Web and Mobile Accessibility

This topic includes all settlement agreements, press releases, legal updates and other articles on Lainey Feingold's website about web and mobile access, also known as digital access. Lainey has been working on this issue since she and her colleagues negotiated the country's first financial institution web accessibility agreement with Bank of America in 2000.

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

Accessibility Culture

Posted on Updated on April 26, 2019
Digital accessibility means disabled people can use and interact with technology and digital content.  It is about good design, development, and coding; appropriate testing and training; an inclusive workforce, and a host of other details. It’s an ongoing commitment to including all users in all technology. Mistakes and back sliding are less likely with a culture of accessibility. Read more… Accessibility Culture

E*Trade Digital Accessibility Settlement Agreement

Posted on Updated on October 30, 2018
The settlement agreement posted here details E*Trade’s commitment to improving the accessibility and usability of its website, mobile application and online trading platform for customers who are blind. The agreement was reached in Structured Negotiation; no lawsuit was needed or filed. The Law Office of Lainey Feingold and Linda Dardarian, of the Oakland civil rights firm Goldstein, Borgen, Dardarian and Ho represented Pratik Patel and Victor Tsaran, two E*Trade customers, in the negotiation. E*Trade will be using the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0, Level AA as its accessibility standard. The agreement identifies the International Standards Organization (ISO) 14289, also known as PDF/UA (PDF/Universal Accessibility) standard as the standard for PDF accessibility. Read more… E*Trade Digital Accessibility Settlement Agreement

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

Building Accessibility into Technology Vendor Contracts

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Want to make sure that accessibility becomes — and stays — part of your organization’s way of doing business? Want to stay ahead of the legal curve and make sure the technology you purchase works for everyone, including your disabled students, customers, patients, employees and members of the public? A key component is having technology vendor contracts that include accessibility. The article posted here offers smart practices for this important aspect of technology procurement. Read more… Building Accessibility into Technology Vendor Contracts

Weight Watchers Print and Digital Accessibility Settlement Agreement

Posted on Updated on April 3, 2018
Posted here is the settlement agreement between Weight Watchers, the American Council of the Blind, and blind Weight Watchers members Alice Ritchhart and Lillian Scaife. The agreement demonstrates Weight Watchers’ strong commitment to digital accessibility for its members and subscribers who are blind and visually impaired. Weight Watchers will be using the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level AA as the standard for its online and mobile application content, and will be providing print material in accessible formats for persons with visual impairments who cannot read standard print. The agreement, reached using Structured Negotiations, also includes training, monitoring and implementation provisions. Linda Dardarian of the Oakland civil rights firm Goldstein, Borgen, Dardarian & Ho was co-counsel with the Law Office of Lainey Feingold in representing the blind community. Read more… Weight Watchers Print and Digital Accessibility Settlement Agreement

Safeway Web Accessibility Settlement Agreement

Posted on Updated on April 3, 2018
This is the settlement agreement about the accessibility of Safeway’s online grocery delivery website. The company worked on this initiative in Structured Negotiations with individual customers with visual impairments in California and Washington State. The Safeway shoppers were represented by the Law Office of Lainey Feingold and Linda Dardarian of the Oakland, California civil rights firm. Safeway will be using the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level AA as its web standard. When its grocery delivery site meets this standard, Safeway will remove a legacy separate site known as the “Access Site” that it had maintained. Read more… Safeway Web Accessibility Settlement Agreement

Bank of America Online and Mobile Security Solutions Settlement Agreement

Posted on Updated on April 3, 2018
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

Major League Baseball: All Star Ballot with Audio CAPTCHA

Posted on Updated on April 2, 2018
For the second year in a row, Major League Baseball’s on-line ballot for All Star Voting has an audio CAPTCHA. This accessible security feature allows visually impaired fans to independently cast their all star votes on line. The audio CAPTCHA is part of Major League Baseball’s on-going initiative to improve on-line accessibility for blind baseball fans. Read more… Major League Baseball: All Star Ballot with Audio CAPTCHA