Airport Disability Compliance Reasonable Modification and ... · Cindy arrived at XYZ airport,...

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Federal Aviation Administration

Office Of Civil Rights

ACHIEVING SAFETY THROUGH DIVERSITY


Airport Disability

Compliance

Reasonable Modification

and Accommodation

Requirements at Airports

Presented to: 2020 NCRTC Participants

Date: August 5, 2020

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Applicable Statutes

• Sec. 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Sec. 504).

– 49 CFR §27.7(e).

• Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).

– 28 CFR §35.130(b)(7); 28 CFR §36.302.

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RM&A Overview

• RM&A process for the public.

• Must make exceptions to rules, ordinances, policies, and regulations.

• Provide services in most integrated setting.

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RM&A Overview (cont’d.)

• Who is covered?

– Any qualified individual with a disability.

• Scope:

– All airport and tenant programs, services, and activities.

– Airport responsibility goes beyond Air Carrier Access Act requirements.

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RM&A Process Requirements

• Four implied requirements:

1. Create a process

2. Train staff

− Initial and recurrent training for airport staff and

tenants.

− RM&A procedure / policy documented.

3. Identify point of contact

− Who is the appropriate point of contact?

− Responsible for process oversight, including training. Create a

4. Advertise the process Process

− Inform public about procedure for receiving,

processing, and responding to requests. Advertise − Best practice: for advance requests, use Train Staff Process

the same process as for complaints.

• …and use the process! Identify point of contact

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- JAX Jacksonville International Airport

HOME TRAVELER INFO AIRPORT INFO BUSINESS OP

�

DA Grievance Procedure & Form DA Grievance Procedure & Form, Reasonable Accomodation/Modification Request rievance Procedure Under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

ntroduction n accordance with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, it is the intention of the

to provide access to a ll public facilities, programs and services associa ted with its operation of to all persons with disabilities.

Amercans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Coordinator

ADA Coordinator is or

who may be reached by email or by mail at

Aviation Authority Inte rnationa l Airport

by phone at

he - American with Disabilities Act (ADA) Coordinator is responsible for administering the - overall compliance program, and is esignated, in accordance with the federal regulation under the ADA, to coordinate the - efforts to comply with and carry out its esponsibilities under the Act, including investigation of any complaint communicated to the - alleging the denial of access to anyervice or program, based on disability. Please contact the ADA Coordinator for any questions, Request for Reasonable Accomodations or rievances.

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RM&A Process Requirements (cont’d.)

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Serv1cio de asistencia a personas con movihdad reducida

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FOR ADA Assistance Call:

Domestic Airlines 7-3339

Aeromexico & Volaris Airlines

7-2000



• Process, not end result:

– Follow process to grant or deny requests.

– Anticipate frequent requests.

– Advance notice only (not always allowable).

– Secret shopper program.

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• Refusals:

– Fundamentally alter nature of activity or service offered.

– Public safety

– Undue administrative and/or financial burden.

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Ground Transportation RM&A Requirements

• Private transport requirements.

• Airport operator responsibility via permit, agreement.

– 28 CFR §35.130(b)(1) and 49 CFR §27.7.

• Additional obligations and enforcement from DOJ and the public.

• Personnel trained to proficiency (private and public entities).

– 49 CFR§37.173.

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Ground Transportation RM&A Req. (cont’d.)

• Public transport requirements.

– Public or private contractor operator.

– Publicly-owned airport services are public transportation.

– Service done under contract by a private entity on behalf of the airport.

• Public entity: subject to requirements of 49 CFR §37.169(c)(1)-(3).

• Personnel trained to proficiency (private and public entities).

– 49 CFR§37.173.

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Ground Transportation RM&A Req. (cont’d.)

• 49 CFR §37, Appendix E.

– Guidance to determine whether to grant a requested modification.

– USDOT official position on RM&A provisions in ground transportation.

– 27 examples of request classes that should be granted or denied.

• Neither exhaustive nor exclusive.

• Consideration for limitations (denials) included.

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Legitimate Safety Requirements

• 28 CFR §35.130(h).

– The legitimate safety requirements exception applies to airport safety rules that are

necessary for the safe operation of its services, programs, or activities.

• It is an exception to RM&A requirements.

• It is similar to the direct threat exception, but it is categorical; no individualized

analysis is required.

– Safety rules must be enforced consistently in order to qualify as necessary legitimate

safety requirements.

• If the rule is not necessary for safety, it is just a regular policy, subject to usual

RM&A requirements.

• Having arbitrary exceptions tends to show that a safety rule is not necessary.

