V. ENSURING EQUAL ACCESS TO CUSTOMERS WITH DISABILITIES
17. It is QuikTrip's policy to provide prompt and courteous service to all customers, including customers with disabilities. Consistent with this policy, to ensure that individuals with disabilities have an equal opportunity to enjoy the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations of its facilities, QuikTrip shall take the following actions:
a. Indoor and Outdoor Assistance. Beginning as of the Effective Date of this Consent Decree and continuing throughout its term, QuikTrip, upon request, shall provide prompt and courteous fueling and other types of assistance, to individuals with disabilities, free of charge, at all current and future QuikTrip Stores. Following are examples of the types of assistance that QuikTrip will provide: cleaning windshields; opening doors; assistance in locating, retrieving, and carrying merchandise; reading product labels and prices and providing wayfinding assistance to customers who are blind or have low vision; and assistance in operating equipment, including food and beverage service equipment, vending machines, and point-of-sale payment devices.
b. Adoption, Distribution, Maintenance, and Enforcement of Policies. QuikTrip shall adopt, implement, maintain, and enforce the policies attached hereto as Exhibit D (QuikTrip Policy on Access, Service and Assistance for Customers with Disabilities) and Exhibit E (QuikTrip Policy Regarding Service Animals for People with Disabilities) beginning as of the Effective Date of this Consent Decree and continuing throughout its term. Within sixty (60) days after the Effective Date of this Consent Decree, QuikTrip shall distribute copies of these policies to the managers and assistant managers of all QuikTrip stores that are open to the public for business. Within ninety (90) days after the Effective Date of this Consent Decree, QuikTrip shall require managers and assistant managers to share these policies with all current employees and thereafter, to share these policies with new employees before a new employee begins performing duties that involve contact with customers. It is QuikTrip's responsibility to ensure that each employee having contact with customers understands these policies, the actions required to comply with the policies, and the consequences of noncompliance. The policies distributed to managers, assistant managers, and employees shall be substantially in the forms attached to this Consent Decree as Exhibits D and E. The policies may be supplemented by additional information or procedures to implement these policies. QuikTrip shall redistribute copies of these policies to managers and assistant managers, who will share these policies with employees, at least annually thereafter. Within thirty (30) days after the Effective Date of this Consent Decree, QuikTrip shall also post and maintain these policies on its website, in an accessible and conspicuous location (i.e., directly linked from the homepage of quiktrip.com) and format (i.e., HTML), where the policies can be readily found and reviewed by members of the public.
c. Training. Within ninety (90) days after the Effective Date of this Consent Decree, QuikTrip shall train all of its employees having contact with customers regarding the requirements of this Consent Decree and the ADA relating to nondiscrimination in the retail setting. The training shall cover the policies at Exhibits D and E and the following most common types of assistance that QuikTrip employees will provide to customers with disabilities, upon request, in a prompt and courteous manner, without any extra charge: fueling assistance; cleaning a windshield; opening doors; assisting in locating, retrieving, and carrying food, drinks, or merchandise; reading product labels and prices and providing wayfinding assistance to customers who are blind or have low vision; and assistance in operating equipment, including food and beverage service equipment, vending machines, and point-of-sale payment devices. The training also shall include the requirement to ensure effective communication (e.g., accepting and communicating on relay calls and using pen and paper to communicate with people who are deaf, are hard of hearing, or have speech impairments), the requirement to make reasonable modifications in policies, practices, and procedures (e.g., accepting large print checks from people with low vision, making exceptions to "no pet" policies for people accompanied by service animals), and the requirement to maintain accessible features (e.g., removing snow and ice from accessible parking spaces and other outdoor accessible features).
d. Training for New Employees. Throughout the term of this Consent Decree, the training described in Paragraph 17.c. shall be provided to all new employees before they begin performing duties involving customer contact.
e. Refresher Training. The training described in Paragraph 17.c. shall be provided to each QuikTrip employee having customer contact at least once during each year throughout the term of this Consent Decree.
