Disability Friendly Business Checklist

Please consider the following questions when evaluating your business for Disability Friendliness*.

I. Considerations for Evaluating Accessibility

• Is the entrance to the business accessible to persons with mobility limitations? Is the entry to the building on an even hard surface and without steps?
• If the accessible entrance is not immediately apparent, are there directional signs?
• Are there handicapped parking signs/spaces with necessary access space for vans with lifts?
• Does the business provide accessible restrooms, phones, water fountains?

Depending on the business and its services to the public, other considerations could also include:

• Posting a notice on the front door that assistance will be provided for customers with disabilities
• Installing sensors or automatic door openers
• Installing a lift or elevator
• Having Braille on elevator panels or signs for public restrooms
• Having Braille or large print available on menus
• Having a TTY, volume controls on a public telephone or any other assistive technology device
• Having movable seating and/or accessible tables that accommodate wheelchairs
• Having wide aisles or appropriately spaced displays of merchandise for wheelchairs to maneuver through
• Making the company's Website user-friendly to visitors with disabilities (i.e. including "text-only" versions for persons with visual impairments, or supplying text for audio clips for persons who are deaf/hard of hearing)

II. Considerations for Evaluating Customer-Friendliness

• Is staff alert and helpful to customers who have visible disabilities?
• Does someone on staff know sign language?
• Has the business offered disability awareness training to staff ?
• If removal of a barrier is not "readily achievable," are the goods, services, etc. made available through alternative methods?

III. Considerations for Evaluating Employment-Friendliness

• Are persons with disabilities included in their job applicant pool?
• When interviewing persons with disabilities, is the focus on the candidate's skills and abilities, not the disability?
• Has an effort been made to educate management or human resources personnel on ADA laws and compliance?
• Are policies, practices and procedures flexible enough that, if necessary, modifications can be made to ensure that the skills and abilities of applicants with disabilities are equally represented?

* This checklist has been reprinted with permission from the Virginia Business Leadership Network. Learn more about the VBLN