“Assistance at Self-Serve Gas Stations” is among 11 pieces of guidance for the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) that the U.S. Department of Justice has rescinded, saying that their withdrawal will “streamline” compliance resources and “raise awareness” about tax incentives for businesses related to their compliance with the ADA.
The department announced on March 19 that it is taking these actions in response to President Trump’s memorandum “Delivering Emergency Price Relief for American Families and Defeating the Cost-of-Living Crisis.”
“Today’s withdrawal of 11 pieces of unnecessary and outdated guidance will aid businesses in complying with the ADA by eliminating unnecessary review and focusing only on current ADA guidance. Avoiding confusion and reducing the time spent understanding compliance may allow businesses to deliver price relief to consumers,” the Justice Department said.
The department also is highlighting tax incentives available for businesses to help cover the costs of making access improvements for customers or employees with disabilities, it said. It “expects that small businesses will find this reminder helpful in reducing costs.”
The official ADA webpage for Americans with Disabilities Act: Assistance at Self-Serve Gas Stations has been taken down. A version retrieved by CSP reads:
Americans with Disabilities Act: Assistance at Self-Serve Gas Stations
People with disabilities may find it difficult or impossible to use the controls, hose, or nozzle of a self-serve gas pump. As a result, at stations that offer both self and full service, people with disabilities might have no choice but to purchase the more expensive gas from a full-serve pump. At locations with only self-serve pumps, they might be unable to purchase gas at all.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires self-serve gas stations to provide equal access to their customers with disabilities. If necessary to provide access, gas stations must -
Provide refueling assistance upon the request of an individual with a disability. A service station or convenience store is not required to provide such service at any time that it is operating on a remote control basis with a single employee, but is encouraged to do so, if feasible.
Let patrons know (e.g., through appropriate signs) that customers with disabilities can obtain refueling assistance by either honking or otherwise signaling an employee.
Provide the refueling assistance without any charge beyond the self-serve price.
If you have additional questions concerning the ADA, you may call the Department of Justice’s ADA Information Line at (800) 514-0301 (voice) or (800) 514-0383 (TDD) or access the ADA Home Page at ADA.gov.
“The Justice Department is committed to ensuring that businesses and members of the public can easily understand their rights and obligations, including the tax incentives that are available to help businesses comply with the ADA,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mac Warner of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Putting money back into the pockets of business owners helps everyone by allowing those businesses to pass on cost savings to consumers and bolster the economy.”
“We believe it is unfortunate that the Justice Department has taken this action,” Michelle Uzeta, deputy director of the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, Berkeley, California, told CSP. “These longstanding guidance documents have been critical to disabled people and businesses seeking to understand their rights and responsibilities. Compliance with the ADA’s mandate of full and equal access was made easier through these practical tools with their plain language descriptions, illustrations and examples. We believe it will be harder for gas station retailers to comply with the law absent this guidance, resulting in increased discrimination and unnecessary exclusion of disabled people (i.e., loss of customers) and potentially, an uptick in unnecessary lawsuits. This foreseeable result runs contrary to the department’s claim that these documents were pulled to ‘avoid confusion’ and ‘deliver price relief to consumers.’ In fact, it will do the opposite.”
The full list of 11 pieces of guidance for withdrawal:
COVID-19 and the Americans with Disabilities Act: Can a business stop me from bringing in my service animal because of the COVID-19 pandemic? (2021)
COVID-19 and the Americans with Disabilities Act: Does the Department of Justice issue exemptions from mask requirements? (2021)
COVID-19 and the Americans with Disabilities Act: Are there resources available that help explain my rights as an employee with a disability during the COVID-19 pandemic? (2021)
COVID-19 and the Americans with Disabilities Act: Can a hospital or medical facility exclude all “visitors” even where, due to a patient’s disability, the patient needs help from a family member, companion, or aide in order to equally access care? (2021)
COVID-19 and the Americans with Disabilities Act: Does the ADA apply to outdoor restaurants (sometimes called “streateries”) or other outdoor retail spaces that have popped up since COVID-19? (2021)
Expanding Your Market: Maintaining Accessible Features in Retail Establishments (2009)
Expanding Your Market: Gathering Input from Customers with Disabilities (2007)
Expanding Your Market: Accessible Customer Service Practices for Hotel and Lodging Guests with Disabilities (2006)
Reaching out to Customers with Disabilities (2005)
Americans with Disabilities Act: Assistance at Self-Serve Gas Stations (1999)
Five Steps to Make New Lodging Facilities Comply with the ADA (1999)
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