The Discrimination against persons with disabilities (prohibition) Act, 2018 is an Act which provides for the full integration of persons with disabilities into the society and establishes the National commission for persons with disabilities and vests the Commission with the responsibilities for their education, health care, social and economic rights. The Act has laudable provisions, which in turn places obligations on corporate bodies and individuals. These obligations, no doubt has implications for businesses either as employers of labour or providers of goods and services. Some of the provisions and their implications will be looked at below.
Provision of goods and services in a non-discriminatory manner: Section 1(1) of the Act provides that a person with disability shall not be discriminated against on grounds of his disability by any person or institution in any manner or circumstance. Section 9 of the Act further prohibits refusal to provide goods, services or facilities as well as provision of goods, services or facilities in a manner or under terms and conditions that would be discriminatory to Persons with disabilities. A combined reading of both sections indicate that businesses now have a duty to render services or provide their goods in such a manner that would not be discriminatory to persons with disabilities. Section 1 (2) provides penalties for failure to comply as a fine of N1,000,000 if the person is a body corporate; a fine of N100,000 or 6 months imprisonment or both if the offender is an individual. Section 1(3) of the Act also provides that the person against whom the crime or wrong is committed may maintain a civil action against the person committing the offence or causing the injury, without prejudice to any conviction or acquittal.
Provision of accessible premises: Section 3 of the Act provides that a person with disability has the right to access the physical environment and buildings on an equal basis with others. This implies that the physical structure of any premises including a business premises should such that would be easily accessible to persons with disabilities. It may appear that Section 4 of the Act limits the provision of the necessary accessibility aids such as lifts (where necessary), ramps and any other facility that shall make them accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities to a public building. However, section 8 indicates otherwise as it includes any building which a person with disability has a right or duty to access. Section 6 provides a transitory period of 5 years from the date of the commencement of the Act within which all public buildings and structures, whether immovable, movable or automobile, which were inaccessible to persons with disabilities shall be modified to be accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities including those on wheelchairs.
Attending to persons with disabilities in queues: Section 26 provides that persons with disabilities shall be given first consideration in queues and as much as possible be attended to outside the queue. This means that whenever a person with disabilities is on a queue, he or she should be attended to before other customers. Also, efforts should be made on a best effort basis to attend to them outside the queue. The penalty for failure to comply is N50,000.00 or 6 months imprisonment or both.
Specific requirements for road transport service providers: Section 11 of the Act provides for Road Transport service providers to make available lifts, ramps and other accessibility aids to enhance the accessibility of their vehicles to persons with disabilities. They also have an obligation to maintain, repair or replace the aforementioned items as the case maybe. Drivers are also under an obligation to ensure that the vehicle comes to a stop to enable the persons with disabilities alight from the vehicle.
Specific requirements for airline operators: Sections 14 and 15 provide that all Airline operators are to ensure the accessibility of their aircraft to persons with disabilities. They are to provide presentable and functional wheelchairs (emphasis mine). They are also to provide assistance on and off board in safety and comfort as well as ensure that persons with disabilities are given priority during boarding and disembarking. Airline operators also have an obligation to translate general information into an accessible format. This implies that general information in braille format and sign language needs to be provided for the visually and hearing impaired respectively.
Priority when providing accommodation: Where a business is providing accommodation (both residential and business) for its employees or customers as applicable, it is required to give priority to persons with disabilities- Section 27.
Right to work on an equal basis: Section 28 (1) of the Act provides that a person with disability has the right to work on an equal basis with others and this includes the right to opportunity to gain a living by work freely chosen or accepted in a labour market and work environment that is open. Every employer of labour is under an obligation to abide by this provision and ensure that it does not engage in practice that runs contrary to it. If a company contravenes subsection (1), the company commits an offence and is liable to nominal damages of a minimum N500,000 payable to the affected person with disability. Furthermore, any principal officer of the company involved in the violation is liable to N50,000 damages payable to the affected person with disability.
Right to the award of general and special damages: In addition to the normal damages provided in the Act, the court can also access and grant special and general damages where there is a contravention of any of the provisions-Section 55(2).
The provisions of the Act as stated earlier are quite laudable but one may wonder how some of these provisions will be implemented in a country where there is a huge infrastructural deficit. Also, enforcement in the Road transport sector which is somewhat unregulated and unsophisticated may be a challenge. Nevertheless, it is important that businesses avert their minds to these provisions and take necessary steps to do the needful in order not to incur heavy penalties that would end up impacting heavily on their bottom line.
ULOAKU EKWEGH
Ekwegh is a private legal practitioner with over 15 years legal experience in law firms and as in-house counsel. She is also a fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants.
Email: uloekwegh@yahoo.com
