Legal Question in Disability Law in California

Re: Legal obligations for a rollerskating facility

What you have to do depends on the facts. You are a place of public accommodation and should be accessible to the handicapped.

If the purpose of your policy is to collect skate rental fees, you probably should waive it. If the policy is for safety, you should consider whether the guest will be safer or less safe without skates.

What you can do depends mostly on what is reasonable in the circumstances. You may want to ask for a letter from the guest's doctor saying what kind of accommodation is needed for the disability. You may also require a waiver of liability if the guest falls and is injured while skating. You probably require waivers anyway.

Re: Legal obligations for a rollerskating facility

As with any business, a disabled person must be reasonably accommodated if it can be done without substantial cost or harm to the company. In this case, waiver of the skate policy is clearly necessary, as it would be with the wheelchair example you give. This should not be a hard issue to resolve, common sense would be consistent with the law. I suggest your company have your policies reviewed, and get some training in the law from an attorney experienced in this field, to save you some grief and legal complications. Feel free to contact me if you can't find someone local.