Employer groups are expressing concerns about new federal regulations under the Americans With Disabilities Act proposed this month by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The rules implement guidelines that were enacted three years ago to update the ADA, which passed in 1990. They are meant to address ambiguities in the original law and complaints from disabled worker advocates about compliance by employers and operators of public facilities. Also, since 1990, new technologies have emerged that can help the disabled.

The proposed rules, which take up 215,000 words in the Federal Register, are open for comment through mid-August. They range from the general (most work areas must have “circulation paths” wide enough to accommodate people in wheelchairs) to the specific (light switches in new hotel rooms must be no more than 48 inches above the floor).

The very complexity of the rules even the simplified analysis provided on the U.S. Department of Justice’s ADA Web site (www.ada.gov) is 64 pages will likely cause trouble for employers, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

“There’s a whole group of lawyers who do nothing but come into facilities and look for technical violations of the ADA and then file suit against employers,” said Mark Freedman, director of labor law policy.

Freedman added that it was unclear in the new regulations just how much retrofitting of existing facilities and workplaces employers will have to do to comply with the new rules.

When the proposed rules were published, Justice Department officials noted that they contain a “safe harbor” provision for small businesses: If they spend at least 1 percent of their gross revenues on making improvements to accommodate the disabled in a given year, the next year they will be considered in compliance with the law. After the grace period ends, the business would be exposed again to the law.

Freedman said this provision might not help business owners too much if it only buys one year of grace time.

Greenhouse Gas Reg

While attention was focused last week on the state’s 12-year plan to meet the requirements of the landmark greenhouse gas reduction law passed in 2006, the state Air Resources Board actually passed a regulation dealing with one small part of the greenhouse gas problem: emissions from those air canisters used to clean off computer keyboards and cameras.

The regulation requires manufacturers of these canisters to phase out by the end of 2009 the use of the fluorocarbon chemical HFC-134a, which has much more heat-trapping potential than carbon dioxide, as the main propellant for the air in the canisters. The alternative chemical used would be difluoroethane (HFC-152a).

Air Resources Board chair Mary Nichols said that besides reducing the amount of the highly damaging fluorocarbon, switching to difluoroethane would also reduce low-level ozone formation, a key ingredient of smog.

Cell Phone Law

With the state law banning the use of hand-held cell phones while driving going into effect this week, the California Chamber of Commerce is warning employers that they must update their policies to prohibit their employees from using hand-held cell phone while driving to and from appointments.

“If employers are not clear enough in their prohibition of the use of cell phones while driving, they can be held liable for costs associated with car accidents, including workers’ compensation, while an employee is working,” said Jessica Hawthorne, an employment attorney with the chamber.

Hawthorne goes even further: She advises that employers not even require their workers to be reachable by cell phone while driving.

However, she said employers do not have to provide hands-free devices to their employees.

Staff reporter Howard Fine can be reached at [email protected] or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 227.