Legal concerns

For many, their gateway into web accessibility will be considering the legal requirements and the consequences for ignoring those requirements.

The basics

There are several legal reasons why we need to have accessible sites. The basics come down to these:

• ADA lawsuits are a real possibility
• Beyond the ADA, some of our clients also have to consider these laws and make sure that their partners/third party vendors comply:
  • Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
  • The 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA)
  • The Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 (ACAA)
  • Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005
• Any tools that our employees have to use to perform their job duties, including updating web sites, should have accessibility baked in
  • Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
  • The Americans With Disabilities Act

In other words, it's not just enough for us to have an accessible site for us to not be sued. This also signals to our clients that we are competitive.

The nuances of the ADA

To understand the U.S. legal landscape for web accessibility, you have to understand a few points:

1. As a piece of legislation, The Americans With Disabilities Act does not have any measurable "do this, don't do that" criteria for web accessibility. This means the ADA does not offer any criteria with which a site can or cannot comply, and thus, "ADA compliance" in terms of web accessibility doesn't mean anything.
2. It is possible for a company with an inaccessible site to be sued for failing to comply with The Americans With Disabilities Act.
3. When a lawsuit is filed against a company for having an inaccessible website and violating the ADA, the settlement documents have repeatedly included references to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. These are the international standards that inform federal accessibility laws and that inform accessibility laws in other countries. The settlement documents indicate that part of the settlement includes the plaintiff agreeing to conform to whatever the current version of WCAG is.

Confusing, eh? Think of it this way:

1. Imagine that you want to drive on Highway 70.
2. You know that you need to drive the speed limit, and that failing to adhere to the speed limit would result in problems, penalties, and/or punishments.
3. But there are no signs anywhere that identify the speed limit.
4. The appropriate agencies and administrations release guidance and press releases that reiterate the need to drive the speed limit, but never identify the actual speed limit.
5. People continue to be pulled over for driving too fast and not obeying the speed limit. Some are even given tickets and/or other penalties and punishments.
6. When the driver is allowed to drive off, the driver is told that if they drive 70 miles per hour or slower, they can avoid being pulled over in the future.

That is more or less the same as how The Department of Justice and The Americans With Disabilities Act have been treating web accessibility. It is possible to violate the law, despite the law not having any clear criteria with which one can aim to comply (or not comply). But if a company is sued for violating the law, the company can settle and part of that settlement will include agreeing to conform with WCAG.

How are we doing on WCAG

Currently, there are no coordinated efforts to address our abilities to conform to WCAG.