U.S. Attorney's Office Signs Agreement With Rutherford County Restaurant for Disabled Parking

Charlotte -- June 5, 2024: Press Release Western North Carolina U.S. Attorney's Office: U.S. Attorney Dena J. King

announced today that federal prosecutors have reached an agreement with the owners of the Carolina Cafe in Forest City, N.C. The agreement requires the owners of the Carolina Cafe to make reasonable modifications to its parking lot to create accessible parking spaces for customers with disabilities.

The Justice Department is responsible for enforcing the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and implementing its regulations. The ADA prohibits the failure to make reasonable modifications where those modifications are necessary to make services available to individuals with disabilities. Under the ADA and its regulations, businesses are required to remove barriers for individuals with disabilities by creating designated accessible parking spaces.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office initiated an investigation following a complaint filed with the Justice Department, claiming that Carolina Cafe violated the ADA by failing to provide clearly marked and designated accessible parking for individuals with disabilities. The ADA requires that state or local governments, businesses, or non-profit organizations that provide parking lots or garages, must provide accessible parking spaces for disabled individuals. Accessible parking spaces are different than traditional parking spaces. They have specific features that make it easier for people with disabilities to access programs, goods, or services. As such, accessible parking spaces must be located on the shortest accessible route to the accessible entrance; must be marked to discourage other drivers from parking in them; and must adhere to the ADA guidelines in terms of the number of spaces, dimensions, and presence of an access aisle. A full list of requirements is available in the 2010 ADA Standards of Accessible Design. Upon learning of the complaint, the owners of Carolina Cafe cooperated with the investigation and agreed to remedy the violation and immediately began to work on creating the accessible parking spaces.

“Ensuring the ADA’s enforcement and safeguarding civil rights within this District is a paramount commitment of my Office,” said U.S. Attorney King, who also leads the Attorney General’s Advisory Subcommittee on Civil Rights. “Individuals with disabilities have a right to unhindered access to businesses, free from barriers such as inadequate parking or navigating through congested areas. I want to thank the concerned customer for bringing this matter to our attention, and I'm pleased that Carolina Cafe has agreed to the terms and has taken immediate action to ensure that individuals with disabilities will be fully accommodated in accordance with federal law moving forward.”

This matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) Janice Powers and Investigator Neil Power of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte. AUSA Powers also serves as the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Civil-Civil Rights Coordinator.

Individuals who believe they have been victims of discrimination may file an ADA complaint online at https://www.ada.gov/file-a-complaint/. Additional information about the ADA can be found at www.ada.gov, or by calling the Justice Department’s toll-free information line at 800-514-0301 (voice) or 1-833-610-1264 (TTY).