Congressional Democrats are renewing their push for a bill that would require gyms and fitness facilities around the country to carry fitness equipment that’s accessible for people with disabilities and potentially hire additional staff members.
Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.) on Tuesday introduced a bill designed “to promote the provision of exercise machines and equipment, and exercise and fitness classes and instruction, that are accessible to individuals with disabilities.”
DeSaulnier’s bill seems to be a companion to the “Exercise and Fitness for All Act of 2024,” which was introduced by Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) this summer.
Duckworth’s bill contains language that would require gyms and other fitness facilities to offer “accessible exercise machines and equipment” to people with disabilities. It would also mandate that gyms and fitness facilities have at least one staff member on the floor at all times who is “trained to provide assistance to individuals with disabilities.”
If passed, the bill would direct the United States Access Board, a federal agency devoted to accessibility, to create guidelines for gyms and fitness facilities regarding accessible equipment.
Duckworth, who has served as a U.S. senator since 2017, is an Iraq War veteran who lost both of her legs and partial use of her right arm in a helicopter accident during the war. She told Forbes this summer that since her injury, she’s encountered difficulties “finding fitness equipment I could use” in gyms.
Duckworth has introduced the Exercise and Fitness for All Act before, including in 2021.
“I thought, ‘We really need to make sure people can access fitness facilities,’” Duckworth told Forbes regarding her motivation to re-introduce the bill this past summer.
While several legislative hurdles remain before the Exercise and Fitness for All Act of 2024 can become law, the fitness industry is already beginning to grapple with new federal regulations.
In October, the Federal Trade Commission instituted a new “click to cancel” rule that will make it easier for consumers to cancel paid subscriptions, including gym memberships. The Health & Fitness Association (HFA), the fitness industry’s biggest trade group, has said the rule will create regulatory “burdens that will disproportionately affect small businesses” like mom-and-pop gyms and small fitness studios.
For more information on federal and state legislation affecting the fitness industry, see here.
