We thank the Great Lakes ADA Center for providing us with the information regarding a Final Rule that was recently signed that clarifies the Americans with Disabilities Act title lll regulation of requiring movie theaters to provide appropriate auxiliary aids and services for people with disabilities.

On November 21, 2016, Attorney General Loretta Lynch signed a Final Rule revising the Justice Department’s Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) title III regulation to further clarify a public accommodation’s obligation to provide appropriate auxiliary aids and services for people with disabilities. The Final Rule requires require movie theaters to: (1) have and maintain the equipment necessary to provide closed movie captioning and audio description at a movie patron’s seat whenever showing a digital movie produced, distributed, or otherwise made available with these features; (2) provide notice to the public about the availability of these features; and (3) ensure that theater staff is available to assist patrons with the equipment before, during, and after the showing of a movie with these features.

Title III of the ADA requires public accommodations, including movie theaters, to provide effective communication through the use of auxiliary aids and services.  This rulemaking specifies requirements that movie theaters must meet to satisfy their effective communication obligations to people with hearing and vision disabilities unless compliance results in an undue burden or a fundamental alteration.  For a summary of the Final Rule and its requirements, see the “Final Rule Questions & Answers.”

An advance copy of the Final Rule can be viewed on-line at:  https://www.ada.gov/regs2016/movie_rule.htm

An Frequently Asked Questions document regarding this final rule can be found on-line at:  https://www.ada.gov/regs2016/movie_captioning_qa.html

The official version of the Final Rule will be published in the Federal Register, and the Final Rule will take effect 45 days after publication.

 Source:  https://www.ada.gov/regs2016/movie_captioning_rule_page.html