the Department of Justice is unable to file a lawsuit unless it has first unsuccessfully tried to settle a dispute through negotiation. The Department does have the ability to file lawsuits in federal court in order to enforce ADA law, as well as obtain court orders that include back pay and compensatory damages with the intention of remedying discrimination. The Department, under title III, can obtain civil penalties of up to $55, 000 for the first violation on the part of an offender, as well as $110, 000 for subsequent violations.

The year of 2009 found the Department of Justice pursuing a number of actions related to the ADA, beginning early in the year. The actions were taken because, despite the fact that ADA law related to accessibility and persons with disabilities have been in place for more than two decades, businesses seem to have a continued disrespect for both the law and the one-fifth of the nation's population that experiences a form of disability. The businesses represented in this article present only a few examples of the actions pursued by the Department of Justice, ranging in size from large to small.

U.S. v. Wales West LLC

On January 16, 2009, the Department filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Alabama against Wales West LLC, a recreational vehicle (RV) park in Silverhill, Alabama, alleging that the park management discriminated against a child because of his HIV status. The suit alleges that after a couple mentioned to park staff that their two-year-old foster child has HIV, they were told that the child would not be allowed to use the RV Resort's pool or showers because of his HIV and that the owner said he might reconsider only if the couple could produce a letter from a doctor or the health department ensuring that the child could not infect others.

U.S. v. Amsterdam Hospitality LLC

U.S. v. 49th Street Realty Corp.; U.S. v. Alphonse Hotel Corp.: On January 13, 2009, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York filed lawsuits in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan against the owners and operators of five hotels in New York's Theater District. All of the hotels presented significant barriers to accessibility and did not respond to the Department's efforts to negotiate a settlement agreement with them. The hotels include:

• Hotel Carter
• Ameritania
• Amsterdam Court
• Radio City Suites
• Moderne

These lawsuits are the result of a hotel compliance initiative being conducted by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan. Under the initiative, forty-eight hotels in Manhattan's Theater District were reviewed to assess their compliance with the requirements of Title III, with the goal of removing barriers and improving access for guests with disabilities.

Agreements Reached with Manhattan Theater District Hotels

In January and March, 2009, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York signed agreements with three additional New York City hotels under the same compliance review of 48 places of lodging in Manhattan's Theater District. The hotels that reached an agreement and complied with ADA law include:

• Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers
• W Hotel - The Tuscany
• W Hotel - The Court

The agreements require each hotel to survey existing guest rooms that are designated as being accessible and make them truly accessible. They are to provide an appropriate number of accessible guest rooms for persons with mobility disabilities, to include a specified number with roll-in showers. The hotels are to disperse accessible rooms among all classes of sleeping accommodations, as well as provide an appropriate number of guest rooms which are accessible for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing. The hotels are also to establish written policies and procedures for providing services to guests with disabilities and take other steps such as ensuring access for service animals, making entrances accessible, installing accessible registration counters, and provide TTY's at the front desk. To date, seventeen hotels have entered into settlement agreements with the U. S. Attorney's Office under this initiative.

Milwaukee World Festival

On February 3, 2009, the Milwaukee World Festival entered into a settlement agreement with the Department resolving a complaint alleging that the Marcus Amphitheater, a 23,000 seat outdoor concert venue, was inaccessible to people who use wheelchairs. The complaint alleged that the amphitheater did not have enough wheelchair and companion seating spaces and that the restrooms and concession stands were inaccessible. During settlement discussions, the Milwaukee World Festival added several dispersed wheelchair and companion spaces to the amphitheater and modified all of its concession areas and restrooms to bring them into compliance with the ADA Standards.

Walmart to Improve Access for People with Disabilities Nationwide

On January 16, 2009, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., entered into a settlement agreement with the Department to improve access for people with disabilities at their stores nationwide, to include Supercenters, Sam's Clubs, and Neighborhood Markets. The agreement resolves an investigation that was initiated after the Department received complaints alleging a variety of issues, including refusing to admit, or excessively questioning, customers who use service animals.

