Comments on: Democrats Kill Abusive Lawsuit Bill

By: myfoxmystere

myfoxmystere — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 16:15:26 +0000

These clowns aren’t going to be happy when Heidi Cuda of KTTV Fox 11 Los Angeles gets wind of this. She is doing a series on FOX 11 called “Saving California” and has taken a road trip, doing reports from Texas’ Governor Rick Perry to Sacramento California. I will send her a heads up via Twitter.

By: Skippyone

Skippyone — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 04:04:54 +0000

This is extortion plain and simple. Our small community has about 7 businesses left. We just all got served. This is surely the doom of the last of us.

By: JKT

JKT — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 21:50:47 +0000

Another preview of coming attractions to the “Nanny State”. Atty. Johnson gets sympathy because he himself has quadriplegia, but never the less, is shaking down the public. This is a classic example of massive gov’t intrusion into the small business, free market environment. These clowns hide behind rigid laws and ordinances in order to line their pockets. “Big Brother” cannot have too much gov’t oversight and/or intrusion and the current left-wing California and federal agendas have more of this on the way. Ideally these socialist types want everybody either working for or being taken care of by some sort of bureaucracy. This ADA reg being ramed down the throats of the small business is to soften us up for more invasive, draconian measures or
, for example, the more dramatic media “race-baiting” antics of the reverends Jackson or Sharpton.

By: K

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:42:36 +0000

While I’m sure there are businesses who don’t put a lot of thought into ADA compliance, many do. And many think they are in compliance. Skippingdog here needs a bit of a lesson in just what businesses are up against especially in the state of California.

My business was handicap accessible. We had the correct door, the sloped access, the handicap parking, the large bathroom, etc. While I would have loved to have put in a second bathroom that was an impossibility due to the size needed to accommodate a wheelchair so we had to endure long lines during busy times.

Then came a Scott Johnson letter, vaguely hinting that we were not in compliance. He wouldn’t specify but then he couldn’t because he had not been in the business himself. What he saw was that we were not aware of any changes to the handicap parking laws that took place in 2007/2008 and still had the old sign and striping.

So, we contacted him. Let him know we were looking into where in our already handicap accessible business we were out of compliance with new laws which were quietly enacted. Turns out we had to upgrade the slope of our entrance by a 1/4 of an inch and move the toilet (with plumbing set in concrete) by 1/2 inch.

I dare anyone to prove to me that either of these things would have constituted a barrier.

California has no entity to assist existing businesses with ADA laws, new ADA laws or changes to ADA laws. This needs to change. I would join any class action lawsuit against the state of California to force a change so that small business owners who are trying and who think they are in compliance are not constantly being shaken down by predatory lawyers the likes of Scott N. Johnson.

By: Jonathan Beachum

Jonathan Beachum — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:29:28 +0000

I read these articles all the time and they’re all the same. No one knew they were out of compliance yet by now most business owners are aware of these lawsuits yet take no action to protect their livelihood. There are many companies like mine that inspect business and help them become compliant with the laws to avoid these problems yet over 90% of our clients have lawsuits pending. Why do business owners wait? We do basic parking lot inspection for $250, most striping jobs are under $1,200 and these lawsuit settlements average $4,000-$6,000. Better to put the money into your business than give it to attorneys. (www.adahelpforum.com)

By: SkippingDog

SkippingDog — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 03:37:08 +0000

The ADA has been law for over 20 years now. If the people who claim to have enough smarts and gumption to run a business can’t figure out how to follow the law by now, they should be sued as often as it takes to educate them.

The reason ADA included a private right of action was to prevent the creation of a federal enforcement mechanism, but still ensure the laws requirements are met.

Avoiding a lawsuit isn’t rocket science. Read the law, get the free compliance information that’s easily available, and make the necessary changes to accommodate disabled patrons. Otherwise, don’t whine because you’re too stupid or lazy to understand national requirements more than two decades old, which were signed into law by a pro-business Republican President.

By: CalWatchdog

CalWatchdog — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 20:00:17 +0000

The ADA laws have absolutely hurt the handicapped as well as businesses – there is no disagreement about that. Anytime the government gets involved under the guise of creating assistance for one particular group, other’s rights are trampled on. And the intended “help” is usually a farce and cover for government expansion. Affirmative action comes to mind…

However, because lawyers have created a cottage industry out of suing employers under ADA compliance, this needs to be stopped.

Any discussion about how damaging ADA laws are in general, is worthy of a dedicated story.

– Katy

By: GSL

GSL — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 19:41:55 +0000

All true, but it’s important to remember that the ADA hurts the handicapped as well as businesses. If employers have to worry about ADA suits when they hire handicapped workers, they’ll be less likely to do so. So the law actually makes it harder for these folks to find work.