3 Key U.S. Federal Regulations on Facility Access

In the United States, certain regulations and laws set a minimum standard for ensuring that facilities provide access to everyone, regardless of the person’s abilities. These standards also affect a person’s ability to exit a building during an evacuation.

ADA Title III: Public Accommodations

According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), public accommodations are private entities that own, lease, or operate spaces like convention centers, daycare centers, doctors’ offices, funeral homes, homeless shelters, hotels, movie theaters, private schools, recreational facilities, restaurants, retail stores, transportation depots, and zoos. These types of facilities must adhere to specific architectural standards for new or modified buildings. According to the ADA, they must also make “reasonable modifications to policies, practices, and procedures” to allow for communication with anyone with a hearing, vision, or speech disability.

For existing facilities, the law requires that the goods or services of public accommodations can be generally accessed by anyone. This means that if it is “readily achievable,” architectural barriers or structural communications barriers must be removed—meaning that this must be done if it can be done easily or without high costs depending on the organization’s resources.

Architectural Barriers Act

The Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 was the first measure that the U.S. Congress passed to ensure facility access for all. According to the law, any buildings or facilities that were designed, built, or altered with federal funding or leased by a federal agency after 12 August 1968 must be accessible to all.

The facilities that fall under this law include U.S. courthouses, federal office buildings, federal prisons, national parks, U.S. post offices, Social Security Administration offices, and Veterans Affairs medical facilities. Nongovernment facilities that often receive federal funding are also affected, including mass transit systems, public housing, and some schools.

When it comes to leaving a building or facility, the ABA stipulates that the areas accessible to all within a facility have to have “at least two accessible means of egress.” There are a few exceptions to this rule, such as for mezzanine spaces that have direct access to an enclosed exit stairway.

U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration

In general, OSHA creates guidelines for employers, including that employers must have safe and accessible exit routes for all staff, as well as emergency action plans. For example, organizations must ensure that the exit routes don’t force evacuating employees to go through areas or rooms that could present several obstacles or hazards—such as bathrooms, closets, kitchens, storerooms, or workrooms. Employers must also post signs that clearly indicate the nearest exit.

As for emergency planning, OSHA notes that while action plans will depend on an individual organization’s parameters (for example, not every facility is required to plan for the safe processing and handling of highly hazardous chemical or radioactive materials), every U.S. organization must have an emergency action plan.

Sara Mosqueda is associate editor for Security Management. You can connect with her on LinkedIn or send her an email at [email protected].