Articles
This page has short summaries of every article posted on Lainey Feingold's website with links to the full articles. Visit the Topics Page for all 300 plus articles on this website organized into 38 topics including Structured Negotiation and digital accessibility.
The articles here are in chronological order, arranged by the date of publication or the date of the most recent Update when an article has been updated. Most recent articles and updated articles appear first on this list.
When an Article is updated there is a link to the Updates right below the the summary of the page.
Szilvia Nyusti and Péter Takács are blind advocates in Hungary who wanted their bank (the largest bank in their country) to install Talking ATMs. After all, they paid the same fees as sighted customers, why shouldn’t they have the same access to services and technology? After a five year legal battle in Hungary, they took their claims to the United Nations. On May 16, 2013, the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities issued an historic ruling finding that Hungary violated the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD) by failing to ensure that Hungarian banks had Talking ATMs. Congratulations to Szilvia and Peter. Congratulations to the United Nations. Congratulations to the CRPD for working as it should in protecting the rights of people with disabilities. Shame on the United States for failing to ratify the treaty.
Read more… Landmark Victory for Blind Advocates in Hungary: CRPD means Talking ATMs
On May 9, 2013 people around the world will be gathering for workshops, seminars and other events to celebrate and recognize the second annual Global Accessibility Awareness Day, or GAAD. As explained on the GAAD Facebook page, the day is a community-driven effort whose goal is to focus one day to raise the profile of digital (web, software, mobile app/device, touch screen kiosk, etc.) accessibility and people with different disabilities. The Law Office of Lainey Feingold’s legal practice is entirely focused on digital accessibility, and this post is my tribute to the wonderful idea that is Global Accessibility Awareness Day. Congratulations to the grassroots community that is growing GAAD and especially to accessibility activist extraordinaire Jennison Asuncion whose enthusiasm and commitment is significantly responsible for the tremendous growth of this day of awareness.
Read more… G is for Global: Tribute to Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2013
Since its early commitment to Talking ATMs and web accessibility in 2000, Bank of America has had a leadership role in providing accessible services to customers who are blind and visually impaired. Posted here is the Bank’s most recent settlement agreement with the blind community, addressing the accessibility of security features on the bank website and mobile iOS applications. Bank of America worked on this initiative in Structured Negotiations with the Bay State Council of the Blind and bank customers Carl Richardson of Massachusetts and Shen Kuan of California. They were represented by the Law Office of Lainey Feingold and Linda Dardarian, of the Oakland, California civil rights firm Goldstein, Borgen, Dardarian & Ho.
Read more… Bank of America Online and Mobile Security Solutions Settlement Agreement
Posted here is the settlement agreement between Walmart, the American Council of the Blind, the American Foundation for the Blind, and the California Council of the Blind. The agreement is the first in the country in which a national pharmacy retailer has agreed to providing talking prescription containers to pharmacy customers with visual impairments. Walmart worked on this initiative in Structured Negotiations with the three organizations, who were represented by the Law Office of Lainey Feingold and Linda Dardarian of the Oakland, California civil rights firm Goldstein, Borgen, Dardarian & Ho.
Read more… Walmart Accessible Prescription Information Settlement Agreement
Last updated January 27, 2021 to add the new White House website statement. An important component of any Structured Negotiations settlement agreement involving web accessibility has been a company’s commitment to maintain an Accessibility Statement (previously called an Accessibility Information Page, or AIP. The ideal page has details about the company’s web accessibility policy, details about other accessibility services, and a phone and web-based method for the public to forward accessibility concerns, both positive and negative. The page should be easy to find on the site, preferably linked from the home page and all page footers, and searchable through the site search engine. Accessibility Statement resources and Statements of some of the largest entities in the United States are included in this article.
Read more… ARCHIVED: Accessibility Statements Show Commitment to all Site Users
The Walmart press release posted here announces a pilot program in which Talking Prescription Containers will be available for blind Walmart customers across the country through Walmart mail order, and also for blind customers at three Walmart stores. This is the first time in the United States that a national pharmacy retailer has piloted talking prescription technology on a national basis. Wal-Mart is working with En-Vision America, maker of the ScripTalk talking prescription program.
Read more… Walmart Offers Talking Prescription Containers to Customers with Visual Impairments
May 9, 2012 marks the first Global Accessibility Awareness Day. On this day designed to raise awareness of the need for digital inclusion, the Law Office of Lainey Feingold recognizes the large United States institutions that have committed to accessibility through the Structured Negotiations process. The entities have worked with the blind community to improve accessibility to their websites and other technologies. They have recognized the importance of inclusion and have done so in a collaborative and solution-driven way.
Read more… Global Accessibility Awareness Day Highlights Digital Inclusion
Posted here is the settlement agreement between Charles Schwab and one of its blind customers about website accessibility. Schwab engaged in the Structured Negotiations process with the Law Office of Lainey Feingold and has made a significant commitment to ensuring that its website is inclusive for all customers. Schwab has begun making site enhancements and will continue doing so. The company has adopted WCAG 2.0 Level AA as its web accessibility standard.
Read more… Charles Schwab Web Accessibility Agreement
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. today announced an initiative to make its website more accessible and inclusive for all customers. Schwab’s initiative will particularly improve the client experience for Schwab customers with disabilities. Schwab has adopted the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.0 level AA as its website accessibility standard and has begun working to meet this standard.
Read more… Charles Schwab Website Accessibility Press Release
International Talking ATM installations remind us that advocacy work done in one country can have ripple affects across the globe. ATM manufactures distribute their technology around the world, and slowly, slowly this technology is becoming more accessible everywhere. Today’s news brought word of the first Talking ATMs in Semarang, Central Java and Surabaya in East Java, Indonesia. The full news report, which first appeared in the Jakarta Post, is reprinted below. Visit the International Issues Category of LFLegal for more stories of Talking ATM installations outside the United States.
Read more… Central and West Java in Indonesia gets First Talking ATMs
