Table of Contents | Previous | Next

Appendix II:
Recommended Disability-Friendly Business Checklist

Considerations for Evaluating Accessibility

• Is the entrance to 0 on an even, hard surface without steps?
• If the accessible entrance is not immediately apparent, are there directional signs?
• Are there handicapped parking signs and spaces with necessary access space for vans with lifts?
• Does the building have accessible restrooms, phones and water fountains?

Other Considerations to Include Depending on the Type of Business and Its Services to the Public

• Post a notice on the front door that assistance will be provided for people with disabilities.
• Install sensors or automatic doors.
• Install a lift or elevator.
• Have Braille on elevator panels and on signs for public restrooms.
• Have Braille or large print available on menus and business cards.
• Have a TTY and volume controls on a public telephone or assistive technology device.
• Have movable seating and accessible tables that accommodate wheelchair users.
• Have wide aisles or appropriately spaced displays of merchandise so wheelchair users can maneuver through.
• Make the company's Web site user-friendly to visitors with disabilities (e.g., including "text only" versions for persons with visual impairments or supplying text for audio clips for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing).

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 its staff?
• If removal of a barrier is not readily achievable, are the goods, services, etc., made available through alternative methods?

Considerations for Evaluating Employment Friendliness

• Are people with disabilities included in the job applicant pool?
• When interviewing people with disabilities, is the focus on the candidates' skills and abilities rather than on their disabilities?
• Has an effort been made to educate management and human resources personnel on the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)?
• Are policies, practices and procedures flexible enough so that necessary modifications can be made to ensure that the skills and abilities of applicants with disabilities are equally represented?

Content adapted from "Disability-Friendly Business Checklist," taken from the Disability-Friendly Business Awards Nomination Packet, prepared by the Virginia Business Leadership Network (www.vabln.org), an accredited chapter of the USBLN.