JAN 27 1995

The Honorable Henry A. Waxman

U.S. House of Representatives
2408 Rayburn Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-0529
Dear Congressman Waxman:

This is in response to your inquiry on behalf of your

constituents, XX . They ask whether
the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) can be interpreted to
require places of public accommodations to provide baby care and
diaper-changing facilities in public restrooms.

The ADA is a civil rights statute that prohibits

discrimination on the basis of disability. By providing
restroom facilities accessible only to able-bodied persons,
public accommodations discriminate against persons with
disabilities. It is for that reason that the ADA has
accessibility requirements for restrooms in places of public
accommodations.

Although failing to provide appropriate diapering facilities

might similarly be considered discrimination against families
with infants and small children, the ADA does not prohibit
discrimination against such individuals unless they have
disabilities. There is only one Federal civil rights statute
that protects families with children and that is the Fair Housing
Act which prohibits discrimination on the basis of familial
status, but only in transactions involving housing.

I hope this information will be useful to you in responding

to your constituents.

Sincerely,

Deval L. Patrick
Assistant Attorney General
Civil Rights Division
01-03597

Congress of the United States

House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515-0529
HENRY A. WAXMAN
29th DISTRICT, CALIFORNIA

December 16, 1994

The Honorable Janet Reno

Attorney General
Department of Justice
Constitution Avenue and Tenth Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20530

Dear Attorney General Reno:

Enclosed is a letter I received from constituents of mine,

XX , regarding their belief that the
Public Accommodations section of the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA) should be interpreted to require the presence of baby
care and diaper-changing facilities in public restrooms. I would
appreciate it if you would advise me of the applicability of the
ADA in this manner.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

With kind regards, I am

Sincerely,
 HENRY A. WAXMAN
Member of Congress

HAW:lkg
01-03598​

xx
XX
North Hollywood, CA 91601
XX

October 29, 1994

The Honorable Henry A. Waxman

Member, U.S. House of Representatives
8436 W. Third Street, #600
Los Angeles, CA 90048

Dear Congressman Waxman:

We are residents of your district, and wanted to relate a recent experience to

you in hopes you might be able to help.

We took our eight month-old son to Universal City's CityWalk and were
unpleasantly surprised to find there were no facilities in the public
restrooms to change his diaper. The only choices were to change him in his
stroller, or place him on the unsanitary tile floor. Perhaps some of the
restaurants have changing facilities, but we didn't have time to go on a
hunting expedition.

After writing to MCA Development Company which operates CityWalk and other
Universal facilities, to our local elected officials, and to L.A. PARENT
magazine, we received word from CityWalk that they, too, had noticed to
oversight and that they plan to install diaper-changing facilities in women's
and men's restrooms this fall. Hooray!
This experience got us to thinking, because Universal City is not alone in
ignoring the needs of families it's seeking as customers. We've been in many
"family" restaurants and other establishments throughout the greater Los
Angeles area that lack these facilities, too. Please understand that we see
this as a critical matter of health and safety for our children.

We would like to know whether it is possible to apply the Public

Accommodations section of the Americans with Disabilities Act to require any
public establishment to add baby care and diaper-changing facilities to its
restrooms. It's crucial to have wheelchair access in restrooms, but shouldn't
infants and children have access to sanitary and safe facilities?

01-03599

At the bare minimum, establishments could install an ironing-board type "Koala

Kare" changing table that folds down when needed, and a trash container to
deposit dirty diapers. I'm sure these items are reasonably priced, easy to
install, and the upkeep is no more than regular restroom maintenance. The
"Koala Kare" boards could easily fit in the smaller restrooms of most
restaurants and stores as well.

Most major department stores and shopping centers (and even Dodger Stadium!)
have these facilities in the women's restrooms and even the men's restrooms.
They post signs advertising the fact on the restroom entrance so customers
don't have to search them out. These establishments also have comfortable
couches and chairs for nursing and feeding babies. Disneyland has a special
facility with all that -- plus facilities to prepare and heat baby food. That
day at CityWalk, we'd have been happy to have anything besides the stroller
and the dirty floor!

Congressman Waxman, during your distinguished legislative career, you have

accomplished so much to improve Americans' health and the quality of our
lives.
We really hope you will ask one of your staff members to look into this issue
for us.

Sincerely,
XX
XX
And
XX

01-03600