f. Notification System for Outdoor Assistance. QuikTrip already has, and agrees to maintain in current QuikTrip Stores and Future QuikTrip Stores, a call button notification system that is available at each fueling position. This call button notification system is available for use by all customers, including customers with disabilities, who need outdoor assistance. Within one-hundred eighty (180) days after the Effective Date of this Consent Decree, QuikTrip shall test and if necessary modify or upgrade its call button notification system at each fueling position at each QuikTrip Store to ensure that each call button functions effectively in providing QuikTrip personnel inside the QuikTrip Store with a notification that assistance is required outdoors and identifies the fueling position at which assistance is required.
g. Notification System Signage. Each call button shall include appropriate signage indicating the policy of providing fueling and other assistance to individuals with disabilities, which shall be conspicuous and easily readable from within a vehicle. Additionally, the signage at each store shall have the store's phone number posted for individuals to make phone calls to request assistance in the event the notification system malfunctions. 28 C.F.R. § 36.302(a); ADA Standards § 4.30. Within sixty (60) days after the Effective Date of this Consent Decree, QuikTrip shall propose signage language to counsel for the United States for review and approval. After approval by the United States, signage shall be installed at each fueling position within sixty (60) days and thereafter maintained and refreshed, as necessary, so it remains readable by persons who are sitting in their vehicles at the associated fueling position.
h. Maintenance of Accessible Features. Beginning as of the Effective Date of this Consent Decree and continuing throughout its term, QuikTrip shall undertake the following steps to ensure that QuikTrip Stores are maintained so they are accessible to individuals with disabilities:
i. QuikTrip shall establish and implement a process of ensuring that its controls and operating mechanisms, systems, and procedures used for obtaining fueling and other assistance are maintained in good working order and are tested on a schedule of not less than once each week per store.
ii. QuikTrip shall establish and implement a process of ensuring that accessible parking spaces, accessible routes, curb ramps, and all other outdoor accessible elements at QuikTrip Stores are maintained in accessible condition, free of built-up snow, ice, debris, and standing water.
i. Blocking Objects. Delivery trucks and other vehicles may not block or obstruct an accessible parking space, route, and/or curb ramp. ADA Standards §§ 4.4.1, 4.7.8. QuikTrip Store personnel shall be trained to check the location of delivery trucks upon knowledge of delivery personnel arrival and to ensure that accessible parking, routes, and curb ramps are not blocked by delivery trucks before accepting a delivery. To maintain the accessibility of parking spaces reserved for persons with disabilities, QuikTrip will install signage at accessible parking spaces that makes clear that such spaces may not be used or blocked by delivery trucks/deliveries and provides the store phone number and an ADA Complaint phone number so that customers may complain about delivery trucks blocking the spaces. Such signage shall be installed so that it remains visible to individuals who are unable to leave their vehicles to approach the signage when a delivery truck is parked in the accessible parking space.
j. Actions to Ensure Employee Compliance with Policies. QuikTrip shall take appropriate action, including disciplinary action, against any employee who fails to comply with the requirements of Paragraph 17 of this Consent Decree after receiving training regarding those requirements. The action taken will be consistent with the action QuikTrip ordinarily takes for an employee's violation of a federal, state, or local law or important QuikTrip company policy. QuikTrip will maintain records regarding significant corrective actions taken pursuant to this provision of the Consent Decree and, in its reporting to the Department, shall include a description of such actions and the date of and reason why the action was taken but need not disclose the identity of an individual employee subjected to disciplinary action.
18. Accessibility Maintenance Checklist. Annually, at the same time that QuikTrip distributes the policies referenced in Paragraph 17.b., QuikTrip shall also distribute to each store manager an Accessibility Maintenance Checklist substantially in the form attached to this Consent Decree as Exhibit F. The manager at each QuikTrip Store shall complete the Checklist and return it to QuikTrip's General Counsel within sixty (60) days after the distribution date. QuikTrip shall provide copies of completed Checklists that its General Counsel has received during the preceding six months to the United States as part of the reporting required pursuant to this Consent Decree, together with a list of actions taken at each QuikTrip Store in response to deficiencies identified through the completed Checklists.
