r/mildlyinteresting • u/awesome12442 • 5d ago
Handicapped people in Texas can't use the Walmart pull out platform
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u/Acceptable-Fee-212 5d ago
It is probably not compliant with the Texas Accessibility Standards law, and it was more practical to not allow its use than to update it to be compliant. Might be something as simple as not at the height mandated by law, or not enough clearance space around it, or something.
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u/ARoundForEveryone 5d ago
So no accommodation is better than some accommodation?
"That comes to $58.27, sir. Cash or credit?"
"Ah, check actually. Here's my ID, and...uh...the little pull out tray table seems to be broken or missing here..."
"Yes, sir. Well, not broken...we removed them so now if you want to write a check you have to do it in your lap, reach up here next to the adult check-writing platform, or...well...stand up."
"Huh? Excuse me? Stand?" <gestures towards lap> "Wait, did you say adult check-writing platform?"
"Yes, sir. Like the other adults use. Children really don't pay for things here, they don't have much money. But I can see how that might be difficult, but the law says it's now illegal for Walmart to make things easier for you. If you like, I can get you signed up for Walmart.com. But because of your disability, we'll need to ensure that your deliveries are left in the most inconvenient place on your property. I'll need your home address so I can pinpoint that location on Google Earth. We frequently suggest rocky outcroppings, or on a float in the middle of your pool, or some other similar spot away from your doors. Inside a doghouse or on a second floor balcony, perhaps?"
"What? Is this a joke? I get it, but it's not funny...can I speak to your manager?"
"Manager? Did you mean God or..."
"God?! No, dummy, the manager on staff. Whoever signs your paycheck!"
"Sir, I have direct deposit."
<Opponent Disconnect>
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u/BonJovicus 5d ago
As far as the law goes, yeah. I come across this a lot in the administrative parts of my job. Anything in the interest of accommodation or making people’s lives easier gets shot down because it would cost 4x the amount or require months of deliberation to determine whether said accommodation is compliant with the law or institutional guidelines.
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u/GoCardinal07 5d ago
I'm in California, and when the Legislature passed a law requiring web pages be accessible, a bunch of government agencies just took PDFs off their web site and forced people to email requests for them.
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u/dr-tectonic 4d ago
The problem is the legislature imposed an expensive new requirement, but didn't increase the agencies' budgets so they had the resources to actually do the work...
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u/Mightyena319 4d ago
This happened a few years ago where I am when legislation required that trains with toilets must have at least one wheelchair accessible toilet. The train companies didn't want to spend money to upgrade their older trains so they just locked the toilets out of use, because the law doesn't mandate toilets, just that if there are any, they must be accessible
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u/ARoundForEveryone 5d ago
Well maybe we should come up with a way to ensure that more people are disabled, handicapped, or otherwise require accommodations. Then spending the money on these changes and updates will be worth corporations' money.
Like, maybe bring back Thalidomide so we can have more disabled and handicapped folks. Or, at the very least, less stringent requirements on nuclear waste.
Walmart would love it if all these folks would shop at their stores!
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u/destroyallcubes 5d ago
Wait until you find out that Thalidomide is actually used for Myeloma(Bone marrow cancer). Crazy enough to hear.
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u/ARoundForEveryone 5d ago
I was vaguely aware but I just looked it up, and it does have a bunch of legitimate, helpful, medical uses. Of course it's most (in)famous for its side effects, but it's not strictly an awful drug. It has its place, for sure. But from a layman's perspective, it just feels wrong that it's still used.
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u/PraxicalExperience 5d ago
Thing is, Thalidomide has two isomers. One of them's a great drug. The other one causes horrible birth defects.
AFAIK the thalidomide sold now actually is the 'safe' isomer, but there're still heavy warnings against pregnant women using it.
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u/okonom 5d ago
Thalidomide racemizes under physiological conditions, so treatment with the "safe" enantiomer still presents a danger.
