U.S.

Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division

T. 4/27/92
JLW:PLB:HJB:jfh
Washington, D.C. 20530

MAY 12 1992

Frank H. Burder, President

Tacala, Inc.
500 Chase Park South, Suite 108
Birmingham, Alabama 35244

Dear Mr. Burder:

This letter responds to your correspondence regarding your

efforts to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The ADA authorizes the Department of Justice to provide technical
assistance to individuals or entities having rights or
obligations under the Act. This letter provides informal
guidance to assist you in understanding the ADA's requirements.
However, it does not constitute a legal interpretation, and it is
not binding on the Department.

Depending on the context, title III of the ADA imposes a

range of compliance standards on private entities regarding
physical barriers in places of public accommodation. When a
public accommodation is engaged in new construction of a
facility, it must comply with the accessibility provisions of the
ADA and the ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) established
pursuant to it. When a public accommodation is engaged in an
alteration or remodeling of an existing facility, it must comply
with ADAAG's requirements for alterations.

When a public accommodation is engaged in neither new

construction nor alteration of a facility, then a significantly
less rigorous accessibility obligation is imposed. The public
facility must remove any physical barriers to individuals with
disabilities where the removal of those barriers is "readily
achievable" -- that is, where the removal can be done easily and
without much difficulty or expense.

The regulations issued by the Department of Justice discuss

the factors that are to be used in determining whether the
removal of a particular barrier is readily achievable. These
include the nature and cost of the action, the financial
resources available both to the site and the parent organization,
the size and number of employees at the site and overall, and the
relationship of the site to the parent organization. A copy of
these regulations is enclosed.
cc: Records; OADA; Wodatch; Breen; Beard; Arthur
01-00761

-2-

The removal of existing physical barriers to your restrooms

should be evaluated under the "readily achievable" standard.
Where removal of all barriers is not readily achievable, you must
still take whatever steps you can under that standard to remove
barriers. In addition, the obligation to remove any existing
barriers is an ongoing one. What is not readily achievable today
may be readily achievable next year.

We hope that this information is useful to you in evaluating

your compliance with the ADA.

Sincerely,

Philip L. Breen
Special Legal Counsel
Office on the Americans with Disabilities Act

Enclosure

01-00762