In 1990, the United States government signed an act, called the Americans with Disabilities Act. It is a civil rights law that was enacted so that people would not be able to discriminate against citizens with disabilities, similar to the civil rights law which makes it illegal to discriminate against anyone based on race, religion or sex. It specifically pertains to all facets of public life including schools, hospitals, the workplace and anywhere else that is open to the general public. It requires that businesses and cities install signage that will aid disabled people in public places.
The act was first recommended in 1986, but didn’t get signed until July 26, 1990. So in honor of its 26th anniversary, we wanted to write a short article to let our readers know about it. If you are a business owner, then you need to know about it, because if your business is not ADA compliant, you could be fined. Online you can find multiple websites where it states that you can be fined $50,000 or more for not having an ADA compliant business. To get compliant, you just need to have the proper signs installed at your business.
There are a lot of different types of ADA signs. Some o
f the more common are braille signs, handicap signs and wheelchair accessible signs. They can be made out of a variety of different materials to either match your marketing or building decor. They can also be made out of standard materials that are highly durable and lower in cost in case you have a large building or facility that needs many ADA signs installed.
The old, familiar handicapped signs will soon be a thing of the past. 2 years ago Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a law that changes the traditional image of a wheelchair bound character used on ramps and accessible parking to show a character in motion. The new law also prohibits the use of the word “handicapped” from being displayed on signs and instead only allows for the word “accessible.” Look for these signs to appear soon.
Have any questions about ADA signs? Just give us a call.
Written by: Excalibur Sign Studio