Businesses that fall under ADA provisions are required to provide "reasonable accommodations" for people with disabilities, whether they are customers or employees.  A reasonable accommodation is the introduction fo any change in equipment, facilities, scheduling, or operational policies that provide similar opportunities for people with disabilities that are available to people without disabilities.  If the cost of such an accommodation is too high for the business to afford, the business is allowed to demonstrate that the accommodation imposes "undue hardship" on its finances. Some accommodations are costly, but most cost little to nothing.

1. A woman who uses a wheelchair cannot come to work at the same time as everyone else because an accessible public bus doesn't run until later. The supervisor changes her work schedule, covering some duties with another employee, and has complied with the ADA.     COST = $0

2. A man with a visual impairment is hired to work in a data entry position. The man has difficulty reading his computer screen due to glare from the overhead lights. The employer provides an anti-glare screen for the man's computer and has complied with the ADA.     COST = $30

3. A department store cannot afford to install an elevator to its second floor and has demonstrated "undue hardship". A customer with an assistive walker device is interested in purchasing a product on the second floor. A salesperson complies with the ADA by carrying products down to the first floor for the customer to examine and then choose one for purchase.     COST = $0

Just from these few examples, people not familiar with the ADA can see that just a little bit of creativity and common sense may be the only requirement needed for ADA compliance. The whole concept is to provide equal opportunities for people with disabilities, and that can be done in ways that are not extremely inconvenient nor costly.