Accessibility to places of public accommodation, including institutional and commercial facilities, has been a high-priority issue since 1992 with the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Since then, many building owners and facility executives have sought to ensure that new construction projects and renovations to existing buildings incorporate features that expand accessibility.
But a recent proposal by the federal government would curtail accessibility requirements in one department and potentially signal a change in accessibility priorities elsewhere in the federal government.
In May 2025, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) proposed eliminating its longstanding requirement that new buildings receiving funds from the agency be accessible to disabled people. The rule has been in effect across the federal government since 1980 under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which protects the rights of individuals with disabilities in programs and activities that receive federal funding, such as the DOE.
“It is DOE’s policy to give private entities flexibility to comply with the law in the manner they deem most efficient,” according to the DOE document. “One-size-fits-all rules are rarely the best option. Accordingly, DOE finds good reason to eliminate this regulatory provision.”
The major difference between Section 504 and the ADA relates to which institutions fall within the laws’ requirements. Section 504 only applies to federal government agencies and other institutions that receive the majority of their funding from the federal government, but the ADA covers all other businesses and entities, including state and local governments, corporations and privately-owned businesses.
“The Rehab Act addressed any entity that was either the federal government, Congress or municipal, state and local municipal governments, public schools and higher education that was funded by the government and then any company that had a contract with the federal government in excess of $50,000 a year,” says Joan Stein, an accessibility consultant and founder of Stein Consulting. “Then the ADA coming along closed the loop because the ADA covers everybody, anyplace that people come in to receive or purchase foods or services. It doesn’t matter the size of the company or whatever.”
Like the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act requires any changes made to a facility under that proviso has to comply with the 2010 ADA standards for accessible design, Stein says, adding that means if modifications are made, the alterations have to comply to the maximum extent feasible, and for new construction, it absolutely must comply with the standards.
“What (the DOE proposal is) saying is that will all go away,” she says. “Period. End of statement. Gone.”
Stein says the DOE proposal also is likely to cause confusion among building owners seeking to understand the compliance requirements for their facilities.
“It is exceptionally frightening because one of the largest segments that falls under the Rehab Act are higher education and public education,” she says. “I still find people who work in public education who only reference the ADA like the Rehab Act never existed and still wonder when they have to comply.”
The DOE proposal — which was scheduled to go into effect on July 15 — could be an early attempt by the administration in its efforts to roll back accessibility requirements at the federal level, Stein says, adding that recent partisan battles in Congress over the federal budget might indicate that more conflicts are possible.
“I would not be at all surprised, based on what’s happening with the budget,” she says. “The ADA was the first federal legislation in many, many years that got unilateral bipartisan support, and that’s not going to happen now.”
Stein says building owners and facility managers who are uncertain about the future of accessibility requirements in their facilities should avoid changing existing plans.
“For facility managers and other professionals who want to learn and want to do the right thing and want to stay ahead of the curve, for that audience, I would say don’t change what you’re doing,” she says. “Stay vigilant.
“If you put a project out to bid, and you’re interviewing a design professional or a contractor who says to you, ‘Don’t worry. Those laws are going to go away. You don’t have to worry about it.’ I would say don’t hire them because that is an indication of their business ethics, in addition to other things.”
Stein says the DOE’s proposal could be a test by the administration to gauge the reaction to changes in accessibility requirements for facilities.
“I believe that when the Department of Energy put out that request for comments that they were trying to see what this means to people,” she says. “So if they only got comments from the disability community, then they could say, ‘It’s just those disabled people. We don’t have to worry about them.’ But if they also heard from facility directors and building owners, that’s good because (owners) have recognized over the years, particularly since the ADA, that making your facilities user friendly is good for business.
“It’s not just for somebody pushing a wheelchair. It’s for a parent pushing the baby stroller. It’s for those of us who are aging. It is going to impact you or somebody in your sphere of influence. As I like to say to people, it’s not just a good thing to do. It’s also the right thing to do, and it’s smart business.”
Dan Hounsell is senior editor for the facilities market. He has more than 30 years of experience writing about facilities maintenance, engineering and management.
