Are retail stores required to have TTYs (text telephones for people who are deaf or hard of hearing)?
Only those businesses that allow customers to make outgoing calls on more than an incidental convenience basis must provide TTYs. For making calls to or receiving calls from customers with hearing or speech impairments who use TTYs, stores are able to rely on the relay systems that telephone companies have established. Operators employed by relay systems will relay communications between TTY-users and people using conventional telephones. Retail stores can ensure effective communication by training staff who answer the telephone to anticipate incoming calls through the relay service. Handling these calls may take longer because an operator at the relay system will be receiving typed communications from the caller and will also be using the relay system equipment to type communications from the store staff person to the caller. Training should be undertaken as soon as possible because all states already offer some type of relay service. For your information, however, a TTY is relatively
