United States Legal Updates

The articles on this page are about the law in the United States as it relates to the ability of disabled people to participate in the digital world (digital accessibility). Articles are listed in chronological order based on the date it was written or last updated. Most recent articles and updates appear first.

Visit the LFLegal Global Law and Policy page for digital accessibility law and policy around the globe.

There are cases about web and mobile access. Other cases are about kiosks, voting machines, ATMs and other tech. There is information about lawsuits, settlements, Structured Negotiation results, and laws. The articles are about Lainey Feingold’s work and the work of other lawyers, clients, organizations, and government agencies. If you are looking only for Lainey Feingold's cases, please visit the Settlements page. The posts here are for your informational only. They are not legal advice. If you think you have a specific legal question you should contact a lawyer.

Digital Accessibility Legal Update (December 2015)

Posted on Updated on October 10, 2021
This post is part of an occasional series about recent legal developments impacting technology and information access for people with disabilities. This post covers activity from August 11, 2015 through December 10, 2015. This update includes Department of Justice activity, the settlement of cases against Scribd and the General Services Administration, Structured Negotiation with Humana, an important new voting rights case, and other developments. Read more… Digital Accessibility Legal Update (December 2015)

U.S. Federal Appeals Court Slams Unethical ADA Practice

Posted on
On August 17, 2021 judges in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld sanctions against a Florida lawyer (Scott Dinin) and his client (Alexander Johnson) because of unethical conduct in cases brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and similar Florida law. Sanctions are a way that a court can punish lawyers and clients for bad behavior. In this case the sanctions included requiring Johnson and Dinin to pay money to a disability-based nonprofit or the court and preventing them from filing ADA cases without the court’s permission. Read more… U.S. Federal Appeals Court Slams Unethical ADA Practice

In 2021 The Proposed Online Accessibility Act in US Congress is [STILL] Bad for Digital Inclusion

Posted on Updated on April 3, 2021
[APRIL 3, 2021 UPDATE] On February 12, 2021, the (so-called) Online Accessibility Act was re-introduced in the United States Congress. This proposed piece of legislation is identical to the bill introduced last year and has all the problems of last year’s bill described in the article here. Read more… In 2021 The Proposed Online Accessibility Act in US Congress is [STILL] Bad for Digital Inclusion

First Accessibility Agreement in U.S. to Use WCAG 2.1: Reached With Structured Negotiation

Posted on Updated on October 17, 2020
On November 2, 2018 Alameda County California, three blind residents, and the National Federation of the Blind announced a settlement designed to protect the rights of blind voters to participate fully in the county’s voting program. It is the first agreement in the United States to include WCAG 2.1 as the accessibility standard. The parties used Structured… Read more… First Accessibility Agreement in U.S. to Use WCAG 2.1: Reached With Structured Negotiation

CSUN 2014 Annual Legal Digital Accessibility Update

Posted on Updated on October 6, 2020
Curious about how the law has been used in the past year to increase access to print and digital information for people with disabilities? For many years Lainey Feingold and Linda Dardarian have done a Digital Accessibility Legal Update at the annual CSUN International Conference on Technology and People with Disabilities conference. This post summarizes the highlights from this year’s presentation and includes links to further information. Read more… CSUN 2014 Annual Legal Digital Accessibility Update

U.S. Supreme Court Passes on Domino’s Case: Commenters Misunderstand

Posted on Updated on September 29, 2020
I made a rookie mistake after tweeting about my post on the U.S. Supreme Court’s Order in the Domino’s Pizza web accessibility case: I read the comments. Then I compounded that mistake and read comments on articles about the case on main stream media. The comments were disheartening. Some were downright mean and screamingly ableist.… Read more… U.S. Supreme Court Passes on Domino’s Case: Commenters Misunderstand

Ethics in the Digital Accessibility Legal Space: ADA Enforcement Cases or Something Else?

Posted on Updated on September 29, 2020
A 177% jump in the number of web accessibility lawsuits filed in federal court over two years. A handful of lawyers filing hundreds of cases, settling quickly, with no public statement about any accessibility improvements. Industry associations looking to roll-back the ADA, state legislatures limiting the right to sue about digital accessibility. So called experts… Read more… Ethics in the Digital Accessibility Legal Space: ADA Enforcement Cases or Something Else?

2019 CSUNATC Digital Accessibility Legal Update

Posted on Updated on September 29, 2020
On March 13, 2019, I presented the 2019 Digital Accessibility Legal Update to a packed house at the annual CSUN Assistive Technology Conference. With so much content, and no recordings, I try to follow up the powerpoint with a post like this one — summarizing this year’s updates with links to more information for those who are curious. And since it took me a month to get this out, there are even two new items in this post that were not part of the update. Read more… 2019 CSUNATC Digital Accessibility Legal Update

Recipe for Staying Ahead of the Legal Curve: Bake Accessibility into Your Organization

Posted on Updated on September 29, 2020
At the 2018 CSUN Assistive Technology Conference last month I had the wonderful opportunity to present with Microsoft lawyer Sue Boyd. Our session was titled Beyond Compliance: Staying Out in Front of Digital Accessibility Legal Trends. Our talk focused on the ingredients needed to bake accessibility into an organization. The audience even got homemade chocolate chip cookies to drive home the theme. Check out this post for the full recipe! Read more… Recipe for Staying Ahead of the Legal Curve: Bake Accessibility into Your Organization