Landmark Victory for Blind Advocates in Hungary: CRPD means Talking ATMs

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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

ARCHIVED: Accessibility Statements Show Commitment to all Site Users

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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

Walmart Offers Talking Prescription Containers to Customers with Visual Impairments

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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

Charles Schwab Website Accessibility Press Release

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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

ADA Twentieth Anniversary Rule Making from Department of Justice

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Breaking News Update! The U.S. Department of Justice has published Advanced Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) on four issues of importance to the disability community. Earlier News Update! The U.S. Department of Justice has announced that on July 26 it will issue Advanced Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) on four issues of importance to the disability community. The Notices will address web accessibility for entities covered by the ADA, movie captioning and video description, accessibility of next generation 9-1-1, and accessibility of equipment and furniture in covered entities. Read more… ADA Twentieth Anniversary Rule Making from Department of Justice

Web Accessibility Press Coverage on New Year’s Day

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Web more accessible to those with disabilities (article appearing on page 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle on January 1, 2010, by staff writer Alejandro Martínez-Cabrera) San Francisco, CA (January 1, 2010)– During her high school years, Lisamaria Martinez, who has been visually impaired since she was 5, carried a 25-pound backpack to school crammed with books written in Braille. But once she was introduced to the Web at UC Berkeley, she started getting professors’ class notes by e-mail, using text-to-speech software, and trading heavy Braille tomes for a few words and a click on a search engine. Read more… Web Accessibility Press Coverage on New Year’s Day

New Web Accessibility Standards (WCAG 2.0) Finalized

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On December 11, 2008, the World Wide Web Consortium announced new standards for accessible web content. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 were finalized after years of development and input from web designers, site owners, members of the disability community, WAI staff and volunteers, and countless others with a commitment to making the internet available to all users. Resources about the revised guidelines are provided at the end of this post. Read more… New Web Accessibility Standards (WCAG 2.0) Finalized

7-Eleven Point of Sale Press Release

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The 7-Eleven Point of Sale (POS) press release is being issued as a result of a settlement agreement negotiated by Lainey and Linda Dardarian using Structured Negotiations on behalf of the American Council of the Blind, the American Foundation for the Blind, and the California Council of the Blind. In the Agreement, 7-Eleven agreed to install tactile point of sale devices at all its stores in the United States. The full 7-Eleven POS Settlement Agreement is posted in the Point of Sale Settlements category where you can also find agreements on this issue reached with other national retailers. Read more… 7-Eleven Point of Sale Press Release