42 U.S.C. § 12188 — Enforcement

This section has two lettered parts, (a) and (b).

(a) In general. Anyone facing disability^* discrimination under this subchapter -- or who has good reason to believe they're about to face discrimination under section 12183 -- gets the same remedies and procedures available under section 2000a-3(a) of the Civil Rights Act. No one has to go through a "futile gesture," like formally applying somewhere, if they already know for certain the business won't comply with the law. When a court grants an injunction for violations involving failure to remove barriers (under section 12182(b)(2)(A)(iv)) or failure to build or alter facilities accessibly (under section 12183(a)), that injunction must include an order to actually make the facility accessible, as far as this subchapter requires. Where it fits, the injunction can also require providing an auxiliary aid or service, changing a policy, or offering an alternative method.

(b) Enforcement by Attorney General. The Attorney General must investigate reported violations of this subchapter and run periodic reviews to check compliance. A state^* or local government can ask the Attorney General to certify -- after consulting the Access Board and holding a public hearing where disabled people can testify -- that its own accessibility law or building code meets or exceeds this chapter's minimum requirements; that certification then counts as evidence (though it can be challenged) in any later enforcement case. If the Attorney General has reasonable cause to believe a pattern or practice of discrimination is happening, or that a case of discrimination raises an issue of real public importance, the Attorney General can sue in federal court. In that lawsuit, the court can grant any equitable relief it thinks fits -- including temporary or permanent orders, requiring auxiliary aids or policy changes, or requiring facilities to be made accessible. The court can also award other relief, including money damages to the people harmed, if the Attorney General asks for it -- though this never includes punitive damages. On top of that, to protect the public interest, the court can fine the violator up to $50,000 for a first violation and up to $100,000 for each violation after that; if a single case finds more than one discriminatory act, that still counts as just one violation for this purpose. When deciding how big a fine to set, the court must consider any good-faith effort the entity made to comply, including whether it could reasonably have known it needed a particular kind of auxiliary aid for someone's specific situation.