# ADA Title 3 and 5 magic words **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 31, 2015, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ada-title-3-and-5-magic-words/716388 "2015-03-31T02:30:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ada-title-3-and-5-magic-words/716388/41 "2015-04-01T19:04:54Z")
> [@CurtC](#): > > The link we were given by Blake was at a .au URL, but [this .com URL works also](http://ibelieveintheada2013.blogspot.com/). The guy who writes that blog appears to be in Florida. Yeah, I think when you have a blogspot blog, “blogspot.\” works ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ada-title-3-and-5-magic-words/716388/42 "2015-04-01T19:10:31Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > What are these five words even supposed to be? “Leave me the fuck alone.” ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ada-title-3-and-5-magic-words/716388/43 "2015-04-01T19:12:50Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Pretty impressive. In just 20 hours we went from “I’m an anonymous guy working at an anonymous location for an anonymous company who got an perplexing & poorly understood call from an anonymous guy” to “This is him & where he lives and what he’s ranting on about.” > > Bravo Sir Which honestly was not my intention. I was just wondering if there was something I was missing. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ada-title-3-and-5-magic-words/716388/44 "2015-04-01T20:03:35Z")
> [@Antinor01](#): > > Which honestly was not my intention. I was just wondering if there was something I was missing. I get it. You (& we) weren’t planning on doing a 4chan-style outing and beat-down on this poor confused dude. I guess my real comment was/is how wide a swath some folks carve across the web and how non-anonymous a lot of otherwise ordinary people really are. More of a cautionary tale for all of us here as we leave ever more clues to our real identity here in SDMB-space. ---
**Author:** ![Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ada-title-3-and-5-magic-words/716388/45 "2015-04-03T04:56:17Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I get it. You (& we) weren’t planning on doing a 4chan-style outing and beat-down on this poor confused dude. > > I guess my real comment was/is how wide a swath some folks carve across the web and how non-anonymous a lot of otherwise ordinary people really are. More of a cautionary tale for all of us here as we leave ever more clues to our real identity here in SDMB-space. On a different message board\* – I’m polyforumous – someone mentioned a situation they’d gotten into on the internet, all names scrubbed. But the vague description rang a bell with me, and I looked at the twitter of someone who had similarities to one of the participants, and sure enough, same person (and the asshole in the person’s tale was in fact a known asshole). Moreover, I’m regularly finding people I’m not FB friends with, but they and I have more than one FB friend in common, but those people aren’t FB friends and indeed are from totally different areas of my life. As well as rather random connections between people on my friendlist. \*The community being centered around fans of the blog of a former SDMBer. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ada-title-3-and-5-magic-words/716388/46 "2015-04-03T12:30:58Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > But a stranger phoning out of the blue - how does that even pretend to be someone to which reasonable accommodation is due? By that logic, every place of business would need a sign language person, an amplified phone setup, and rubber bumpers on all sharp corners. That’s my thought as well. Obviously the “magic words” part is ridiculous internet nonsense, but it is true that if an employee asks for a reasonable accommodation, I have to listen and see what I can do to make that work. But that is an employee. Not everyone in the whole world who may or may not even have any contact with me. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ada-title-3-and-5-magic-words/716388/47 "2015-04-03T14:05:40Z")
> [@CurtC](#): > > That doesn’t even make sense. > > That essay makes me think that this person’s disability has something to do with mental illness. From the blog: I have a United States Social Security Disability Impairment Code 2940 [Descriptions of mental diagnostic codes](https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0202613910) Organic Mental Disorders Impairment code: 2940 Psychological or behavioral abnormalities associated with a brain dysfunction due to a physical cause. ADULT (12.02) This condition can include one or more of the following: loss of specific cognitive abilities or affective changes. These people suffer from one or more of the following: disorientation to time and place, memory impairment, hallucinations/delusions, personality changes, mood disturbances, explosive temper outbursts, sudden crying-loss of impulse control. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ada-title-3-and-5-magic-words/716388/48 "2015-04-03T14:30:06Z")
I bet the caller pays his bills by writing “Accepted for value” in blue ink on them. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ada-title-3-and-5-magic-words/716388/49 "2015-04-03T17:32:40Z")
What a dick. Those magic words are legal terms, nowadays, and I despise them, insofar as when they’re used by any party shit is turning ugly. A year or two ago we went to a Greek restaurant my wife had wanted to go to for a long time. We got there 6:30-ish, place 4/5 empty. Maitre d’ sits us (two of us and Golden Retriever) in little corner exactly next to door where winter air blast hits every time it’s opened. We ask the waitress for a new table, she says sure and is leading us to back room, empty but for one table. Maitre d’ stops us–mortifying waitress–and says “those are reserved.” Front room, table after table: “those are also reserved.” I begin to percolate and he says “look, I’ve provided you with reasonable accommodation”–first time I ever heard the words spoken aloud, in fact. Things got immediately loud, abusive, and ugly (a nice public _scena_, in fact) and suffice it to say I don’t believe we will be offered same again. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ada-title-3-and-5-magic-words/716388/50 "2015-04-03T17:54:32Z")
