-----Original Message-----
From: Virtual Majordomo Account [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
Behalf Of Justice For All Moderator
Sent: Friday, May 19, 2000 6:43 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: DOJ Opposes ADA Notification Act
Justice For All
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DOJ Opposes ADA Notification Act
Liz Savage, [log in to unmask], forwards:
U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Legislative Affairs
Washington, D.C. 20530
The Honorable Charles Canady
Chairman
Subcommittee on the Constitution
Committee on the Judiciary
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Chairman Canady:
I am writing to you to express the Administrations opposition to H.R.
3590,
the ADA Notification Act. The proposed legislation would prohibit
individuals
from bringing lawsuits to enforce title III of the Americans with
Disabilities
Act (ADA)without first providing notice of the alleged violation to the
defendant and then waiting 90 days for the defendant to take corrective
action. We believe that this proposed legislation would work to
undermine
voluntary compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and that
it
would unduly burden legitimate ADA enforcement activity.
There may be attorneys who are engaged in frivolous or harassing
litigation
under the ADA. The appropriate mechanism for addressing allegations of
such
behavior lies with the ethics and disciplinary bodies of State bar
associations
or with the court where the litigation is pending. Rule 11 of the
Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure and its State equivalents prohibit the filing
of
frivolous lawsuits and entities sued in such actions may recover
attorneys fees
and costs. In such an action, a court may also sanction attorneys,
parties, and
law firms and may assess monetary damages or penalties. When the
Department of
Justice is made aware of such allegations, we will refer them to the
appropriate
State bar association, as we did in the Florida matter referred to us by
Congressman Foley.
In 1990, President Bush and overwhelming bipartisan majorities in the
Congress
took strong steps to limit the need and incentive for litigation under
title III
of the statute. They delayed the ADA's effective date, prevented
damages awards
in private suits brought by persons with disabilities, and mandated a
comprehensive technical assistance program to foster voluntary
compliance
with the Act.
The ADA itself, as crafted by Congress, included a number of safeguards
to
ensure that businesses and other public accommodations would have
adequate
notice of their obligations under the Act and ample time to take steps
to bring
themselves into compliance. Under section 310(a) of the Act, although
the ADA
was enacted on July 26, 1990, its requirements for public accommodations
did not
take effect for another 18 months (until January 26, 1992), six months
after
final regulations were issued. In addition, under section 310(b),
Congress
provided further protection from suits for up to a year (until January
26,
1993) for small businesses.
Congress also mandated the establishment of an unprecedented technical
assistance
program to educate persons who operate public accommodations and people
with
disabilities of their rights and responsibilities under the Act.
Educating
entities covered by the Act about their obligations has been a top
priority for
the Department of Justice. With the assistance of the Internal Revenue
Service,
we notified, each year for seven years, over six million businesses of
their ADA
responsibilities and how to obtain information on how to comply. Our
toll-free
ADA Information Line, established in 1994, received more than 100,000
calls in
Fiscal Year 1999. In addition, we have published and disseminated 40
technical
assistance documents, including approximately 500,000 copies of the ADA
Guide
for Small Businesses. All of our technical assistance documents are
available
24 hours a day through our Fax-on-Demand system or on our ADA Home Page
on the
Internet, which was viewed at least six million times last year. In
addition we
have provided funds to several trade associations to develop and
disseminate
industry-specific guides for hotels and motels, grocery stores,
restaurants,
builders and contractors, medical professionals, child care providers,
and
small businesses generally. We sent a packet of 33 ADA educational
documents
to approximately 6,000 Chambers of Commerce and placed an ADA
Information File,
containing 94 ADA publications in 15,000 local public libraries.
Since 1991, the Department of Education has funded ten regional
Disability and
Business Technical Assistance Centers, which provide training and
technical
assistance to businesses in their communities.
As we approach the tenth anniversary of the ADA, many businesses have
made their
operations and facilities accessible to people with disabilities. In
the process
they have discovered the possibilities of new markets for their goods
and services.
We continue to extend compliance assistance to all businesses seeking to
comply in
good faith with the ADA.
To the extent that other businesses have adopted a policy of
"foot-dragging" or
"wait and see," they should not be rewarded. Certainly, they should not
receive
an unfair competitive advantage over businesses that have already
complied in good
faith with the law. Nor should Congress take steps to encourage
businesses not to
move toward ADA compliance until legal action is threatened. This would
create
disincentives for voluntary compliance and make it much harder for those
who have
legitimate ADA
legal claims.
Thank you for the opportunity to present our views. Please do not
hesitate to call
upon us if we may be of additional assistance. The Office of Management
and Budget
has advised us that, from the perspective of the Administrations
program, there is
no objection to submission of this letter.
Sincerely,
Robert Raben
Assistant Attorney General
IDENTICAL LETTER SENT TO THE HONORABLE MEL WATT, RANKING MEMBER,
JUDICIARY SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE CONSTITUTION
Liz Savage
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--
Fred Fay
Chair, Justice For All
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http://www.jfanow.org
Register to Vote Online at http://www.fec.gov/votregis/vr.htm
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