19. Within ninety (90) days after the Effective Date of this Consent Decree, QuikTrip shall obtain and implement a toll-free telephone number ("ADA Comment Line") that is used solely to receive comments and complaints from customers and members of the public relating to QuikTrip's service and facilities for individuals with disabilities ("ADA-related Complaints"). This ADA Comment Line will be answered by one or more employees who are trained regarding the requirements of Title III of the ADA, the terms of this Consent Decree, the use of relay services, and communication with individuals who are deaf, are hard of hearing, or have speech impairments. This telephone number will be the same number that is posted on accessible parking signs to address complaints of delivery trucks/deliveries blocking accessible parking, as referenced in Paragraph 17.i. Within ninety (90) days after the Effective Date of this Consent Decree, QuikTrip will also post this telephone number on its website below the link to its website accessibility policy.
20. Within ninety (90) days after the Effective Date of this Consent Decree, QuikTrip shall post and maintain at each QuikTrip facility open to the public for business at any time during the term of this Consent Decree a sign or decal containing the toll-free telephone number of the ADA Comment Line and including the substance of the text contained in Exhibit G to this Consent Decree. The sign or decal shall be printed in bold, easily readable print on a contrasting background, shall be at least 9 inches tall by 12 inches wide, and shall be posted in a conspicuous location and maintained and refreshed, as necessary, so that it can be easily observed and read by a customer with a disability who is outside a QuikTrip Store and unable to leave his or her vehicle. QuikTrip also shall post, maintain, and refresh, as necessary, such a sign or decal at each Future QuikTrip Store that opens for business at any time during the term of this Consent Decree before the Store opens for business.
21. QuikTrip shall be responsible for receiving and investigating all ADA Title III-related complaints by customers received at its ADA Comment Line or otherwise directed to its corporate offices. Within ninety (90) days after the Effective Date of this Consent Decree, QuikTrip shall post the toll-free telephone number for its ADA Comment Line on its internet website (within the domain http://quiktrip.com/) in a website location that is directly linked to its homepage and easy for customers with disabilities to find. Consistent with the requirements of Title III of the ADA, the toll-free number shall be posted in an accessible format (e.g., HTML) and accessible location. Within sixty (60) days after the Effective Date of this Consent Decree, QuikTrip shall designate and train one or more of its headquarters employees (ADA Coordinator(s)) who will be responsible for receiving and investigating ADA Title III-related complaints so that such employee(s) are knowledgeable regarding the requirements of Title III applicable to QuikTrip, including effective communication, reasonable modifications, the maintenance of accessible features, architectural requirements, and the terms of this Consent Decree.
22. Throughout the term of this Consent Decree, QuikTrip will receive and respond to any disability-related complaints about facilities or services by a customer ("ADA-related Complaint") directed to its ADA Comment Line or otherwise directed to its corporate offices as follows: (A) within five (5) business days after an ADA-related Complaint is received, QuikTrip will commence an investigation, including contacting the complainant, if necessary, to find out the allegations of the complaint and will investigate the complaint with the appropriate QuikTrip staff where the complaint originated; and (B) QuikTrip will complete its investigation and respond to the complainant within thirty (30) days after the complaint is received, including discussing with the complainant, where appropriate, possible resolutions, including training or corrective actions for QuikTrip staff and relief for the complainant. QuikTrip will maintain written records of ADA-related Complaints by customers, its investigations, and its responses to those complaints throughout the life of this Consent Decree. Copies of such records will be provided to the United States pursuant to the reporting requirements of Paragraph 37 of this Consent Decree, and at any other time upon request.
23. ADA Coordinator(s). The ADA Coordinator(s) designated pursuant to Paragraph 21 of this Consent Decree shall coordinate QuikTrip's effort to comply with and carry out its responsibilities under the ADA and this Consent Decree, including the investigation of ADA-related Complaints, the coordination of corrective actions and relief for complainants to resolve ADA-related Complaints, and maintaining records of ADA-related Complaints, investigations, and actions taken to comply with this Consent Decree. QuikTrip shall make available on its website, in an accessible and conspicuous location (i.e., directly linked from the homepage of quiktrip.com) and format (i.e., HTML), the name(s), office address(es), telephone number(s), and email addresses of the ADA Coordinator(s).
