Accessibility Laws and Regulations

Big Win for Blind Shopper in First U.S. ADA Web Accessibility Trial

Posted on Updated on July 23, 2019
[UPDATE: The Winn-Dixie case is currently on appeal to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeal] On June 13, a judge in the federal District Court in South Florida made history. That history came in the form of a court order in a lawsuit filed by blind Florida resident Juan Carlos Gil against regional grocer Winn-Dixie.… Read more… Big Win for Blind Shopper in First U.S. ADA Web Accessibility Trial

Companies are Losing Web Cases: Spend Money on Web Access, not Lawyers

Posted on Updated on July 21, 2019
In less than two months, four different federal judges have said “Yes” to website accessibility. These cases, from Florida and New York, are a wake-up call to every business in the United States that serves the public: If you have a website, make it accessible so everyone can use it, including disabled people. Every business has a budget; every business watches how money is spent. These cases are but the most recent in a long-string of wake-up calls with a simple message: Spend your hard-earned dollars on accessibility, not on lawyers to fight it. Read more… Companies are Losing Web Cases: Spend Money on Web Access, not Lawyers

More than Mickey: Digital Accessibility Law in Anaheim, March 2019

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Anaheim California is best known as the home of Disneyland, that place of childhood wonder and crass commercialism. In March 2019 Anaheim will be the site of something else: Lots of learning and conversation about the digital accessibility legal space. On March 12 Lainey will be speaking at the first ever Digital Accessibility Legal Summit.… Read more… More than Mickey: Digital Accessibility Law in Anaheim, March 2019

Fear is a Poor Motivator for Accessibility

Posted on Updated on November 26, 2018
For a recent keynote delivered at the third annual ICT  Accessibility Testing Symposium I included the slide pictured with this post.  If social media is any indication, it was far and away the most popular slide in my talk. The slide image was developed by Jared Smith  of the accessibility consultancy WebAIM and is titled “WebAIM’s Hierarchy… Read more… Fear is a Poor Motivator for Accessibility

First Accessibility Agreement in U.S. to Use WCAG 2.1: Reached With Structured Negotiation (Alameda County accessible voting case)

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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 (Alameda County accessible voting case)

Asking about compliance? You may be asking the wrong question

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During a recent presentation about the digital accessibility legal space I was asked a question. It was about a word that pops up with increasing frequency as fear of lawsuits drives too much of the digital accessibility world. The “C” word — compliance. The question was this: If the captions on online videos are 65% accurate do you think that would comply with legal responsibilities?audience question This is the kind of question that arises when people are driven by fear. When people forget what accessibility is about. Even forget what the law is about. Read more… Asking about compliance? You may be asking the wrong question

Digital Accessibility Legal Update (and more) at CSUN 2018

Posted on Updated on April 9, 2018
Want to know what’s happening in the digital accessibility legal space? I’m happy to let attendees of the 33rd annual CSUN Assistive Technology Conference know that I will be offering the Digital Accessibility Legal update three times this year. (This will be one presentation repeated three times so everyone who wants to attend can!) Lainey will also be co-presenting a fourth session (not the legal update) with Sue Boyd, an Assistant General Counsel in Microsoft’s Regulatory Affairs group who leads a legal and policy team focused on accessibility. Sue and I will be talking about best practices for staying ahead of the curve when it comes to accessibility. Read more… Digital Accessibility Legal Update (and more) at CSUN 2018

New United States Talking ATM Regulations Now On Line

Posted on Updated on April 2, 2018
The United States Department of Justice has now made the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design available on line. The Standards were included in the revised ADA regulations announced by the Department in September, 2010, but the 257 page document was not on line until November 15, 2010. The Standards include, for the first time, detailed requirements for Talking ATMs. Read more… New United States Talking ATM Regulations Now On Line

Fall 2015 Update: More Delay for DOJ Web Regulations

Posted on Updated on April 2, 2018
Every six months, agencies in the United States federal government must notify the public about the status of pending regulations. On November 19, 2015, The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) gave an update about pending regulations regarding the accessibility of websites. As the agency has done many times before, the update boils down to a five letter word: Delay. Read more… Fall 2015 Update: More Delay for DOJ Web Regulations