On March 19, 2025, the United States Justice Department announced that they were rescinding (removing) 11 pieces of guidance related to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Justice Department Announces Actions to Combat Cost-of-Living Crisis, Including Rescinding 11 Pieces of Guidance. The ADA, a bipartisan piece of legislation that passed in 1990, prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in various areas of public life, including employment, transportation, public accommodations, and access to state and local government programs.
The following is the guidance that has been removed:
- COVID-19 and the Americans with Disabilities Act: Can a business stop me from bringing in my service animal because of the COVID-19 pandemic? (2021)
- COVID-19 and the Americans with Disabilities Act: Does the Department of Justice issue exemptions from mask requirements? (2021)
- COVID-19 and the Americans with Disabilities Act: Are there resources available that help explain my rights as an employee with a disability during the COVID-19 pandemic? (2021)
- COVID-19 and the Americans with Disabilities Act: Can a hospital or medical facility exclude all “visitors” even where, due to a patient’s disability, the patient needs help from a family member, companion, or aide in order to equally access care? (2021)
- COVID-19 and the Americans with Disabilities Act: Does the ADA apply to outdoor restaurants (sometimes called “streateries”) or other outdoor retail spaces that have popped up since COVID-19? (2021)
- Expanding Your Market: Maintaining Accessible Features in Retail Establishments (2009)
- Expanding Your Market: Gathering Input from Customers with Disabilities (2007)
- Expanding Your Market: Accessible Customer Service Practices for Hotel and Lodging Guests with Disabilities (2006)
- Reaching out to Customers with Disabilities (2005)
- Americans with Disabilities Act: Assistance at Self-Serve Gas Stations (1999)
- Five Steps to Make New Lodging Facilities Comply with the ADA (1999)
What does this mean?
- The ADA is still the law of the land. The ADA did not go away. Its protections for people with disabilities still apply.
- The guidance that provided the detailed information to help people understand what the topics mean for people with disabilities is now gone.
- This makes it harder for people to (1) know these 11 protections exist and (2) to know what they mean.
A couple of examples follow:
Hospitals/Medical Facilities
If you wanted to know whether a hospital or medical facility can exclude all “visitors” even where, due to a patient’s disability, the patient needs help from a family member, companion, or aide in order to equally access care, the guidance that answers this question is no longer available. Examples include:
- having an interpreter (e.g., sign language, cued speech, etc)
- allowing a companion to help with positioning the person for X-rays or scans
- having a family member/companion read paperwork aloud for a patient with low vision
- having a family member/companion explain what is happening during an exam or hospital stay to a patient who has an intellectual or cognitive disability
- allowing a caregiver stay remain overnight with the person
Guidance such as: The answer to this question is no. If a person with a disability needs a companion to equally access medical care, the medical provider is required to consider whether a modification to its policy can be safely executed.
Gas Stations
The ADA still requires gas stations to provide equal access for their customers with disabilities. However, the guidance that explains what this means is no longer available.
Guidance such as: If a person with a disability needs assistance at a gas station, stations must:
- Provide refueling assistance upon the request of an individual with a disability. Note, however, if the station is operating on a remote control basis with a single employee, it is not required to do that. It would still be encouraged to do so if it were feasible.
- Let customers know how they can get refueling assistance – i.e., by honking their horn, signaling an employee, using call button.
- Provide the refueling assistance without a charge beyond the price of the gas.
The American Association of People with Disabilitieshas expressed grave concerns about these recent actions as well as the ongoing need for these pieces of guidance:
- Trump Administration Withdraws ADA Guidance
- DOJ reduces ADA compliance guidance, pointing to Trump order by Ashleigh Fields, March 20, 2025
- Citing Trump order, Justice Department cuts disability guidance for businesses by Ken Alltucker, March 20, 2025
For additional information on the ADA, go to:
Timeline of the Americans with Disabilities Act
ADA History - In Their Own Words: Part One
The History of the Americans with Disabilities Act