Ask About: The ADA in Places of Worship

Are religious organizations subject to the ADA for reasonable accommodations? What about physical accessibility in places of worship? This edition of Ask About the ADA is about how the ADA applies to churches and other places of worship. For a transcript of today's episode, please visit the Ask About the ADA podcast feed on BuzzSprout.

NortheastADA.org

Transcript

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SPEAKER: Welcome to the ask about the ADA Podcast. The show where we answer questions about the Americans with Disabilities Act that we receive and the Northeast ADA Center. And we talk about how it might apply to your everyday life and how it applies to the community. On this week's episode, we're going to tackle some questions around religious organizations and the ADA. 

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The first question is about a daycare in a church. Here it is, I'm trying to find out if a 501(C) (3) nonprofit is a religious entity for the purposes of the ADA and reasonable accommodation. My child attends a daycare in a church. Is there somewhere on tax forms that I can determine whether or not this is considered a religious entity for the purposes of the ADA? 

Well the first thing to know is that under the ADA, churches and other religious institutions are exempt from Title III. That's the part of the law that covers what are called public accommodations in other words businesses and non-profit type entities. So this means that churches don't have to meet the physical requirements of the ADA. And that they are not under the same obligations as businesses to provide accommodations to the public. 

Unfortunately there is no place on tax form to know this, it's something that you just have to learn and know about the Americans with Disabilities Act. The key thing to determine is if the daycare is directly controlled by religious entity. Sometimes organizations rent space from a religious entity but they're not operated or controlled in any way. These daycares are clearly private daycares and they are required to make accommodations under the ADA. 

However if it's directly controlled by the religious institution, then the daycare would be exempt from the ADA. Whether it's in a church, a synagogue, a mosque, or some other type of religious organization. So again, the important thing to remember is that churches and other religious institutions are not covered under Title III of the ADA. 



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Now let's look at our next question. And this is also about a church. Here it is, I live in New Jersey our church is constructing a coffee bar. The bar will have a sink on the server side. What are the ADA requirements for both the bar and for the sink? Well like we were just saying Title III of the ADA including the physical requirements do not apply to religious organizations. And this is true for churches of course. 

However in this case, you have to also look at other factors too. We know that this religious organization this church is in New Jersey. And that's important because while the ADA does not apply the New Jersey building code does. The New Jersey building code of course is limited only to New Jersey and wouldn't apply in other states or territories of the US. 

So the New Jersey building code requires accessibility in assembly areas, including churches. If the sink is only used by employees it is technically not required to be accessible. However, it's important to keep in mind that a future employee may require that accessibility in which case it should be built in. 

If the sink would be used by parishioners of the church, then the sink can only have a maximum height of 34 inches above the finished floor surface. You don't need to provide clearance under the sink for someone seated in a wheelchair if there's a cooktop or oven in the area that we're talking about. 

Now let's look at the coffee bar itself. On the patrons side of it, we have a couple of different possibilities. The first is that at minimum you would need a 30 inch stretch of the bar to be no more than 36 inches in height above the floor. Alternatively you could drop the entire length of the bar to a maximum of 36 inches in height. 

Now in this instance, we're talking about a bar where people stand, where maybe they grab sugar or creamer or napkins that they might use at the bar. Now if people are going to be seated or standing at the bar, let's say for dining. Then we have somewhat different circumstances. In this case at least 5% of the space for standing or sitting has to be accessible. And the entire bar cannot be more than 34 inches in height. Additionally there must be clearance under the bar for a front approach for someone who is using a wheelchair for mobility on the customer side of the bar. 

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What we've highlighted today is that applying and understanding the ADA in religious organizations and settings is not always so easy. If you have a question about this or about anything else related to the Americans with Disabilities Act please feel free to contact us at the Northeast ADA Center at 1 800 949-4232. Or feel free to email us at northeastada@cornell.edu. 

Visit our website northeastada.org. Look for the Northeast ADA on social media on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter and of course I have to thank all the people who make this podcast possible. Thank you to Grace Fairchild who edits and produces the show. 

Thank you to Peter Quinn of the Yang-Tan Institute who does further editing on the podcast and thank you for the technical assistance specialist at the Northeast ADA who helped you create and write the ask about the ADA content you've heard. I'm Joe Zesski, program manager Northeast ADA. Let's continue the conversation. 

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