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Seyfarth Synopsis: There will be no new regulations for accessible equipment/furniture or public rights of way issued during this Administration.
As we had predicted, no new ADA regulations will issue during the current Administration. On September 11, 2025, the DOJ announced in the Federal Register that it would not be pursuing 54 pending regulatory actions. Two of those concern the ADA: (1) A rulemaking about accessible equipment and furniture in public accommodations and state and local government facilities, and (2) a rulemaking concerning accessible routes in public areas falling under the jurisdiction of state and local governments.
While the inaction may appear helpful to cover entities at first blush, it is not necessarily so. Public accommodations still have to make reasonable modifications to their normal policies and procedures under Title III of the ADA where necessary to ensure access for individuals with disabilities, and providing equipment and furniture that such individuals can use could fall under that obligation. For instance, in 2021, a plaintiff sued a hotel about the height of its beds in accessible rooms and the court refused to dismiss the case because of the reasonable modification provision, even in the absence of a regulation specifying the height of an accessible bed. The DOJ sided with the plaintiff in a Statement of Interest filed in the case.
Additionally, state and local government entities have an obligation under Title II to provide services, programs, or activities that are accessible. That includes pedestrian and vehicular areas such as public sidewalks and walkways, curb ramps, pedestrian signals, and on-street parking. There has been litigation over the application of Title II of the ADA to these so-called public "right of way" elements, including a noteworthy decision by a federal court in 2021 requiring the City of New York to install thousands of accessible pedestrian signals at crosswalks for the benefit of individuals with visual disabilities.
The DOJ halted these regulatory actions to comply with Executive Order 14192 which imposes a regulatory cap for fiscal year 2025 and instructs the heads of all agencies ''to ensure that the total incremental cost of all new regulations'' issued during the year is ''significantly less than zero.'' Additionally, any new incremental costs must ''be offset by the elimination of existing costs associated with at least 10 prior regulations.''
Edited by: Kristina M. Launey
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