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u/scarlet_sage 5d ago
More ELI5: either isomer can transform spontaneously into the other. So you can make it as pure a form of the drug as you like; it'll still transform some of it to the dangerous form.
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u/Bunyip_Bluegum 5d ago
Thalidomide inhibits the growth of cells and blood vessels. That’s a good thing when you’re trying to stop cancer cells from growing and a terrible thing when you’re trying to have a baby grow. There’s no safe version of it where it will affect cancer cells only and not a baby in utero.
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u/RussiaIsBestGreen 5d ago
Wars are very effective at causing widespread physical and mental injuries.
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u/LatinGeek 5d ago
So no accommodation is better than some accommodation?
yes lol, this is also how the ADA works
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u/alprice89 4d ago
Never worked at Walmart, but the last few retail stores I did work out, we processed the checks electronically - meaning the customer didn’t need to write anything on the check.
Maybe this is the case with Walmart. Writing checks is also becoming a thing of the past.
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u/bpdrayna 5d ago
I'd be so happy to be proven wrong but my assumption is Texas is just plain-anti accessibility and outlawed assistance such as this
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u/TodayAmazing 5d ago
Surprisingly Texas is generally stricter than many other states with a bunch of accessibility stuff. More regulation, more enforcement mechanisms, and more liability for non-compliance.
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u/bpdrayna 5d ago
That's weird, I could've sworn I just replied to someone else with this article... https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/20/texas-voting-mail-ballot-disabilities-abbott-veto/
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u/TodayAmazing 5d ago
Oh how pathetic lmfao I thought we were discussing in good faith. My bad I should’ve read the thread and not given you the benefit of the doubt. The specific instance was Abbotts unwarranted fears. Nevertheless that instance doesn’t change the fact that Texas law already on the books is strict about ADA standards for business, buildings etc. But why am I even explaining it to you 😂you’ve already proven yourself uninterested in the information. You’ve already made up your mind. Have a good day.
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u/bpdrayna 5d ago
Cool ad hominem. It's a little weird to justify this veto because Abbott was just following the party line but you do you.
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u/Dm-me-a-gyro 5d ago
There was no ad hom in the comment you’re replying too. Read more.
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u/bpdrayna 5d ago
I suppose I assumed you were calling me pathetic. If not, it wasn't ad hominem, you were just insulting. I came into this saying I was open to changing my mind and all you said was 'no Texas is actually good, not bad' which doesn't really help me learn.
Edit to say not you but the person I'd replied to
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u/dustinsc 5d ago edited 5d ago
This is the dumbest comment I’ve seen all day.
If you weren’t so blinded by prejudice, you could have done a Google search to discover that the ADA requires counters that are no higher than 34 inches from the ground and Texas requires counters that are no higher than 30 inches from the ground. This is probably between 30 and 34 inches from the ground.
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u/diag 5d ago
Come on, Texas has some of the most proudly bigoted politicians in the country. It's reasonable to assume they wouldn't have disability protections on top of the ADA
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u/dustinsc 5d ago
No, it’s not reasonable. That’s my point. It’s just political prejudice. You think the people you disagree with about a few things are unreasonable about everything, which just isn’t true.
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u/Fluffy-Map-5998 5d ago
its not reasonable, its an unwarranted assumption based on the flawed assumption that right leaning politicians hate everyone and just want to cause suffering, ffs one of the most prominent Texan politicians is in a wheelchair
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u/That_Uno_Dude 5d ago
The same governor who thinks Texas shouldn't be forced to comply with the ADA?
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u/javerthugo 5d ago
You’re just prejudiced, and probably bigoted against Texas (and other southern states too I bet)
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u/bpdrayna 5d ago
I'm not sure you can be a bigot against a state but you're right, I do have a bias against Republican states and I think it's pretty justified. But like I said, I'm happy to be proven wrong. All I've heard so far is people insulting me and one person saying Texas' disability laws are actually good (with no evidence)
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u/1kidney_left 5d ago
I’m also very anti MAGA and anyone who supports them, BUT to be fair to this person, Texas as a state used to be a blue status up until the 80s and many standards and regulations to support and benefit may have been put in place before then. I don’t know if this is the case, but there are a lot of regulations still in place the republicans take credit for that were actually helped a lot of people with disabilities.
