It's Like 'The Seven Samurai' But With Pools

There seems to be some confusion taking place -- at least in my mind.

A few weeks ago, several disabled-rights groups got together and held a protest at the headquarters of the American Hotel & Lodging Association to come out against what they said were AH&LA's efforts to reverse the Americans With Disabilities Act as it pertains to public pools and spas.

I haven't gotten an official number yet but, from eyeballing the event, AH&LA estimates about "50 or so" people participated. The protest was held in conjunction with The National Council on Independent Living's annual conference, making it handy for individuals to show up.

As you can see, the group may not have been very big, but it was quite vocal. The groups are upset that the AH&LA has lobbied the government to allow portable lifts on public pools and spas, rather than mandating fixed lifts on most. (The trade association's efforts also resulted in a year-long extension for ADA compliance, which has the other side none too pleased.) Currently, the ADA says fixed lifts are required as long as it's "readily achievable." Nobody knows what that means -- which I suspect is the real problem.

As is often the case with situations such as this, it's hard to know who's right. Both sides -- the disability-rights groups and AH&LA -- are using very similar language in describing the situation. Check this out:

"We were kind of disappointed because we had reached out to the disability community to reach some sort of compromise that would allow our members to provide access without being too financially burdened. But they opted for this cynical fundraising ploy, really." -- Kevin Maher, senior vice president for governmental affairs, American Hotel & Lodging Association in Washington, D.C.

"The bottom line is we met in good faith hoping that they could accept the middle ground, which is significant concessions on the part of [our members] and they not only refused but we found out after the fact that they never intended to work in good faith." -- Lara Schwartz, vice president of external affairs of the American Association of People with Disabilities in Washington, D.C.

So what are we to believe -- that the disabled just want to raise funds or that the hotels/motels just want to line their pockets with all the money they'll save by not putting in fixed lifts? More to come.

For the most recent interpretation of the ADA's pool-lift stipulation, read here:

http://www.ada.gov/pools_2010.htm