Potholes of Discrimination: A Post-CSUN Legal Update Wrap-Up

For the eighteenth year, last week I joined thousands of people committed to digital accessibility at the annual CSUN Assistive Technology Conference.  And as has been the case for the past many years, there was a growing interest in the digital accessibility legal landscape. This post offers more detailed information about some of the topics covered in the CSUN 2018 legal updates, which this year were repeated three times. Read more… Potholes of Discrimination: A Post-CSUN Legal Update Wrap-Up

Rite Aid Now Offers Talking Prescription Labels

Congratulations to Rite Aid! Today the company announced it is offering talking prescription labels at all of the company’s retail pharmacies in the United States. (Rite Aid currently operates more than 4,500 locations). The press release posted below is the result of a Structured Negotiation between Rite Aid and the American Council of the Blind, the California Council of the Blind, and several blind Rite Aid customers. No lawsuit was necessary. Read more… Rite Aid Now Offers Talking Prescription Labels

Denny’s Digital Accessibility Settlement Agreement

Posted here is the company’s digital accessibility settlement agreement with the American Council of the Blind and blind Denny’s customer Lisa Irving. The agreement describes the company’s commitment to make its web and mobile content accessible and usable by all users, including those with disabilities. Denny’s is using the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 AA as its web and mobile standard. This agreement was reached in Structured Negotiation; no lawsuit was filed or needed. Read more… Denny’s Digital Accessibility Settlement Agreement

Spring 2015 Presentations about Digital Access Law, Structured Negotiations

Interest in digital accessibility law is growing. During May 2015, the month in which we celebrate Global Accessibility Awareness Day, Lainey Feingold will be speaking four times about legal developments impacting digital accessibility. In this post read more about her in-person presentations at Austin’s AccessU and at the Global Accessibility Awareness Day MeetUp in San Francisco, and about her virtual presentations as part of the AccessU Summit and the ADA National Network’s Accessible Technology webinar series. Lainey will also speaking to the Collaborative Law Section of the Dallas County Bar about Structured Negotiations. Read more… Spring 2015 Presentations about Digital Access Law, Structured Negotiations

March 2017 Digital Accessibility Legal Update

This post includes legal developments about digital accessibility between December 13, 2016 and March 6, 2017. It supplements Lainey Feingold’s digital accessibility legal update presentations, including the legal update sessions at the 2017 CSUN Assistive Technology Conference. The series is illustrated by a toolbox because law has proven an effective tool to improve the accessibility and usability of digital content, print information and technology for everyone. There are many ways to use the law, reflected by the many tools in the toolbox and by the updates in this post. Read more… March 2017 Digital Accessibility Legal Update

Washington, DC Structured Negotiation Book Event on March 29

On Wednesday, March 29, The American Bar Association will host a book talk in Washington, DC for Structured Negotiation, A Winning Alternative to Lawsuits. Author Lainey Feingold, and Structured Negotiation’s co-creator Linda Dardarian will be on hand to share stories from the book and answer questions about the dispute resolution process that has delivered big results without lawsuits for two decades. Light refreshments will be served and Lainey will be signing books. Read more… Washington, DC Structured Negotiation Book Event on March 29

ATMs are 50 Years Old; They’ve Been Talking for 20

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the first Automated Teller Machine. The first ATM in the world was installed at a Barclays Bank branch in London on June 27, 1967. The first ATM in the United States was installed two years later at a Chemical Bank branch in Long island, New York. For 30 years ATMs remained off-limits to blind people, who couldn’t use the interactive, visual screens. It was not until October of 1997 that the world was introduced to the very first Talking ATM. It all happened because of disability community advocacy. And it’s a good reminder that today, 50 years after that first ATM, all technology should be born accessible. Read more… ATMs are 50 Years Old; They’ve Been Talking for 20

Agreement Between Mass. Eye and Ear and Bay State Council of the Blind

The agreement posted here is the result of a collaboration to improve accessibility for blind and visually impaired people at the world’s largest vision and hearing research center. Mass. Eye and Ear and the Bay State Council of the Blind, an affiliate of the American Council of the Blind, worked in Structured Negotiation together. The… Read more… Agreement Between Mass. Eye and Ear and Bay State Council of the Blind

Structured Negotiation Helps Parties Focus on Accessible Tabletop Kiosks

In January, 2018 the Applebee’s restaurant chain, kiosk maker E la Carte, Inc., and the National Federation of the Blind and LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired announced a partnership. The collaboration worked to make E la Carte’s table-top ordering and payment kiosk accessible to blind people. The system is used in Applebee’s restaurants… Read more… Structured Negotiation Helps Parties Focus on Accessible Tabletop Kiosks

Digital Accessibility Legal Update: ADA Anniversary Edition

[This post updated August 2020] July 26 marks the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA was passed just one year after Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the world wide web. In 1990 when then-president George Bush signed the law there were exactly zero websites. Two years later there were ten. And today? Over 1,786,367, 115. Because of the brilliance of the disability organizers and bill drafters, the ADA has provided a strong foundation for advancing accessibility in the digital world. Read more… Digital Accessibility Legal Update: ADA Anniversary Edition