According to the settlement agreement, Walmart is to:

• Investigate complaints
• Adopt and implement a new policy on service animals
• Take appropriate corrective action to resolve ADA violations
• Post the new policy on their website and in employee areas at their stores
• Provide additional training on the policy for store management and greeters
• Provide training on the new policy every Walmart associate who has contact with the public
• Establish a grievance procedure under which they will receive ADA complaints through a toll-free hotline
• Provide training for managers and greeters on their obligations under the ADA to maintain accessible features
• Make reasonable modifications in their policies, practices, and procedures as needed to accommodate customers with disabilities

Walmart will also pay $150,000 into a fund to compensate people with disabilities whose complaints were resolved by the settlement agreement. Walmart has also agreed to pay an additional $100,000 into a fund which will be used to finance a public service campaign with the intention of increasing public awareness of the rights of people with disabilities who use service animals.

Department of Justice Can Resolve Many Cases Without Litigation or Formal Settlement Agreement

At times, the commercial facility, public accommodation, State or local government quickly agrees to take steps that are necessary to comply with ADA law. At other times, more extensive negotiations are needed. What follows are two examples of cases that have been resolved through informal settlements.

A person who is deaf complained that a national chain hotel in New York did not provide a TTY for guests who are either hard of hearing or deaf. The owner of the hotel bought two portable hearing accommodation kits that include visual alarms and notification devices, as well as TTY's. The owner has also agreed to buy four more of the kits, and has paid the person who complained $1,500.

Another person who is deaf alleged that a medical practice in Pennsylvania refused to provide her with a sign language interpreter at their main office, even though they were willing to provide here with an interpreter at a satellite office that was not as convenient for her. The medical practice agreed to adopt a communication policy that is more effective; one that provides both auxiliary aids and services at all of their locations, as well as training for staff members in regards to the policy. The medical practice agreed to train its staff members in regards to the policy, post the policy in its offices, and pay the woman who complained $2,000.

The Key Bridge Foundation, through a contract with the Department of Justice, title II and III ADA complaints for mediation by professional mediators who have received training in regards to the legal requirements of the ADA. There are an increasing number of both individuals with disabilities and disability rights organizations who are specifically requesting the Department of Justice to refer their complaints for mediation. Greater than four-hundred professional mediators across America are available to mediate ADA cases. More than seventy-five percent of these cases, in which mediations has been completed, have been resolved successfully. What follows are examples of results achieved through mediation.

In the State of Illinois, a person who uses a wheelchair complained that the restrooms at a restaurant where a family wedding reception was held were inaccessible, causing her embarrassment because she had to be carried both in and out of the restroom. The restaurant responded by installing accessible stalls with grab bars in the women's and men's restrooms, with accessible sinks and paper towel dispensers. The restaurant also paid the woman who complained $1,000.

A person who experiences a mobility disability in the State of California complained that a car rental company failed to provide hand controls, despite the fact that he had requested them in advance. After waiting for ninety-minutes, he was forced to rent a car without hand controls, causing his wife to do all of the driving, inconveniencing both of them. The car rental company responded by training the agent who took the reservation to appropriately record hand control requests. The company instituted annual training for reservation personnel worldwide, as well as customer service training at the branch the man had visited. The company also agreed to publish one article each year concerning ADA compliance for three years in an employee publication that is to be distributed worldwide, provide the man who complained with a letter of apology, and paid him $2,700.

In the State of Georgia, a person who uses a service animal for both mobility assistance and seizure detection complained that security personnel forced him to leave a shopping mall because of the service animal. The mall responded by reaffirming its policy of allowing service animals, training its security personnel about service animals and the ADA, and adding materials concerning service animals to its employee manual. The mall also paid the person $7,000.

In an example of blatant violation of ADA law and disability bias, a person who is deaf complained that when he attempted to place his order at an Indiana fast food restaurant was refused service and ridiculed after restaurant personnel repeatedly misunderstood his written order. The misunderstanding escalated, the police were called, and the person was asked to leave. Through ADA mediation, the restaurant added pictorial menus at their counter that customers can use to point to their orders. The restaurant trained their staff members on the ADA, and paid the man $30,000 in compensation.

