American with Disabilities Act
The building department of every city, county, or city and county is required to enforce the laws as to access by persons with disabilities to buildings within its jurisdiction.1 Any unauthorized deviation from the regulations or building standards governing access by persons with disabilities to publicly funded structures must be rectified by full compliance within 90 days after discovery of the deviation.2 Any person who is aggrieved or potentially aggrieved by a violation of any of the statutes governing access to structures by persons with disabilities may bring an action to enjoin the violation.3 The prevailing party in the action is entitled to recover reasonable attorney's fees.4 Furthermore, the district attorney, the city attorney, the county counsel if the district attorney does not bring an action, the Department of Rehabilitation acting through the attorney general, or the attorney general may bring an action to enjoin any violation of the requirements as to access by persons with disabilities.5 Observation: California's Health and Safety Code does not require the plaintiff with disabilities to establish that they were individually denied access to the public accommodation; rather, it allows the plaintiff to enforce compliance, by injunctive relief.6 However, the statutes governing building standards for access by persons with disabilities do not support a private right of action for damages.7 To establish damages, the individual must take the additional step of establishing that the individual was denied equal access on a particular occasion under the Unruh Act.8 Westlaw. © 2026 Thomson Reuters. No Claim to Orig. U.S. Govt. Works. Footnotes 1 Health & Saf. Code, § 19958. 2 Gov. Code, § 4452. 3 Health & Saf. Code, § 19953. As to injunctions, generally, see Cal. Jur. 3d, Injunctions §§ 1 to 141. 4 Health & Saf. Code, § 19953. 5 Health & Saf. Code, §§ 19954, 19958.5; Gov. Code, § 4458. 6 Moore v. Dollar Tree Stores Inc., 85 F. Supp. 3d 1176 (E.D. Cal. 2015). 7 Donald v. Cafe Royale, Inc., 218 Cal. App. 3d 168, 266 Cal. Rptr. 804 (1st Dist. 1990). 8 Donald v. Cafe Royale, Inc., 218 Cal. App. 3d 168, 266 Cal. Rptr. 804 (1st Dist. 1990). As to the recovery of damages under the Unruh Act for discrimination against persons with disabilities in public accommodations, see Cal. Jur. 3d, Civil Rights § 26.