United Spinal and the Americans with Disabilities Act

On the front lines from passage to enforcement and beyond

United Spinal Association’s legacy with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is strong. The organization was fighting legal battles before the landmark civil rights legislation was adopted in 1990. Some of those cases influenced the ADA. United Spinal’s leadership wrote draft language, went to federal as well as state hearings around the nation and lobbied for the bipartisan passage of the ADA.

Once the ADA was on the books, United Spinal’s leadership and expertise assisted with some of the first lawsuits that resulted in positive rulings and legal precedents tied to the legislation. United Spinal continues to protect the ADA – which is constantly under threat of congressional bills that would greatly reduce its strength – through daily work and highly-visual events such as the Roll on Capitol Hill.

James Weisman, through his work as legal counsel and chief executive officer of United Spinal, formerly Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association (EPVA) had a front row seat for creating, enforcing and protecting the ADA.

Weisman said getting New York City to be the first city to commit to putting lifts on all buses in 1984 was a huge victory and a stage-setter for the passage of the ADA in less than a decade. The city also agreed to install elevators at key subway stations.

“The bus agreement went far beyond New York. New York buys more buses than any city, so the bus builders had to change their design to make them accessible, he said. “With accessible buses on the market, other cities could provide accessible transit.”

Weisman said the transit victories helped people with disabilities ride a wave of success through the passage of the ADA.

“People were saying ‘we want to live, work, recreate for 40 years,’ but it didn’t matter — places were not accessible. We brought people to Justin Dart’s hearings, we brought a lot of people to Washington to testify in favor of the ADA and we participated in drafting transportation sections of the ADA,” Weisman recounted of the efforts of EPVA, which now is United Spinal.

“We worked with advocates from all over the country. People that pushed back against the ADA, we told them everyone who can work, should — it’s very hard to disagree with that,” he said. “Language is important. Reasonable accommodation (what the ADA requires of employers, public places, etc.) is a good term because otherwise you’re being unreasonable if you don’t do it.”

People celebrated when the ADA passed, then realized a lot of regulations and standards had to be written to define access protected under it.

“After lots of legislation writing, I was appointed to the U.S. Access Board by President Clinton. EPVA wrote the standards for vehicles and buildings. We were on the committee that wrote regulations implemented by the U.S. Department of Transportation,” Weisman said.

When cities neglected to uphold basic rights guaranteed under the ADA, United Spinal went to court.

“We’ve done a remarkable job. Over a billion dollars will be spent on curb ramps by New York. In the future, 50 percent of all taxis will be accessible,” he said.

Weisman praised the American Institute of Architects for supporting ADA compliance, but he said it wasn’t always that way. The AIA fought back hard on the notion that an architect could be held liable for designing a building that was not accessible to ADA standards.

“We were instrumental, through a landmark medical office building case in Philadelphia, in establishing architect liability,” he said. That year, at the AIA convention, ADA sponsor Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah stood up and said he will do what they need – in other words, get rid of architect liability. Janet Reno, U.S. Attorney General, stood up at the same meeting and said `you wouldn’t violate the plumbing or electrical code, so don’t violate the ADA or the Justice Department will come down on you.’ So, opposing liability died.”

Vincenzo Piscopo, United Spinal’s president and CEO often frames his goals as a leader in terms of “ADA 2.0”, saying ,“We are all thankful of what ADA is, but, we need to continue to fight. More things need to happen to make sure we are truly inclusive.”

“Almost 35 years have passed since the ADA — it’s an old, established bill. Why do we give a pass to places that still aren’t inclusive? There is no justification for an establishment to not have a ramp – so we can get in like everybody else,” he said.

Piscopo said businesses need to understand that they must comply with a basic civil right, but they also need to be motivated by dollars. The disability community has the largest buying power of any marginalized group and it needs to flex that economic muscle to make change.

“For me, United Spinal is here to empower, galvanize and energize advocates — so we make changes,” he said. “Inclusion is not a luxury. That is part of the message, along with the specific issues, emphasized at the Roll on Capitol Hill. We started the StrongWheeled Together campaign because our community has a lot of brilliant people, but society isn’t benefiting from their brilliance. StrongWheeled creates a platform for people to be known and recognized.”

Piscopo’s vision of ADA 2.0 includes vigorous vigilance to ensure technology does not exclude people with disabilities. He agreed that even something as simple as a rideshare app can be detrimental to the SCI community when it summons only sedans that cannot accommodate a power wheelchair.

“Innovation is going like crazy. Technology drives the way we live,” he said. “But it must consider accessibility or it creates a bigger gap. Accessibility must be at the core of product development. Ableism is prevalent and it must be fought. We are a powerful market and we must be leveraging it.”