Takeaway:

All businesses must comply with Title III of the ADA. There is also an ethical consideration—it is good and right to do everything we can to make massage accessible to everyone, and that includes people with disabilities.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is federal legislation passed in 1990. Its purpose is to prohibit discrimination and guarantee that people with disabilities have the same opportunities as everyone else regarding employment opportunities, purchasing goods and services, and participating in state and local government programs and services.¹

There are three parts of the ADA. Title I of the ADA applies to small businesses with a staff of 15 or more and relates to equal rights in employment for both applicants and current employees. If you have employees, you are likely already familiar with Title I. 

Title II refers only to public entities like state or local governments and probably doesn’t apply to your small business.

Title III applies to businesses and nonprofits serving the public and is the focus of this column.

If you want to really dive into the ADA itself, I encourage you to check out the handy “ADA Update: A Primer for Small Business,” created by the US Department of Justice.² What follows is a simple explanation of portions of the ADA that may apply to your massage business, but it should not be taken as legal advice.

Do I Have to Comply with the ADA?

Yes. All businesses must comply with Title III of the ADA. We also think there is an ethical conversation to be had here. It is good and right to do everything we can to make massage accessible to everyone, and that most certainly includes people with disabilities.

What Does It Mean to Comply with the ADA?

Compliance means you maintain “general nondiscrimination requirements” that include making reasonable accommodations to your existing policies and protocols.

For example, if your office policy is that a client may not bring a companion into the massage room, you would need to adjust that policy if a disabled client needs the companion to help them undress and get positioned on the table.

You must be willing to employ alternate practical means of communication for people with disabilities when needed. This could be as simple as using a notebook and pen to communicate with a deaf client. However, hiring a sign language interpreter would likely present an undue burden (significant difficulty or expense) to your business and would not be required. 

Creating an ADA-Compliant Business

There are many facets to the ADA; we’re going to focus specifically on making your office space and your website accessible to people with disabilities.

Physical Space

The “ADA Standards for Accessible Design” was originally published in 1991 and updated in 2010. Compliance does not mean you immediately need to make massive changes to your office. But if you make construction updates or certain physical changes to your space, you must comply with the most recent regulations.

Here’s an example: When I expanded my office space, it involved adding a few new doorways. Those new doorways were required to be a minimum of 32 inches wide. I did not need to change all the existing doorways in my office, but the new doorways needed to meet that requirement.

I found the most helpful information to understand Title III came right from the ADA update primer. (Really, go nerd out on that). The ADA requires that small businesses remove architectural barriers in existing facilities when it is “readily achievable” to do so. Readily achievable means “easily accomplishable without much difficulty or expense.” This requirement is based on the size and resources of a business: Businesses with more resources are expected to remove more barriers than businesses with fewer resources.³

So, a large spa that’s been around for 20 years and does $800,000 of business a year could be compelled to finally install a ramp to the front door. Your very small part-time massage business will not be required to install an elevator to your second-floor office in an old renovated house. As an example, I was not required to put in a ramp when I made interior changes to my office and updated the exterior door, because that would have been a large and difficult expense as compared to the size and income of my business.

Reasonable efforts to accommodate and assist people with disabilities that are not huge financial burdens to your small business may include:

• Adding accessible parking spaces with appropriate signage

• Installing handrails and safety equipment in restrooms

• Using an electric table that lowers

• Removing physical barriers (furniture, displays) and widening aisles and pass-through areas

Again, there’s an ethical discussion here. Even if an effort may not be considered reasonable, if you can make your physical space more accessible, we believe you
should try.

Your Online Presence

Making your massage practice accessible goes beyond your physical space. It’s also important to ensure your business is inclusive and accessible online. This is especially vital because many prospective clients of differing abilities will often get information about you online before reaching out or booking an appointment, and the experience they have on your website will influence their level of trust and comfort with you.

There are a few key elements you will need to consider to ensure your website is accessible and ADA compliant.

One element is how accessible your website is to people who are visually impaired. These individuals often use screen readers to interact with websites, and the tools they use need to be able to get as much information as possible from the site.

While the text on your website might be readable, you will also need to make sure images have the proper embedded text that gives context about the image. This is called alt text (short for “alternative text”) in strict website code terms, and most website management platforms will let you add this text to any image easily.

The alt text should tell the story of what the image is. For example, instead of just “tree,” the text should be something like “A tall, mature tree in an open meadow with the sun shining in the background.” You don’t need to include “An image of” since all images are, well, images. The screen reader will read this text upon encountering the image, giving the website visitor a much richer experience with the content. Make sure to add a period at the end of the alt text, which signals the end of the sentence to the screen reader.

Your website will also need to be accessible to individuals with hearing impairments. If you have videos on your site, be sure to include captions. Many video platforms (including YouTube) have the option to automatically generate captions for you by a computer algorithm. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than nothing. However, it’s even better to generate your own captions to ensure accuracy. Just about any modern video hosting platform will let you upload a file containing captions so the video content can be read as text.

The same goes for any audio content on your website. If you have a podcast, it’s important to include a transcript of the content. There are many online tools that will generate a transcript (written by humans) from audio files you can then post with your podcast episodes.

While the audio and visual accommodations described above will go a long way toward improving the accessibility of your website, there are other important elements to consider.

Content Structure

The structure of your content plays a significant role in how accessible your website is. Your website may be viewed by individuals with differing levels of cognitive abilities. The content should be written as plainly and simply as possible. Additionally, it should be formatted in a way that is easy to scan and digest, making use of clear headings, useful subheadings, and short paragraphs. Avoid complex formatting and multiple columns.

Clarity is Key

Use simple, clear fonts throughout your website. You may like that fun, scripty font that looks unique, but it can be a barrier to some and make your website difficult to read and navigate. Sans serif fonts are easiest to read, as they don’t include the small decorative markings. Limit the number of fonts you use (e.g., one for body text and one for headlines). Always use at least size 12 font and use bold for emphasis, rather than italics.

Color Scheme

The contrast of your website colors should be high so the content is easy to read. Dark gray text over a light gray background may look interesting and artistic to you, but it can make your content difficult or impossible to read by someone with limited vision or cognitive abilities.

Easy Navigation

Your website navigation should be clear and simple, and it should be usable without a mouse. Many individuals with limited dexterity use their keyboard alone to navigate websites. They should be able to move through your website using only the keyboard. If you aren’t sure how to make this possible, contact your website professional or your website builder platform for help.

Contact Information

You will also want to make your contact information readily available in multiple ways. Some individuals will be able to use your online scheduling system with no issues. Others may find it difficult to use, depending on how accessible the system is. Include an email address and phone number on every page of your website (generally at the bottom) so prospective clients can contact you if they have trouble with your scheduling system.

Accessibility Matters

While this is not an exhaustive list, it will help your website be accessible to a larger number of people who may have differing levels of abilities.

It’s also a good idea to periodically test your website to ensure it is as accessible as possible. If you do a web search for “free ADA website checker,” you should find several resources.

As you increase accessibility, you may find that you open the opportunity to serve more and different types of clients, which can be rewarding in itself and signal a new area of growth for your business. 

Notes

1. ADA.gov, “Information and Technical Assistance on the Americans with Disabilities Act,” accessed February 2022, www.ada.gov/ada_intro.htm.

2. ADA.gov, “ADA Update: A Primer for Small Business,” last updated March 16, 2011, www.ada.gov/regs2010/smallbusiness/smallbusprimer2010.htm.

3. ADA.gov, “ADA Update: A Primer for Small Business.”