Just before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, in February 2020, the City of San Jose began offering reimbursement to small businesses and non-residential property owners who make their property more accessible for those with disabilities. The City allocated some $40,000 (more may be allocated) for the program to provide grants of up to $8,000 in credit for qualifying existing small businesses and non-residential property owners. Because of the severe business disruptions and the City’s focus on emergency response to the pandemic, the program wasn’t fully promoted. The City is committed to letting businesses know about the program.  

“Small businesses are vulnerable to lawsuits if their physical set-up  restricts physical access,” explains Nanci Klein, Director of Economic Development & Cultural Affairs. “Such lawsuits can be fatal for small businesses already stressed by pandemic issues, and we want to make sure San Jose small businesses take full advantage of our program, and provide accessible spaces for all” 

When the owner applies for a building permit to make the physical changes to their property, they may qualify to apply for the grant, which can reimburse the costs of a Certified Accessibility Specialist (CASp) inspection and a CASp report, and can help cover the costs of the City permit and inspection fees for the project. 

Once a business has a CASp inspection completed according to Construction-Related Accessibility Standards Compliance Act (CRASCA), you are considered “qualified defendant.” As a “qualified defendant,” statutory damages may be reduced to a minimum of $1,000 for each occasion (visit) by the plaintiff if you can demonstrate that all construction-related violations that are the basis of a claim were corrected within 60 days of being served with the complaint. 

In addition, qualifying small businesses that receive a CASp inspection, completed according to CRASCA, may opt for a 120-day grace period during which they are free from liability from statutory damages of those violations identified in the CASp report if they are corrected within this 120-day time period. 

Without a CASp inspection, statutory damages of at least $4,000 may be assessed per occasion (visit) under Civil Code section 55.56; not $4,000 per each violation as previously allowed under the Unruh Act (Civil Code §52(a)).  

For more details, please visit our webpage for additional information, or visit the State of California CASp site.   

Business owners interested in saving on ADA compliance can contact Xuan Ha, the City of San Jose Small Business Ally, for details and help with applying for the grant:  xuan.ha@sanjoseca.gov, (408) 535–3555.