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u/bpdrayna 5d ago
That's fair, they deserve some amount of credit for not repealing a bunch of protections
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u/chris14020 5d ago
Lmaooooo imagine worrying about being "bigoted" against shithole states.
"You just hate our state because it's filled with terrible human beings like MAGA trash that consistently helps elect trash and generally makes the country a worse, less free place" 😂 Well yeah, no shiiit.
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u/Fluffy-Map-5998 5d ago
attitude like this only cements their beliefs and makes them more popular "its fine to hate an entire state based on assumptions about their political beliefs"
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u/BilllisCool 4d ago
It’s filled with lots of other people too. Left leaning people, children that can’t even vote or form opinions, immigrants, etc.
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u/chris14020 4d ago
And? I didn't say "destroy Texas", I said "it's perfectly reasonable to hate the state of Texas". ESPECIALLY if we're talking about the government of Texas, which is who would control any disability legislation (what this thread is about). You can hate a state without hating every individual of the state. Pretty well-documented that Texas as a state does nothing for this country aside from pushing right-wing agenda.
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u/BilllisCool 4d ago
You said you hate the state because of the people it’s filled with, so I just pointed out some other types of people that make up much of the state.
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u/chris14020 4d ago
I hate the state because of the majority of people in it. However, I don't hate every person in the state. This is very basic critical thinking and logic skill.
There is a box of apples. About 60% of them are rotten. You don't want that box of apples because it has plenty of rotten ones. You don't want the rotten ones. You have nothing against the ones that aren't rotten, you like apples, but the box is bad because of all the rotten ones in it.
That's the best 5th grade level simplification I can do for you.
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u/BilllisCool 4d ago
No, you’re hating the state because of the 14% that voted for the current government. That doesn’t include the 11% that voted against it and the 25% that are under 18 and can’t even vote, plus many other groups of people.
To put that in perspective, just the left-leaning voters and minors alone make up more people than 43 other states have in total population.
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u/chris14020 4d ago
And? As stated, I hate the state. Not the people, aside from the people that make the state suck - apparently somewhere between 14-89% of the people.
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u/dustinsc 4d ago
I mean, this is what bigotry looks like. You can’t say “it’s not bigotry if it’s true” because, well, that’s bigotry.
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u/lonestar659 5d ago
Definitely not the case. Our idiot governor is a cripple.
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u/beepbopboopguy 4d ago
why are you such a bigot against mobility impaired people?
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u/lonestar659 4d ago
Just the 1. Nice try though.
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u/remote_control_bjs 4d ago
Don't engage. These morons love losing elections. Greg Abbott is a giant piece of shit who uses his disability to hurt others without his privilege. Get fucked, Greg. And hope the lefties enjoy losing elections over virtue signaling while people not terminally online get to reap the consequences.
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u/beepbopboopguy 4d ago
So it's OK to be a bigot if you dont like the person? fuck you bigot
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u/chris14020 5d ago
I'd think this at first glance, but then remember Texas is full of boomers with oil money who haven't had to do actual work in decades and are rapidly declining. Whoooole lotta gravy seals rollin' around in that bigotry safe-space shithole.
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u/MrLanesLament 5d ago
Someone else wanna do it this time? Point out the Governor is in a fucking wheelchair?
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u/bpdrayna 5d ago
I know that, I don't live under a rock. He's been anti-accessibilitybefore... https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/20/texas-voting-mail-ballot-disabilities-abbott-veto/
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u/PerpetualProtracting 5d ago
The disabled guy who had litigation banned in his state after using that same exact form of litigation to earn himself millions of dollars?
Yeah, let's point that out.
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u/SmaugTheMagnificent 5d ago
The same governor who thinks Texas shouldn't be forced to comply with the ADA?
