A First Look at the Websites and Software Applications Accessibility Act Bill – “This week, Sen. Tammy Duckworth and Rep. John Sarbanes introduced a digital accessibility bill called the Websites and Software Applications Accessibility Act (or the #A11yAct, if you’re on Twitter) to Congress. If passed, it would build on the Americans with Disabilities Act, and lead to clearer regulations for digital accessibility requirements in the US.”
ADA Claims Continue to Snag Online Merchants – “On March 18, the US Department of Justice released guidance on internet accessibility and confirmed that the ADA’s requirements apply to merchants’ offerings on websites (DOJ Guidance), stating that Title III applied to “businesses that are open to the public.” The DOJ Guidance makes clear the agency’s position that “the ADA’s requirements apply to all the goods, services, privileges, or activities offered by public accommodations, including those offered on the web.”
Who tests the ADA testers? – “Testers only visit websites or physical locations to determine whether or not they are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act or a soft target for a demand letter or lawsuit. They then pass their test results along to their associated law firm, which generates the official paperwork identifying the tester as the potential plaintiff.”
How Will DOJ Enforce Title III of the ADA in a Biden Administration?
Dallas Cowboys Pro Shop Among Latest ADA and NYCHRL Accessibility Suits
Proposed Online Accessibility Act in US Congress is Bad for Digital Inclusion
UNRUH: IT’S NOT THE ADA THAT’S THE BIG CONCERN IN WEB ACCESSIBILITY – “If you’ve ever heard any of my legal presentations on web accessibility and the ADA, I’ve always mentioned that the ADA wasn’t the big threat. Instead, it was California’s Unruh Act. First, unlike the ADA, Unruh was not limited to “places of public accommodation” and instead covered all business establishments and business activities. Therefore, you don’t get into the Byzantine exercise of finding a nexus between a website and a physical place of public accommodation that certain Circuits require.”
A Second California State Court Judge Says the ADA Covers Online-Only Businesses
PDF Download – Esssential Accessibility ADA Demand Letter Guidebook
5 STEPS TO CREATING AN ACCESSIBILITY CLAUSE FOR VENDOR CONTRACTS – “With the majority of companies hiring digital agencies to build their websites and apps, a robust ADA accessibility clause in contracts moves the responsibility of compliance from the company that own the site or app to the company building it.”
Website Accessibility Under the California Consumer Privacy Act
“Fear of lawsuits drives purchase of widgets but using an overlay won’t protect you from lawsuits.” — HONOR THE ADA: AVOID WEB ACCESSIBILITY QUICK-FIX OVERLAYS
PDF Report – Diamond SOAR Report 2019 (State of Accessibility)
PDF Study – 2020 Mid-Year Accessibility Lawsuit Report
INSIGHT: Applying the CCPA’s New Accessibility Requirements to Privacy Policies
”The California Consumer Privacy Act’s regulations are expected to add protections for people with disabilities. The disclosures required by the CCPA will have to be “accessible” to consumers with disabilities so that those consumers will be able to benefit from the privacy disclosures. ”
California State Courts Continue to Issue Pro-Plaintiff Decisions in Website Accessibility Cases
California UNRUH Act “The Unruh Civil Rights Act (California Civil Code Section 51) provides protection from discrimination by all business establishments in California, including housing and public accommodations, because of age, ancestry, color, disability, national origin, race, religion, sex and sexual orientation.”
Media #
Video – Accessibility Laws in California and How they Apply to Websites and Apps; Includes The California Unruh Act, Defense Options Practical Suggestions to Mitigate Risk
Global Accessibility Laws #
Level Access USA State and Local Digital Accessibility Laws
International Disability Alliance
UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) – the implementation and provision of Accessibility, AT and universal design as integral parts and means to guarantee equal human rights to people with disabilities. The UN CRPD is a binding human rights treaty and serves as a framework for legal advocacy. With its Optional Protocol it provides a powerful tool for monitoring and claiming for equal rights.
Australia Disability Discrimination Act
What is the European Accessibility Act?
Deadline for the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act – “Do you work for or own a public, private, or non-profit business that employs over 50 individuals in the Canadian province of Ontario? If so, your organization should be aware of the January 1, 2021 deadline for ensuring all web content (excluding live captioning and audio description) is WCAG 2.0 AA compliant under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).”