Good Business

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

  1. 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 and 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)
  2. 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?
  3. 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.