Leo Bloom, I don’t understand your story. Why do you think he was telling you the other tables were reserved? Why did he use the term “reasonable accommodation” anyway? Are you disabled and he was being a dick about it? Sorry, I just have no idea what was going on there. ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ada-title-3-and-5-magic-words/716388/51 "2015-04-03T18:32:16Z")
Correct is, “Kenneth, what is the frequency?” ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ada-title-3-and-5-magic-words/716388/52 "2015-04-03T18:59:02Z")
It seemed clear to me at the outset that Mr. Reasonable Accommodation had some kind of mental deficit, and now it’s confirmed by his own words. Annoying he may be, but he’s not in the same category as the Accepted For Value folks. I bet it’s awful to deal with him but at the same time I have some sympathy for him, trying to exercise some control over his world and how he’s treated. That said, this thread has been pretty informative about the bywaters of the ADA. ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_blistering_barnacle/32/3386_2.png) [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Blistering_Barnacle)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ada-title-3-and-5-magic-words/716388/53 "2015-04-03T20:30:57Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > What a dick. > > Those magic words are legal terms, nowadays, and I despise them, insofar as when they’re used by any party shit is turning ugly. > > A year or two ago we went to a Greek restaurant my wife had wanted to go to for a long time. We got there 6:30-ish, place 4/5 empty. Maitre d’ sits us (two of us and Golden Retriever) in little corner exactly next to door where winter air blast hits every time it’s opened. We ask the waitress for a new table, she says sure and is leading us to back room, empty but for one table. Maitre d’ stops us–mortifying waitress–and says “those are reserved.” Front room, table after table: “those are also reserved.” I begin to percolate and he says “look, I’ve provided you with reasonable accommodation”–first time I ever heard the words spoken aloud, in fact. > > Things got immediately loud, abusive, and ugly (a nice public _scena_, in fact) and suffice it to say I don’t believe we will be offered same again. > [@CurtC](#): > > Leo Bloom, I don’t understand your story. Why do you think he was telling you the other tables were reserved? Why did he use the term “reasonable accommodation” anyway? Are you disabled and he was being a dick about it? Sorry, I just have no idea what was going on there. I’m thinking Leo Bloom’s golden retriever is a service dog, and that the maitre d’ didn’t want his doggie any further into his restaraunt. Therefore, otherwise available tables quickly became “RESERVED for people without service dogs”. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ada-title-3-and-5-magic-words/716388/54 "2015-04-04T02:27:55Z")
Either that or the area is overrun with people claiming their precious pet is a service dog, and in effect daring the staff to say otherwise. Whether **Leo** ’s is legit or not, if the last 10 weren’t the maître d’ was having none of it. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ada-title-3-and-5-magic-words/716388/55 "2015-04-04T17:57:33Z")
Or maybe they wanted the dog in the corner where it was out of the way so people wouldn’t have to walk around him. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ada-title-3-and-5-magic-words/716388/56 "2015-04-04T18:06:30Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Or maybe they wanted the dog in the corner where it was out of the way so people wouldn’t have to walk around him. A properly trained dog knows how to get itself out of the way. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ada-title-3-and-5-magic-words/716388/57 "2015-04-04T19:07:35Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > A properly trained dog knows how to get itself out of the way. Yes but do the restaurant owners know that? Most people would view a dog in the middle of an aisle as a safety hazard. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ada-title-3-and-5-magic-words/716388/58 "2015-04-04T20:48:07Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Yes but do the restaurant owners know that? Most people would view a dog in the middle of an aisle as a safety hazard. You mean everyone else is blind, too? Regardless, it sounds like they were placed there before the dog had a chance to “behave”. I’ve seen several service dogs, both working and in training, promptly move under the table or between chairs upon the person being seated. ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ada-title-3-and-5-magic-words/716388/59 "2015-04-04T22:46:25Z")
Unless Leo Bloom weighs in, we may never know, but under the ADA, couldn’t the manager have still said something like, “I’ll gladly seat you! However, for safety reasons I want to be sure our servers and other patrons can move around–will your dog stay under the table/out of the way? If not, can I seat you somewhere where your dog will be less of an obstruction?” Or is that forbidden? ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_blistering_barnacle/32/3386_2.png) [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Blistering_Barnacle)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2015, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ada-title-3-and-5-magic-words/716388/60 "2015-04-05T03:32:12Z")
> [@TSBG](#): > > Unless Leo Bloom weighs in, we may never know, but under the ADA, couldn’t the manager have still said something like, “I’ll gladly seat you! However, for safety reasons I want to be sure our servers and other patrons can move around–will your dog stay under the table/out of the way? If not, can I seat you somewhere where your dog will be less of an obstruction?” Or is that forbidden? IANLB, but I suspect the maitre d’ felt he had said that when he said that he “had made reasonable accommodation”. He just didn’t want to go further and make nice accommodation. (He felt he was following the letter of the law and was unwilling to go further.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ada-title-3-and-5-magic-words/716388.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ada-title-3-and-5-magic-words/716388.md?page=4)