Date:
August 18, 2026
28
To:
Board of Supervisors
Title
Ensuring Fair and Balanced ADA Enforcement: Support for Legislation Establishing a Right to Cure Period for Small Businesses (Districts: All)
End
Overview
California leads the nation in Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) litigation cases, especially when it concerns access to "public accommodations," with more than 3,000 lawsuits filed in 2025 alone. This places a significant financial burden on small businesses, significantly impacting restaurants, hotels, retail stores, and many others. ADA Title III is the primary basis for which these lawsuits are pursued, which is designed to prohibit discrimination against individuals with disabilities in places of public accommodation, requiring private businesses open to the public to provide equal access to their goods and services.
Recent legislative efforts at the state tried to address this surge in cases and help prevent lawsuit abuse, especially for repetitive litigation and those typically filed by a small group of serial plaintiffs. State Senate Bill 84 (SB 84), authored by State Senator Roger Niello, would have created a 120-day "right to cure" period, providing small businesses with four months to fix alleged ADA violations before facing costly lawsuits. SB 84 would have preserved ADA protections by focusing on timelines and process rather than weakening requirements. For these reasons, the bill received overwhelming bipartisan support in the State Senate; however, it ultimately died in the Assembly Judiciary Committee, despite its common-sense approach and broad support.
Without reform at the state level, such as what SB 84 called for, small businesses remain vulnerable to serial and opportunistic lawsuits over minor or technical violations, which often do not impact actual access for those who need it. Everyone should be able to access any business open to the public - that's not the concern of this item. Rather, the aim is to support ...
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