ADA-Compliant Portable Toilets

When I go out to do, outdoor activities, and find the need to use a portable toilet. I expect to be able to use a ADA-Compliant toilet. There has been on many occasions, no ADA-Compliant toilet available to use. I find it hard to believe, that portable toilet companies don’t know the difference between ADA-Compliant and ADA NON-Compliant. I always here the term “handicap” for a portable toilet. When in January 26, 1992 28 CFR Part 35-104 Definitions:”Disability.” The definition of the term “disability” is the same as the definition in the title III regulation codified at 28 CFR Part 36. It is comparable to the definition of the term “individual with handicaps” in section 7(8) of the Rehabilitation Act and section 802(h) of the Fair Housing Act. The Education and Labor Committee report makes clear that the analysis of the term “individual with handicaps” by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) in its regulations implementing section 504 (42 FR 22685 (May 4, 1977)) and the analysis by the Department of Housing and Urban Development in its regulation implementing the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 (54 FR 3232 (Jan. 23, 1989)) should also apply fully to the term “disability” (Education and Labor report at 50).

The use of the term “disability” instead of “handicap” and the term “individual with a disability” instead of “individual with handicaps” represents an effort by Congress to make use of up-to-date, currently accepted terminology. As with racial and ethnic epithets, the choice of terms to apply to a person with a disability is overlaid with stereotypes, patronizing attitudes, and other emotional connotations. Many individuals with disabilities, and organizations representing such individuals, object to the use of such terms as “handicapped person” or “the handicapped.” In other recent legislation, Congress also recognized this shift in terminology, e.g., by changing the name of the National Council on the Handicapped to the National Council on Disability (Pub. L. 100- 630).

In enacting the Americans with Disabilities Act, Congress concluded that it was important for the current legislation to use terminology most in line with the sensibilities of most Americans with disabilities. No change in definition or substance is intended nor should one be attributed to this change in phraseology.

The term “disability” means, with respect to an individual -

(A) A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual;

(B) A record of such an impairment; or

(C) Being regarded as having such an impairment.

If an individual meets any one of these three tests, he or she is considered to be an individual with a disability for purposes of coverage under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Congress adopted this same basic definition of “disability,” first used in the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and in the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, for a number of reasons. First, it has worked well since it was adopted in 1974. Second, it would not be possible to guarantee comprehensiveness by providing a list of specific disabilities, especially because new disorders may be recognized in the future, as they have since the definition was first established in 1974.

So  “Handicap” means “Disability”or ADA-Compliant for portable toilets. Why then, do so many portable toilet companies breaking the law? I have placed links to portable toilet manufactures that sell ADA-Compliant portable toilets. The manufactures of portable toilets also sell NON-Compliant too. Please check out those links under NON-Compliant portable toilets. Further down the road. I plan to recognize thosecompanies, who provide proper ADA-Compliant units, on this site with photos and information. Those who provide NON-Compliant portable toilets out there, will also be shown here, and a Complaint filed with the Department of Justice!

This entry was posted on 23. February 2008 at 23:27 and is filed under ADA doing it right. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.