In the News

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — After it passed the California Legislature unanimously, Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday signed a bill giving protections to small businesses against frivolous Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuits.

Under Senate Bill 269, which takes effect immediately, businesses with under 50 employees will be given additional time to fix ADA violations before being slapped with fines from the state. If sued, businesses would also be allowed 15 days to address violations claimed in the lawsuit.

The bill's author, state Sen. Richard Roth, D-Riverside, called Brown's signing a "major victory for all Californians."

"SB 269 is a bipartisan, common-sense solution that will guarantee access for disabled Californians by providing small businesses with the tools and resources necessary to comply with state and federal disability access regulations," Roth said in a statement.

Small businesses will get an opportunity to fix handicap access violations without liability with Sen. Roth’s SB269.

BY RICHARD K. De ATLEY / STAFF WRITER

A bill that gives small businesses four months to fix disability access issues and avoid California’s minimum civil liability of $4,000 for each violation if certain conditions are met, was signed into law Tuesday, May 10, by Gov. Jerry Brown

PRESS ENTERPRISE EDITORIAL

The Americans with Disabilities Act was intended to prohibit discrimination against people with physical or mental impairments and to improve access for the disabled to public accommodations. Too often, however, it has been used to shake down businesses for minor violations, such as a door sign affixed an inch too high or too low or a disabled parking logo that is a little too faded or painted in the wrong shade of blue.

California is a particular magnet for extortionary ADA litigation, thanks to state law which mandates a minimum $4,000 penalty for each violation – no matter how small – plus the plaintiff’s attorney fees. It is home to about 12 percent of the country’s disabled population, but accounts for 40 percent of ADA lawsuits. Its disability access lawsuits were one of the main reasons the American Tort Reform Foundation once again named California the nation’s No. 1 “Judicial Hellhole” last year.

By Rob McMillan

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KABC) -- Riverside police officer Andrew Tachias is still recovering from the bullet wounds, more than three years after being shot nine times by rogue ex-cop Christopher Dorner.

Under current state law, cities only have to pay the full salary of wounded officers like Tachias for one year. After that, they can go on disability, but might be forced to retire early.

But some officers, like Tachias, want the state to grant them extra time to recover, allowing them to avoid early retirement and eventually get back on the force.

"What I want to say to you guys, is that it would be tough at the time I got injured to be 28 years old and be retired," Tachias told a State Senate committee last week.

The legislation sponsored by state Sen. Richard Roth, D-Riverside, would require cities to pay the full salary of wounded officers for an extra year, before the costs were covered by the disability system.