DOJ Extends Deadline for Compliance with Pool Lift Standards

Late yesterday, on the day the new pool lift standards were to go into effect, the Department of Justice issued a final rule pushing back the compliance date for applying those standards to existing pools for 60 days.  At the same time, the Department issued a notice of proposed rulemaking, which proposes to push back the compliance date for six months.  The public comment period on the notice of proposed rulemaking is a very short 15 days.  These steps are obviously a response to the massive lobbying campaign the hotel industry mounted in the last several weeks, and there can be no doubt that the industry will continue to push aggressively for a delay during and after the 15-day comment period on the new proposed rule.  The question is whether the disability community is prepared to push just as aggressively for the rule to go into effect, and how the Department and the Administration will respond.

USA Today has coverage here.