24. In addition to operating stores, QuikTrip operates a website.
25. Website Accessibility. QuikTrip has already initiated a program to improve the accessibility of its website. In connection with this initiative, within one (1) month after the Effective Date of this Consent Decree, QuikTrip shall adopt, and thereafter maintain, a policy of nondiscrimination on the basis of disability in providing effective communication via its website. The policy provided as Exhibit H meets the requirements of this provision. Before adopting a policy that is substantially different from the policy provided as Exhibit H, QuikTrip shall submit such policy to the Department for review and approval and shall incorporate comments provided by the Department before adopting the policy.
a. Within two (2) months after the Effective Date of this Consent Decree, QuikTrip will distribute the policy to all persons - employees and contractors - who design, develop, maintain, or otherwise have responsibility for content and format of its website(s) or third party websites used by QuikTrip ("Internet Personnel"). Within three (3) months of the Effective Date of this Consent Decree, QuikTrip will provide training to Internet Personnel on website accessibility, including the requirements set out in the policy at Exhibit H.
b. Within three (3) months after the Effective Date of this Consent Decree, QuikTrip will undertake a Website Accessibility Assessment to evaluate the delivery of content on its website to ensure inclusion and integration of people with disabilities, including individuals who use screen readers or voice interactive software, who use text magnification programs, who require the ability to adjust font size and/or color to view webpages, who require audio description to access video content, and who require captions to access audio materials. The evaluation will take into consideration the following issues, but will also evaluate the website according to generally accepted standards for website accessibility, such as the Standards promulgated pursuant to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended:
i. For every image posted, including photographs, charts, color-coded information, or other graphics, QuikTrip will add a text equivalent to the image, to allow persons with disabilities who use screen readers or Braille displays to understand the basic content of the image or graphical element.
ii. All documents will be posted in a text based format that is compatible with assistive technology, and not as images that do not have text of the file's content in a format accessible to a screen reader and Braille display
iii. QuikTrip's website will allow Web browsers and other assistive technologies to manipulate colors and font settings on its webpages for individuals with low vision or color blindness to access the content.
iv. Videos and other multimedia will incorporate features to make them accessible to individuals with disabilities, including audio descriptions of images (including changes in setting, gestures, and other details) to make videos accessible to persons who are blind or have low vision, among others, and the provision of text captions synchronized with the video image to make video and audio tracks accessible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
v. Where appropriate, QuikTrip will also include the following considerations in developing webpages:
(1) The inclusion of a "skip navigation" link at the top of webpages that allows people who use screen readers to ignore navigation links and skip directly to webpage content;
(2) Minimizing the use of blinking, flashing, or other distracting features;
(3) If included, allowing moving, blinking, or auto-updating objects of pages to be paused or stopped;
(4) Online forms will include descriptive tags that provide persons with disabilities the information they need to complete and submit the forms;
(5) If sounds automatically play, visual notification and transcripts will also be provided;
(6) For pages that are auto-refreshing or that require a timed-response, providing a second, static copy of the page;
(7) Titles, context, and other heading structures will be provided to help users navigate complex pages or elements (such as webpages that use frames).
c. Within three (3) months after the Effective Date of this Consent Decree, QuikTrip shall provide a way for online visitors to request accessible information or services by posting a telephone number or e-mail address on its home page in a conspicuous and accessible location. In that same location, QuikTrip will provide a notice soliciting feedback from visitors to QuikTrip's website on how accessibility can be improved at QuikTrip and on QuikTrip's website and shall provide an accessible means of providing such information.
d. Within four (4) months after the Effective Date of this Consent Decree, QuikTrip shall enlist people with a variety of disabilities to test its pages for accessibility.
e. Within four (4) months after the Effective Date of this Consent Decree, QuikTrip shall develop a Website Accessibility Action Plan to address deficiencies in effective communication of content identified in the Website Accessibility Assessment, including the feedback provided by visitors to its website and from people with disabilities enlisted to test website accessibility, and the appropriate provision of auxiliary aids and services to achieve effective communication on its website.
f. Within five (5) months after the Effective Date of this Consent Decree, QuikTrip shall implement the Website Accessibility Action Plan with appropriate auxiliary aids and services to achieve effective communication.
g. During the second year and subsequent years of the term of this Consent Decree, QuikTrip shall perform the steps outlined in Paragraphs 25.a. through 25.f. within a comparable period of time.
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