More than twenty years after the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, many businesses have chosen to follow ADA law and respect the greater than fifty-million Americans who experience a form of disability in this nation. Comprising one-fifth of the population, people with disabilities represent an immense consumer group in America. Unfortunately, there are still businesses in this nation that choose to attempt to avoid making their businesses accessible to this large group of consumers, forcing people with disabilities, disability rights groups, mediators, and the Department of Justice to take actions. The results are many times more costly than simply respecting the rights of people with disabilities and making a business accessible in the first place would have been.

Complaints regarding violations of title I of the ADA (employment) on the parts of units of State and local governments, or by private employers, should be filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. You can call 800-669-6820 (TTY) in order to reach the field office for your area. Complaints concerning violations of title II by units of State or local government, or violations of title III on the part of public accommodations and commercial facilities should be filed with:

U.S. Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Disability Rights Section - NYAV
Washington, D.C. 20530

People who want their complaint to be considered for referral to the Department's ADA Mediation Program should mark the outside of the envelope with, 'Attention: Mediation.'

Frequently Asked Questions

NOTE: Researched FAQs by Disabled World (DW)

How do I file an ADA complaint against a business

Complaints about public accommodations and commercial facilities under Title III are filed with the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section in Washington, D.C. Employment complaints under Title I go to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which can be reached at 800-669-6820 by TTY.

What is the difference between Title I, Title II, and Title III of the ADA

Title I covers employment discrimination by private employers and state and local governments, while Title II covers programs and services run by state and local governments. Title III covers public accommodations and commercial facilities such as hotels, stores, and restaurants.

Does the ADA cover people with HIV

Yes, HIV status is treated as a disability under the ADA, and denying someone access to facilities because of it can be unlawful discrimination. A federal case cited an Alabama RV park that allegedly barred a child from its pool and showers over his HIV status.

What are auxiliary aids and services under the ADA

Auxiliary aids and services are tools and support that help people with disabilities communicate and access a business, such as sign language interpreters, TTYs, visual alarms, and pictorial menus. Businesses are often required to provide them consistently across all of their locations.

How does ADA mediation work

ADA mediation is a voluntary process in which a trained neutral mediator helps a complainant and a business reach a resolution without going to court. The Key Bridge Foundation administers this program under contract with the Department of Justice, drawing on hundreds of mediators across the country.

What rules must hotels follow for accessible rooms

Hotels are generally required to provide a suitable number of genuinely accessible guest rooms, including some with roll-in showers, and to spread those rooms across different room classes and price levels. They must also serve guests who are deaf or hard of hearing, provide TTYs at the front desk, and allow service animals.

Are service animals required to be allowed in stores and malls

Yes, businesses open to the public generally must allow service animals and cannot refuse entry or excessively question the person using one. Several settlements required companies to adopt service animal policies and train staff and greeters on those obligations.

What can I recover if my ADA complaint is successful

Outcomes can include physical changes to a facility, new written policies, staff training, and monetary compensation for the person who filed the complaint. Reported payments in these cases ranged from $1,000 to $30,000 depending on the severity and circumstances.

Insights, Analysis, and Developments

Editorial Note: What stands out across these cases is the pattern rather than any single dispute - a car rental company that ignored an advance request for hand controls, a mall that ejected a man using a seizure-detection service animal, a medical practice that would only supply a sign language interpreter at an inconvenient office. Each was resolved through the same combination of policy changes, staff training, and modest compensation payments that ranged from $1,000 to $30,000, and each could have been avoided entirely. The Key Bridge Foundation's mediation program, staffed by more than four hundred trained mediators nationwide, quietly handles a growing share of Title II and Title III complaints because individuals and disability rights groups increasingly ask for it by name. For a consumer group of more than fifty million Americans, the arithmetic is plain, and the businesses that learned it early spent far less than those that waited for a federal filing.*

Author Credentials: Thomas C. Weiss is a researcher and editor for Disabled World. Thomas attended college and university courses earning a Masters, Bachelors and two Associate degrees, as well as pursing Disability Studies. As a CNA Thomas has providing care for people with all forms of disabilities. Explore Thomas' complete biography for comprehensive insights into his background, expertise, and accomplishments.

* Editorial additions by Ian C. Langtree.