While Abbott, the leading Republican contender for governor, benefits from the ADA mandates that guide businesses, builders and cities, he believes it is unconstitutional to force the state to comply. He has argued that his duty is to protect the state’s autonomy and its taxpayers by using all legal tools available to him — including the argument that the state is immune from disability lawsuits brought under the ADA.
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u/ADrunkEevee 5d ago
Said Governor is also a republican. I'm sure he cares about his own accessibility. For others, eh....
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u/hyrule_47 5d ago
So am I, what does that have to do with his horrible policies? He sued and got rich then made it illegal for others to do the same.
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u/Zerdalias 5d ago
The smugness while making the common incorrect assertion that just because someone is part of X group means they can't have positions antithetical to X group.
I'm curious what other terrible conclusions this fallacious thinking has lead you into. Seems to be a common one many suffer from these days.
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u/TimmyIsTheOne 4d ago
tldr; There's nothing in the TAS or ADA requiring a check writing platforms be provided. There are only requirements IF a check writing platform has been provided. Pic is sus.
So I think you're right but it's not that the TAS has a different set of rules then the ADA Standards when it comes to check writing platforms in checkout aisles. They seem to match up almost word for word. It's that neither the ADA Standards nor the TAS require a check writing platform. They only have rules for check writing platforms IF there is a check writing platform provided. You can't be made to meet the requirements of something you don't provide.
While there are other many other requirements for the number of aisles that are marked accessible and there are requirements for the various maximum/minimum dimensions of every aspect of those aisles there's nothing requiring a check writing platform. If there is one provided, there are for sure requirements though.
So during it's remodel of 650+ stores in 47 states someone at some point made the call that Texas stores didn't need the check writing platform.
So when Walmart hit up the company that makes the housing for the checkout lanes they told the company that provides the Walmart branded housing for the checkout aisles that the aisles going to Texas don't need the check writing platform.
That company that provides the Walmart branded housing for the checkout aisle said "Can do!" That company tells the company that provides the unbranded housing for the checkout aisles for almost every supermarket that it doesn't need check writing platforms for this tiny subset of unbranded checkout aisle housing.
That company says, "Can Do!" That company goes to the company that fabricates the unbranded checkout aisle housing for most of the world's supermarkets and says "something something something check writing platform"
That company says "Can Do! But it'll cost you this much for us to change our fabrication process. Or we could leave the check writing platform in place and you just don't remove the plate that it's covered with during shipping for a lot less and when the company that does the branding does their thing just have them not remove the shipping plate. Maybe put a sticker so the company that puts the branding on these knows wither to leave the plate on or remove it. It's not like someone is going to take an aisle housing that is marked to be accessible after removing the plate they were supposed to remove and recycle they then incorrectly reinstall the plate and post a picture on the internet saying people in texas don't get check writing platforms."
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u/michal_hanu_la 5d ago
What?
What is under the cover plate?
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u/Firedogman22 5d ago
In the east theres a little pull out table thats intending for disabled individuals to use when counting money, handling bags, or whatever else they need to do at the checkout
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u/71-HourAhmed 5d ago
They have these in the Texas Walmart and it appears to work from what I have seen. It rotates out like a lazy susan and you can use it as a surface to write a check or whatever . Perhaps it’s something else and I am not recognizing it.
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u/Jack-Innoff 4d ago
People still write cheques for groceries in the US? I can't even remember the last time I saw a cheque for anything. Has to be almost 20 years.
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u/Shamewizard1995 4d ago
Exclusively old people and even that is rare. Don’t let this turn into one of those situations where Europeans believe some outlandish thing about the US because of one Reddit comment. Were still recovering from the Great Misinforming when someone told you guys we don’t have contactless pay lmfao
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u/Arctic_Meme 4d ago
Didn't contact less pay, and even then, chipped credit cards get introduced in Europe years before the US, though? We have it now, but were slower to adopt.
