Auxiliary Aids and Services

Passed in 1990 and signed into law by President George H.W. Bush, the American Disabilities Act was created to ensure public accommodation, which meant that persons with a disability would not be denied services, excluded, or segregated.

What is required for public accommodation? Under Title III of the ADA, the regulations concerning public accommodation require businesses and other entities to take certain measures to ensure public accommodation. Actions for public accommodation including removing frustrating barriers to communication as well as providing persons with disabilities an equal opportunity and access to their facilities.

Auxiliary Aids and Services and ADA

Part of this requirement also includes providing auxiliary aids and services to allow for effective communication. Title III of the ADA, however, does allow for exceptions to public accommodation, but only if the public accommodation was demonstrated to “fundamentally alter the nature of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations being offered by the business or would result in an undue burden for the business.”

Description of auxiliary aids and services

To ensure effective communication, businesses and other public entities can provide a variety of tools and services. Common examples of auxiliary aids and services can include qualified interpreters, written educational information, open and closed captioning, any type of telecommunication devices for the deaf, assisted listening devices, telephones with hearing aids, closed caption decoders, large printed text, taped test, qualified readers, audio recordings, Braille materials, large printed material, accessible electronic and information technology, secondary auditory programs, and video text displays.

As mentioned above, the requirement to provide auxiliary aids and services may be eliminated like other public accommodation requirements if the business can prove that the public accommodation would fundamentally alter the nature of the goods, services, facilities, or cause an undue burden and expense.