Federal and state laws requiring businesses to provide accessibility to people with disabilities are necessary and allow everyone to be able to go about their day with minimal restrictions.

But the Americans with Disabilities Act and state human rights legislation shouldn’t be used as a tool of extortion to force businesses to pay settlements. But that’s just what’s happened.

A lawyer — who is facing possible disbarment for various misdeeds — has in the past year or so swept across the state, including in the Mankato region, filing lawsuits against businesses alleging they are violating accessibility requirements. Those businesses then face hiring a lawyer to fight the suit or to pay a settlement to make the case go away.

The Legislature is weighing bills that would still require businesses to fix any accessibility problems, but if they do it promptly, they couldn’t be sued for damages.

Many of the violations are unknown to business owners and are relatively minor. Stripes in the parking lot may be the wrong size or signs at a business may be at the wrong height. Whether it’s a simple or more serious violation, business owners should have the right to correct the problem when it’s pointed out.

The proposed legislation does not in any way weaken the accessibility requirements for businesses.

The House is fashioning a bill that is backed by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and other business groups that would require someone making an allegation to fill out a form that is online with the state that outlines the violations and to send it to the business. If the business addresses the problem, that would be the end of it. If the business doesn’t fix the problem, it can be sued.

But a version in the Senate is problematic because it makes it optional for a claimant to file a notice with the business. That means people seeking to make money from businesses will simply choose not to file the notice and instead sue.

The House version is a reasonable solution that protects business owners from extortion while maintaining accessibility requirements. The Senate should follow suit.

 

— Mankato Free Press, May 17