Disability rights activist says state building code violates civil rights law [View all]

For more than two years, disability rights activist Dorothy Dean has been fighting the city of Burlington and a number of state agencies over what she and her lawyer see as violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) — a federal civil rights law — in the state building code.

The ADA, which was signed into law in 1990 after a long fight by activists, extends equal rights to Americans with disabilities by requiring accommodations to allow them to fully participate in society through wheelchair ramps, sloped curbs and accessible restrooms. Title I of the ADA is about making sure people with disabilities have equal access to employment while Title II ensures people have equal access to public life.

“The promise of the ADA is that people with disabilities have every right to be part of the daily life of society,” Dean, the executive director of statewide advocacy organization Disability Justice, says. “That includes the economic, educational, religious, but also the civic. It’s to guarantee that every person can exercise their rights as a citizen.”

The problem in Burlington began when a small retail business requested permission from the city not to construct any restrooms. Under the ADA, when buildings are rezoned they’re considered “new construction” and therefore need to be fully compliant with the law, which requires accessible restrooms.

Read more: https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2021/10/08/disability-rights-activist-says-state-building-code-violates-civil-rights-law/