Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission

Personal Care Assistant Accommodations Guidance

The PHRC is collecting public comment on proposed guidance clarifying how the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (PHRA) applies to the admission of Personal Care Assistants (PCAs) accompanying individuals with disabilities at public accommodations and commercial properties. 

Graphic with a QR code to access an online survey

The proposed guidance explains when the PHRC may consider it to be a reasonable accommodation for entities to provide PCAs free or discounted admission, ensuring that individuals with disabilities have equal opportunity to participate in public life. While the PHRA does not guarantee free admission for PCAs in every case, the Commission explains that it may be required in certain circumstances, such as admission to museums, amusement parks, outdoor events, or venues with accessible seating areas.

Under the PHRA, individuals seeking accommodations must have a disability as defined by the law and the requested accommodation must be reasonable and necessary. Covered entities may only deny accommodations if it can show that providing them would create an undue hardship or fundamentally alter the nature of its program.

How to provide feedback

The PHRC will accept public comments on the proposed guidance via an online survey from October 6 through November 25, 2025. Individuals, advocacy groups, businesses, and other stakeholders are encouraged to participate. Before submitting comments, please access the guidance here and read it in full.

 

In addition, two virtual public meetings to solicit feedback on the guidance will be held Wednesday, November 19, 12:00-3:00 p.m. and Tuesday, November 25, 4:00-7:00 p.m. To attend, please register in advance for either the afternoon session or evening session. If you would like to be heard at this meeting, we ask that you indicate that when you register so that we can allocate enough time for each speaker.  We anticipate that each speaker will be allocated up to five minutes to speak.