Legal Considerations for Making Your Business Accessible to Those with Disabilities

It’s good practice for businesses to ensure accommodations for customers and clients with disabilities. Often, it’s the law—specifically, the Americans with Disabilities Act. Accessibility can also result in more business through word-of-mouth recommendations. Last but not least, it’s just plain decent to give all customers the equal opportunity to benefit from your business.

Of course, accommodations aren’t always intuitive to figure out. Plus, what is legally allowed or required? For example, can a business ask customers why they have service dogs? Long answer short: No.

What if the business is online only? Does it legally need to offer online accessibility? Perhaps not...but it should! Whether you want to start a business, have just opened one, or are a longtime owner, there are legal considerations.

If there’s one thing to emphasize when it comes to accommodations, it’s this: No one expects a business to implement all needed accommodations at once. Nor does anyone expect complicated, convoluted, expensive “solutions” when much simpler alternatives do just fine.

Another point to highlight is this: Try to see accommodations not as a hindrance or burden, but as part of treating customers fairly and respectfully. Accommodations make good business sense and help your bottom line when done properly. Accessibility should also extend to your website, even if your company is online-only.

READ FULL ARTICLE: https://www.business.com/legal/business-accommodations-guide-customers/