June 3 1994






The Honorable Amo Houghton
Member, U. S. House of Representatives
32 Denison Parkway West
Corning, New York 14830

Dear Congressman Houghton:

     This letter responds to your inquiry on behalf of your
constituent, Dr. Bruce Surosky, concerning the regulatory
requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for
accessibility to toilet rooms associated with examination rooms
in a doctor's office.

     The ADA carefully balances the rights of persons with
disabilities with the costs to businesses of providing access.
The regulations formulated by the Department of Justice maintain
the law's careful balance and recognize the legitimate needs of
the business community for efficiency and profitability.

     In new construction, where good design practices can result
in accessibility with little or no increase in overall square
footage and where knowledgeable application of the technical
requirements allows ordinary, "off-the-shelf" toilets and sinks
to be used if properly installed, accessibility costs have been
repeatedly demonstrated to be minimal. Therefore, the new
construction requirements are that each public or common use
toilet, such as the toilet associated with an examination room,
must be accessible.

     If a doctor's office, including examination rooms, is being
voluntarily altered, then each altered space or element must
comply with the new construction requirements unless technically
infeasible. If the constraints of existing conditions constitute
technical infeasibility, the alteration must provide
accessibility to the maximum extent feasible.



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     Another consideration is that when undertaking alterations
to an area containing a primary function the path of travel to
the altered area and the restrooms, telephones, and drinking
fountains that serve the altered area must be made accessible to
the extent that such additional modification costs do not exceed
20% of the cost of the overall alterations.

     Enclosed are copies of the Department's implementing
regulation for Title III of the ADA and the Title III Technical
Assistance Manual. You may wish to pass these on to Dr. Surosky
for his further reference. I hope this information is helpful to
you in responding to your constituent.

                                         Sincerely,



                                    Deval L. Patrick
                               Assistant Attorney General
                                  Civil Rights Division

Enclosures


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