The U.S. Department of Justice Tuesday announced its Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida have launched an investigation into United Parks & Resorts Inc. to determine whether it violates Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by discriminating against guests with disabilities.
The ADA prohibits discrimination based on disability by public accommodations, including theme parks. The company was issued a letter of notice about the inquiry. In it, the DOJ Civil Rights Division noticed company CEO Marc Swanson and United Parks' general counsel that, "The ADA prohibits UPR, as a public accommodation, from discriminating against individuals with disabilities through 'the imposition or application of eligibility criteria that screen out or tend to screen out an individual with a disability or any class of individual with disabilities from fully and equally enjoying' any goods or services UPR provides, 'unless such criteria can be shown to be necessary" for UPR to provide them.'"
United Parks & Resorts' theme park holdings include SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Discovery Cove and Aquatica.
Complaints filed with the Department allege UPR has prohibited manually-powered mobility aid-rollator walkers with seats in the parks, and that UPR parks offer guests with disabilities who use rollator walkers for mobility the option to rent alternative mobility aids for a surcharge, which violates ADA standards.
“The ADA protects every American from disability-based discrimination in places of public accommodation, including theme parks,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We are committed to upholding our federal civil rights laws so that no guest is denied access or charged more because of a disability.”
“Every year, millions of people from around the world travel to Florida to visit our theme parks,” said U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe for the Middle District of Florida. “No one should ever be denied equal access to public accommodations based on disability. Our office remains steadfast in our commitment to ensuring that all individuals with disabilities are guaranteed their rights under the ADA.”
If you believe you have been a victim of such disability discrimination at these parks, you are asked to file a complaint with the Civil Rights Division online at www.civilrights.justice.gov, or by calling the Department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 1-800-514-0301 (1-833-610-1264 (TTY)).
