U.S. Capitol Grounds a Safety Risk to Disabled
A new report highlights issues that pose safety threats to disabled visitors and employees in the U.S. Capitol and congressional buildings.
Not even the federal government is immune to investigations measuring compliance with safety standards. A new report outlines significant safety risks for people with disabilities when they are inside the U.S. Capitol and congressional buildings in Washington, D.C.
As described in the annual State of the Congressional Workplace report, numerous ramps and sidewalks on the grounds of the Capitol were identified as potential hazards that may cause wheelchairs to fall backward or sideways. Thus, most of these ramps are not in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. In fact, 93 percent of the ramps on Capitol grounds are not in compliance with ADA standards.
Not only are these ramps posing a threat to employees with disabilities, six random restrooms that were inspected did not meet ADA standards, either.
The Office of Compliance, which conducted the inspection, did note this was not a comprehensive wall-to-wall inspection due to budget cuts.