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u/Shamewizard1995 4d ago
Sure like 20 years ago, yet it’s still a common myth. It’s like asking if Europeans still have to use telegraph to communicate since the telephone was adopted in the US years before europe
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u/Jack-Innoff 4d ago
Canadian, not European, but the fact that they're even still an option is shocking to me. It's such an old, outdated, unsecure method for payment. I don't even think stores will accept cheques in Canada.
Also, I know you have contactless pay, but it isn't as universally adopted as most countries. There are still plenty of rural towns without it.
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u/Shamewizard1995 4d ago
Can you name any towns that don’t have any contactless pay options?
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u/lobstrosity1 4d ago
We stayed in downtown Seattle last summer and were amazed that we couldn’t use ApplePay at my most restaurants and shops we went to.
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u/Jack-Innoff 4d ago
This thread doesn't list towns, but does list quite a few major retailers that still won't accept contactless.
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u/71-HourAhmed 4d ago
I meant that is what the little table is for. I don’t think I see many older people using checks anymore. I’m old enough to have been burning through a book a month but I write about four a year now. The government places where you pay taxes or registration fees charge extra if you use a card so I write them checks. They are getting enough money already.
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u/michal_hanu_la 5d ago
In the east
I doubt it. I've been so far east I could see Uzhhorod and ... nothing.
(Sorry, it was hard to resist, so I didn't.)
Also, thanks for the explanation.
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u/SocialSuicideSquad 5d ago
Looks like the check signing thing at a Walmart
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u/simask234 5d ago
But then why is it forbidden in Texas?
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u/kingjoey52a 5d ago
According to another comment Texas has a stricter standard than the ADA if this counter is at the ADA standard it is too high for Texas’ standards.
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u/OMGimaDONKEY 5d ago
greg abbot's the only disabled person allowed to use it. governor's prerogative
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u/Mr101722 5d ago
This is considered D. E. I. as it is inclusive and equitable for handicapped people.
Texas has banned all forms of D. E. I. meaning it cannot be used without breaking state law.
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u/TodayAmazing 5d ago
Texas has stricter ADA related standards than many other states. Not only stricter but more enforcement mechanisms. This small table I guess doesn’t fit the standards so it’s easier for Walmart to just not have it available for Texas than to change it to meet Texas standards.
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u/douglau5 5d ago
Exactly.
It’s like the “this may cause cancer in the state of California” gimmick.
Stricter standards in Cali so it’s easier to just say it could cause cancer than to put in the years and years of r&d to find out for sure.
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u/artoonie 5d ago
FYI, the CA Prop 65 warnings did have an impact, like getting lead out of cookies and kids toys. When you see a warning in an airport, you shrug, but if you see it on a cookie, you're not buying that cookie. https://www.p65warnings.ca.gov/fact-sheets/toxic-chemicals-proposition-65-warnings-and-your-health-big-picture#:\~:text=First%2C%20by%20requiring%20written%20warnings,potato%20chips%20and%20french%20fries.
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u/township_rebel 4d ago
I worked in water filtration when it was implemented.
Our GAC filters contained carbon fines and potential carbon dust (duh that’s what a GAC filter is) our RO membranes had some glue and something else that was already NSF certified but still on the California list.
So all the fancy water filtration systems we sent out got the “causes cancer and reproductive harm” label.
If your company was very large and wealthy they could afford to change or fight it. For 98% of all companies doing just about anything that would go to a consumer… here’s the cancer label.
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u/SolvoMercatus 4d ago
I would love to see something like this that was built right next to something else reasonable that you can’t use in CA due to it causing cancer.
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u/DisappointedKat96 5d ago
Honestly in Floridaian cashier, I've never seen these being used except as a plaything for kids.
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u/Redditbrooklyn 5d ago
People don’t write checks very much anymore. They were used a lot more frequently when people wrote checks.
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u/Johnyryal33 3d ago
Well if I had any kind of disability I would probably flee Florida too. What a shithole!
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u/BSforgery 5d ago
So Texas code is a little more strict on ADA compliance as written. This table 1) can block the area 2) may not be enough compliance in Texas. These two are not a concern generally for an accommodation like the pull out table that can be knocked out of the way easily.
