Hamden Restaurant Settles ADA Complaint

HAMDEN, CT — A Hamden restaurant will make improvements to its accessibility after reaching a settlement over allegations that it wasn’t operating in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. U.S. States Attorney for Connecticut John H. Durham announced Friday that his office has reached settlement agreements with Ibiza Restaurant and Mangos, LLC in Hamden, to resolve allegations that Ibiza was not operating in compliance with the ADA. Ibiza leases its premises from Mangos.

“The settlement agreements resolve an ADA complaint filed by an individual with physical disabilities alleging that Ibiza did not meet the ADA’s requirements for accessibility,” Durham wrote in a press release. “Ibiza and Mangos are in the process of making the changes to the physical premises of Ibiza as required by the settlement agreements. Mangos has committed to increasing accessible parking for Ibiza and its other commercial tenant, remediating the sidewalk from the parking area to the tenant business entrances, adding a ramp from the sidewalk to the tenant business entrances and ensuring that the tenant business entrances are accessible.

“Ibiza has committed to increasing accessibility in the interior of the restaurant, including constructing an accessible restroom. Mangos will continue to make improvements over the next year and Ibiza will make improvements over the next 18 months.”

Under federal law, private entities that own or operate places of “public accommodation,” including restaurants, are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of disability. The ADA authorizes the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate complaints and undertake periodic reviews of compliance of covered entities. The Justice Department also is authorized to commence a civil lawsuit in federal court in any case that involves a pattern or practice of discrimination or that raises issues of general public importance, and to seek injunctive relief, monetary damages, and civil penalties.

Durham noted that the owners of Ibiza and Mangos have cooperated with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to address the ADA issues without the need for litigation.

Any member of the public who wishes to file a complaint alleging that any place of public accommodation or public entity in Connecticut is not accessible to persons with disabilities may contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office at 203-821-3700.

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 and (800) 514-0383 (TTY). More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.justice.gov/crt.

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