You are on page 1of 4

MAR 22 1993

The Honorable Fred Upton


U.S. House of Representatives
1713 Longworth Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-2204

Dear Congressman Upton:

This letter is in response to your inquiry on behalf of


(b)(6) , concerning the possibility of providing unisex
toilet rooms in places of public accommodation.

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ("ADA")


authorizes the Department of Justice to provide technical
assistance to individuals and entities having rights or
obligations under the Act. This letter provides informal
guidance to assist your constituent in understanding the ADA's
requirements. However, it does not constitute a legal
interpretation, and it is not binding on the Department.

Although the regulations issued by this Department under


title III of the ADA (enclosed) do not require unisex toilet
rooms, the regulations do allow provision of one accessible
unisex room instead of accessible restrooms for each sex in some
situations. For instance, under title III of the ADA, places of
public accommodation are required to do whatever is readily
achievable to make their facilities accessible to individuals
with disabilities. If it is not readily achievable for some
places of public accommodation to provide two accessible toilet
rooms, then it may be sufficient to provide one accessible,
unisex toilet room.

cc: Records, Chrono, Wodatch, McDowney, Bowen, Contois, FOIA.


Udd\Contois\cgl\upton
01-01962

-2-

Similarly, when places of public accommodation undertake


alterations to their facilities, they are generally required to
comply with the architectural standards set out in the appendix
to the Department's title III regulation. These standards, known
as the ADA Accessibility Guidelines ("ADAAG"), generally require
that any room that is altered must be made accessible; however,
at section 4.1.6(3)(e) they also provide that if it is
technically infeasible to make a restroom that is being altered
accessible, an accessible, unisex toilet room may be provided.

The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance


Board, also known as the Access Board, is the organization that
is initially responsible for drafting and amending ADAAG. We
have taken the liberty of forwarding (b)(6) letter to the
Access Board, so that they may consider her comments and the
possibility of proposing that ADAAG be altered or amended.

I have enclosed for your information a copy of the


Department of Justice's title III implementing regulation, which
contains ADAAG, and a copy of the Department's Technical
Assistance manual for title III, which contains a section
discussing the requirements of ADAAG. I hope this information is
useful to you in responding to your constituent.

Sincerely,

James P. Turner
Acting Assistant Attorney General
Civil Rights Division

Enclosures (2)
01-01963

MAR 22, 1993

Mr. Lawrence W. Roffee


Executive Director
Access Board
1331 F Street, N.W.
Suite 1000
Washington, D.C. 20004-1111

Dear Mr. Roffee:

Congressman Fred Upton forwarded to this office a letter


from his constituent, XX regarding the provision
of accessible unisex toilet rooms in places of public
accommodation.

While we have responded to Congressman Upton, we are taking


the liberty of forwarding XX letter to you, so that
you may consider her comments. Enclosed you will find copies of
both (b)(6) letter and our response to Congressman Upton.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.


Sincerely,

James P. Turner
Acting Assistant Attorney General
Civil Rights Division

Enclosures (2)

cc: Records; Chrono; Wodatch; McDowney; Bowen; Contois; FOIA.


\udd\contois\admin\accessbd.ltr

01-01964

You might also like