Saul Ewing represents public and private employers across the country in employment discrimination cases, including disability discrimination cases under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and comparable provisions of state law.
However, there is much more to our Disabilities Law practice than the employment discrimination, especially in the areas of public access claims, real estate and construction. Members of our Labor, Employment and Employee Benefits Practice Group represent businesses, nonprofits and governmental entities on numerous related issues, such as:
- Accessible design and construction issues under federal and state laws and codes, including the ADA and ICC/ANSI;
- Non-discrimination issues involving customers under ADA Title III and state civil rights laws;
- Non-discrimination issues in governmental services under ADA Title II and the Rehabilitation Act;
- Overlapping coverage of the Fair Housing Act, the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act.
What We Do
We complement and support in-house efforts to comply with laws that impact construction, development and redevelopment of commercial real estate projects and the on-going operations of places of public accommodation and other covered entities by providing the following services:
Entities Challenged Under the ADA and Comparable Laws:
- Early assessment of complaints and claims
- Defense of lawsuits and charges nationwide
- Defense of Class-Action and pattern and practice claims
- Negotiation with the U.S. Department of Justice, state Attorney's General, local agencies, advocacy groups and pro se plaintiffs
- Handle "drive-by" litigation
Landlords and Tenants:
- Assistance in drafting clauses allocating responsibility for ADA issues and indemnification in claims
- Joint defense of lawsuits
- Analyzing “path of travel” issues in remodeling programs
- Pre-lease due diligence on potential accessibility problems
- Negotiation with other potentially responsible entities
- Designers and Architects (In-house and Outside):
- Legal support on ADA “interpretations” under the original ADAAG, the revised ADAAG, ANSI A.117.1, the IBC, and overlapping state and local codes
- Negotiations with Local Code Officials
- Assistance with seeking waivers of state accessible design standards
- Defense of complaints and lawsuits against architects
- Address "path of travel" issues in alterations
- Develop ADA self-evaluations and assistance in setting priorities for barrier removal
Contractors and In-House Construction Departments:
- Negotiations with Local Code Officials
- Develop ADA “punch lists”
Store Operations/Customer Service in "Places of Public Accommodation":
- Assist in addressing Customer Complaints
- Respond to DOJ complaints and represent entities in mediation
- Respond to state civil rights investigations
- Develop customer service training and preventive policies and procedures
- Address accessibility issues involving new products and services
Risk Managers and Defense Attorneys:
- Handle ADA issues in personal injury cases
- Identify and work with expert witnesses on accessible design and accessibility code issues
- Address federal law pre-emption of state tort claims
Manufacturers:
- Address "ADA Compliance" of products in advertising (yours or a competitors ads)
- Application of accessible design and DOJ regulation to products
- Secure approval of purchasing departments requiring "ADA compliance"
- Assist in Bid Protests
Trade Associations and Legal/Legislative Affairs Departments:
- Work with federal and state agencies to secure interpretations or waivers
- Prepare comments in response to rulemakings
Housing Industry (Developers, Insurers):
- Defend discrimination claims under the Fair Housing Act and the ADA
- Assist in interpreting overlapping requirements
Colleges and Universities, and Public and Private Schools:
- Provide self-evaluation assistance
- Respond to student complaints and accommodation requests
- Defend Department of Education Office of Civil Rights Complaints
- Analyze and defend decisions regarding academic standards
State and Local Governmental Entities:
- Address the difference between "Facilities" Accessibility and "Program Access" and defend decisions
Other Covered Entities:
- Assist other entities in determining how overlapping federal laws apply to them. One example is our experience in advising and representing apprenticeship programs, which have attributes of both employment and schools.