No Swimming Allowed: Phone the White House

The Department of Justice Title III regulations regarding accessible entry and exit from swimming pools and spas is scheduled to come into effect tomorrow, March 15, 2012. Unfortunately, however, after the DoJ sent a letter to the American Hotel and Lodging Association last month with information about how pool owners could come into compliance with this requirement, the hotel and lodging industry reacted negatively and made phone calls to Congress and the White House asking them to postpone implementation of the rule.

In response to that pressure, the Obama administration is planning to ask the Department to postpone implementation.

Call Kareem Dale, Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy TODAY at 202-456-6726 and ask that the White House support the Department of Justice’s swimming pool regulations and not try to postpone implementation of this rule.

There are a number of reasons why postponing implementation would be bad for people with disabilities, including:

• People with disabilities should have the same access to recreational and exercise opportunities as everyone else.
• Backtracking on the ADA is never acceptable.
• The requirements of the ADA should not be postponed for one particular type of accommodation. It sets a bad precedent.
• The ADA was signed into law 22 years ago. Swimming pool owners have had decades to come into compliance.
• The Title III regulations have been going through the regulatory process since 2004.
• The final regulation language and the accessibility standards have been out since September 2010, so the pool owners have had 18 months to comply with those specific standards.
• The regulations are subject to an “undue burden” defense, so any hotel or pool owner that cannot afford to come into compliance need not do so immediately.

Call Kareem Dale, Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy TODAY at 202-456-6726.