36 CFR Parts 1190 and 1191 ADA and ABA Accessibility Guidelines - Preamble (Discussion of Comments and Changes)

Comment. Commenters expressed concern about use of the terms "dining surfaces" and "work surfaces" and urged the Board to include definitions of the terms in the final rule. Comments considered the term "dining surfaces" insufficient in covering bars where only drinks are consumed. Questions were also raised about the term "work surfaces" which some commenters thought might be misconstrued as applying only to surfaces in employee work areas. Some commenters considered the term too limiting and questioned whether it would apply, as they felt it should, to surfaces used forpurposes not necessarily considered "work," such as counters that support credit card readers or video games. These comments urged the requirement to be modified to apply to all built-in tables and counters used by the public for any purpose.

Response. The Board has clarified the application of this section by revising scoping provisions for accessible dining and work surfaces, as discussed above in section 226. The term dining surface has been clarified as applying to those dining surfaces used "for the consumption of food or drink" (226.1). In addition, the Board has indicated in the ADA scoping provisions that the types of work surfaces covered do not include those surfaces used by employees since elements of work stations subject to the ADA are not required to comply with these guidelines (226.1). A similar clarification is not provided in ABA scoping provisions since work stations covered by the ABA are fully subject to the guidelines.