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)

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

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

Posted on Updated on September 29, 2020
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

Kitty Cone, Progressive Activist and Disability Rights Leader, Dies at 70

Posted on Updated on September 28, 2020
Kitty Cone’s final Facebook post was dated February 14, 2015. “Excellent explanation of dangers of fracking,” she wrote above a Sierra Club video explaining the dirty energy process. It was a fitting social media ending for the life long activist who died on March 21, 2015 at the age of 70. With Kitty’s death the world has lost a fighter for social justice and a woman of fierce commitment to progressive ideals and to equality in all it forms. Her family has lost a beloved member, her son Jorge a wonderful mother. I and countless others have lost a loyal, supportive, kind friend. Read more… Kitty Cone, Progressive Activist and Disability Rights Leader, Dies at 70

Community in Toronto: What Made the #A11yTO Conferences So Spectacular?

Posted on Updated on August 12, 2020
I’m sitting in the airport on my way home from two conferences put on by #A11yTO. I’ve been trying to figure out what made the three days in Toronto so great. This post is what I’ve come up with. #A11yTO is a volunteer-run digital accessibility community in Toronto. Puzzled by the title? A11y (that’s A-eleven-Y)… Read more… Community in Toronto: What Made the #A11yTO Conferences So Spectacular?

Digital Accessibility Legal Update (CSUN 2015)

Posted on Updated on December 30, 2016
This post is a version of the presentation Lainey Feingold gave in March 2015 at CSUN – the International Technology and People with Disabilities conference held annually in San Diego, California and sponsored by California State University Northridge (CSUN). The presentation covered legal developments in digital accessibility since CSUN14 (March 2014 through March 7, 2015). Read more… Digital Accessibility Legal Update (CSUN 2015)

GAAD 2014: People are Different and We All Use Technology. Why Isn’t More of it Accessible?

Posted on Updated on March 13, 2016
May 15 2014 is the third annual Global Accessibility Awareness Day, or GAAD. The day was conceived by Los Angeles web developer Joe Devon and accessibility virtuoso Jennison Asuncion. Virtual and live events are being held around the globe to bring attention to a simple idea: People are different, and we use digital devices and consume digital content in different ways. Read more… GAAD 2014: People are Different and We All Use Technology. Why Isn’t More of it Accessible?

Revised ADA Regulations (Finally) Include Detailed Talking ATM Requirements

Posted on Updated on March 10, 2016
On September 15, 2010, the United States Department of Justice published, in the Federal Register, its revised rules implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act. Official publication is one of the last steps on a very long road leading to new ADA regulations for both public and private entities on a diverse set of issues including Talking ATMs, ticketing for accessible seating, effective communication, service animals and more. The next steps? The new rules take effect on March 15, 2011 – six months after publication in the Federal Register. Compliance with the new 2010 Standards for Accessible Design (revising what is often erroneously referred to as ADAAG), is required as of March, 2012. Read more… Revised ADA Regulations (Finally) Include Detailed Talking ATM Requirements

DOJ Delays Web Accessibility Regulations

Posted on Updated on March 10, 2016
Earlier this month the United States Department of Justice admitted what many of us have suspected: we will not be seeing web accessibility regulations in the United States for commercial and public entities any time soon. Some time in 2013 at the earliest. In July, 2010, the Department issued what is called an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule Making indicating that it was planning to issue regulations about web accessibility. The step after an “Advanced Notice” is a “Notice of Proposed Rule Making” (NPRM). After that is the rule itself. In its semi-annual regulatory agenda for Spring 2011, however, the DOJ called the NPRM for Web Accessibility a “Long Term Item” not expected until December, 2012. That’s well over a year from now. And it is close to two years after the public comment period on the Advanced Notice closed, and almost two and one half years after the DOJ announced the possible regulations in July, 2010. Read more… DOJ Delays Web Accessibility Regulations