Professional Condo Association Located in Fairfax County Reaches Agreement to Settle Americans with Disabilities Act Complaint

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) announced today a compliance agreement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with the Burke Professional Center Condominium Association (BPCCA) related to an office complex that houses professional offices of health care providers located in Fairfax County. The agreement is to improve accessibility to persons with disabilities through the removal of architectural barriers.

“This settlement exemplifies our unwavering commitment to ensure that individuals with disabilities have access to health care providers,” said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for EDVA. “The corrective measures agreed to will improve the access to this office complex for individuals with mobility disabilities.”

The investigation into the office complex began with a complaint from the public alleging that BPCCA violated the ADA by failing to ensure the accessibility of an office complex that houses a health care provider due to a variety of architectural barriers.  The compliance agreement requires BPCCA to, among other things, create accessible parking spaces, install curb ramps from the parking area to the sidewalk, and install ramps to certain offices suites.

This matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Gordon, who is the Civil Rights Enforcement Coordinator for EDVA.

This case is a part of the Department of Justice’s Barrier-Free Health Care Initiative, which seeks to enforce the ADA’s prohibition of discrimination against disabled individuals by health care providers, including hospitals.  Through the Barrier-Free Health Care Initiative, U.S. Attorneys’ offices across the nation and the Department’s Civil Rights Division target their enforcement efforts on a critical area for individuals with disabilities—access to medical services and facilities.  The Barrier-Free Health Care Initiative is a multi-phase initiative that includes effective communication for people who are deaf or have hearing loss, physical access to medical care for people with mobility disabilities, and equal access to treatment for people who have HIV/AIDS.

The Department of Justice has a number of publications available to assist entities in complying with the ADA, including Access to Medical Care for Individuals with Mobility Disabilities. For more information on the ADA and to access these publications, visit ADA.gov or call the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA information Line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TDD).  ADA complaints may be filed by email to ada.complaint@usdoj.gov.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.