– Other modifications/accommodations, outside the scope of the safety rules, are still

required, including:

• Modifications/accommodations to avoid the safety issue and provide access.

• Modifications/accommodations necessary to ensure effective communication, the

most integrated setting, or meet other accessibility requirements.

– Legitimate safety requirements are not mentioned in Part 27, but §27.7 interprets

RM&A requirements “in a manner consistent with” § 35.130.

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Scenario 1

Bob’s Landscaping Inc., owned by Bob, just won an airport contract to do a landscaping project at XYZ airport. Bob comes to the airport administration office to apply for a security badge.

XYZ airport has a policy that closed toe shoes must be worn in all common use spaces for everyone’s safety. The airport receptionist asks Bob to remove his flip flop sandals and put on closed toe shoes. Bob responds that he does not have shoes because he only wears flip flops. The receptionist offered to let Bob borrow a pair of clean work boots, but Bob declined. The receptionist asked Bob to at least put on socks, to which Bob replied that nobody can tell him to cover his feet, and besides, he has seen a lot of people wearing shoes that are just as exposed and dangerous as flip flops, including high heel shoes.

Finally, the receptionist asked Bob to take the application and fill it in his vehicle then drop it off in the slot beside the main entrance. Bob said he felt he was being discriminated against and called the FAA.

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Scenario 2

Bob had a layover at airport XYZ. Bob has visual and hearing disabilities and lip reads to communicate.

Bob attempts to order food at a grab-’n-go restaurant with an overhead menu, where the staff is instructed to wear face coverings. Bob asks the staffer, Alice, to remove her face covering, in order to read their lips to make an order.

Alice states that she cannot remove the mask, due to the restaurant policy.

Alice gestures toward a sit-down restaurant, suggesting that Bob go there instead, since he can be given a menu to chose from and get waited on.

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Scenario 3

Cindy arrived at XYZ airport, exited the terminal, and went outside to the consolidated hotel shuttle pick-up and drop-off area. Cindy is a wheelchair user, and requires a lift or ramp in order to board a shuttle vehicle.

Cindy waited at the hotel shuttle area for a vehicle from her hotel. When the vehicle arrived, Cindy asked the driver to deploy the ramp so that she could board the vehicle. The driver refused because he said it was not safe to use the vehicle’s ramp without an access aisle, and there were no accessible loading zones with access aisles in the hotel shuttle area.

Cindy asked the driver to move the vehicle to another area, where it would be safe to use the ramp. The driver refused because it was against the airport’s rules in the hotel shuttle permit agreement to pick-up or drop-off passengers outside of the hotel area.

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Scenario 4

Derek arrived at XYZ airport, exited the terminal, and went outside to the taxi pick-up and drop-off area.

Derek has a disability that makes it difficult to maintain his body temperature, and it was very cold outside. Unfortunately, the taxi pick-up line was long, and Derek knew immediately it would be several minutes before he would reach the front of the line to get a cab. He would have asked to wait inside or to move to the front of the line, but he did not know whom to ask.

Derek eventually made it to the front of the line, but was very cold by the time he got into a taxi. He asked the driver to turn on the heat, but the driver refused. The driver said that the heater was broken, but Derek suspected that the driver was lying. Unable to resolve the problem, Derek endured a very uncomfortable ride to his destination.

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Scenario 5

Erin arrived at XYZ airport, and as she was walking off the plane, asked the air carrier personnel for “cart service” to help her get from the gate area to the baggage claim area.

The air carrier personnel informed Erin that assistance services should usually be requested in advance of the flight, but said that they could still accommodate her with a hand pushed wheelchair assistance service, if she could wait about 15 minutes. Erin reluctantly agreed.

While she was waiting, Erin noticed several electric carts, with the air carrier’s name on them, parked nearby. Erin asked if someone could provide her a ride, using one of the carts, as she originally requested. The air carrier personnel refused, saying that their policy was to only provide cart service for people who made advance requests.

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Questions

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Contact Information

Airport Disability Compliance Program

2300 E. Devon Avenue, Suite 440

Des Plaines, IL 60018

Phone: (847) 294-7209

Email: [email protected]

Jonathan Klein ([email protected])

Team Lead, Specialist for Alaskan and Western-Pacific regions

Elisha Luyeho ([email protected])

Specialist for Southwest and Southern regions

Sophia Soler ([email protected])

Specialist for New England and Eastern regions

Ty Thomas ([email protected])

Specialist for Great Lakes, Central, and Northwest Mountain regions

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mailto:[email protected]





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The End

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Airport Disability Compliance Reasonable Modification and ... · Cindy arrived at XYZ airport,...

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