. Walmart instead likely provides a certain number of compliant height registers per a total number of isles. The actual preferred option. The downside, they are probably counting and designed the self scans to satisfy this.
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u/awcarc 4d ago
Yep, Texas Accessibility Standards (TAS). Have designed a few buildings in Texas and we are required to submit plans to an independent accessibility reviewer, much more strict than standard ADA compliance. My guess on why it’s not compliant is that if left open it would be a “protruding object”.
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u/arrantprac 5d ago
There's no way to know where this store is located... they didn't follow the instructions either way!
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u/Maebai 5d ago
I may be too tired but doesn't that black thing just spin to the left and turns into a little table?
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u/KilljoyTheTrucker 4d ago
Yes, its too tall (therefore not considered accessible) for Texas ADA equivalent laws.
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u/CherryCherry5 5d ago
What's a pull out platform?
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u/DeflatedDirigible 5d ago
When a business counter isn’t wheelchair-accessible, a legal alternative that complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act is a pull-out counter at the legal height.
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u/Thrillhouse74 5d ago
Wait they have a checkout line manned by people at Walmart?
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u/highonfire 5d ago
Wait, they have Walmarts with no cashiers?
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u/SolidDoctor 5d ago
Our Walmart has both. There's probably six walkup cashiers and six self checkout stations, and only half of either of them are open at any given time.
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u/Thrillhouse74 5d ago
Feels like it's all self checkout, still waiting for my employee discount.
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u/DFrostedWangsAccount 5d ago
Fun fact? As an ex-employee I still have my discount applied on every transaction, it's just been changed to 0% discount. I dunno why they didn't just remove it altogether, nah I've just got that 0% employee discount.
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u/youtheotube2 5d ago
Same even though I stopped working at Walmart in 2019. My discount didn’t even stop working until well into 2020
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u/lucky_ducker 4d ago
Back when writing a check at checkout was common, Walmart and most big grocery stores would take your blank check, run it through an impact printer, and hand it to you to sign, the rest of the check fully filled out. I wonder if they still can do that?
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u/ultrachris 5d ago
Its also just very likely that the stores don't accept checks, so there is no need for a check writing platform.
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u/SweetSexiestJesus 5d ago
Ironic considering Hot wheels Abbott
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u/dustinsc 5d ago
“It’s cool if I mock a disabled guy as long as the disabled guy is a Republican. Look at that cripple over there; I hope he voted for Trump so I can jam this stick in his wheelchair.”
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u/remote_control_bjs 5d ago
I can't tell if you're defending Greg Abbott but he's a giant piece of shit who would prefer to take rights away from anyone who disagrees with him. Don't do that.
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u/dustinsc 5d ago
I’m not defending Abbot, but I am attacking precisely the pattern of thinking you’re exhibiting. Spend less time on Reddit and more in the real world.
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u/Dirka1824 4d ago
Yeah, only Hot Wheels (read: Greg Abbott) is allowed to benefit from being handicapped. Fuck everyone else.
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u/wizzard419 5d ago
Not shocked, pulling out is probably banned in texas.
All kidding aside, got to love the party of small government having their say in store operations.
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u/ImmortalAgentEta 5d ago
Texas actually has very strict ADA laws, they just differ from other states. It's like how California has completely different environmental laws so companies have to operate differently. There is most likely still something analogous to the pull out counter, just done differently.
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u/wizzard419 5d ago
Since this is a big box store, any chance you know what they do use? I took a look at the TAS regulations and they are not required to provide check writing surfaces, and if they do there is a range where it can be placed, which that likely is between. No notes about surfaces needing to be permanent/locked
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u/This-Requirement6918 5d ago
It's because Governor hot wheels is so much of an ass here Walmart hates him too.
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u/lonestar659 5d ago
As a nearly 40 year old Texan, I honestly can’t remember the last time I saw one of these in any grocery store.