Lawsuit Seeks Review of Disability Access Guidelines The National Federation of Independent Business Legal Foundation has filed suit seeking to block proposed accessibility guidelines under the Americans With Disabilities Act. When a new building is constructed or an existing one renovated, the rules would require lowering light switches, installing handrails on both sides of stairwells and making work areas accessible to wheelchairs even if no employee uses a wheelchair. NFIB charged the federal Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, known as the Access Board, violated the Regulatory Flexibility Act by failing to fully analyze the impact of the rules on small businesses. The Act requires government agencies to consider regulatory alternatives that would minimize the economic impact on small firms. In the suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, NFIB claims the Access Board did not conduct a regulatory flexibility analysis because it concluded that the new guidelines would add no more than one-half of one percent to the cost of new and altered facilities. The suit says the Board did not consider the impact on construction or remodeling projects costing less than $100,000. “The types of alterations the Access Board didn’t consider are exactly the types of alterations small businesses are most likely to make,” said Karen Harned, executive director of NFIB’s Legal Foundation. “NFIB fully supports the RFA, and is asking that the law be followed so that small businesses will be able to comply with new guidelines without facing unbearable costs.” The Access Board said its rules are the result of a decade-long review. “These guidelines are our guarantee that when a building is built or renovated anywhere in the nation, its doors are wide open to our citizens with disabilities,” said Jan Tuck, vice chair of the Board.