- within Compliance topic(s)
Seyfarth Synopsis: The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) sued Department of Justice (DOJ) and Health and Human Services (HHS), claiming that the agencies’ Interim Final Rules extending WCAG 2.1 AA compliance deadlines for state and local governments and recipients of HHS assistance violated the Administrative Procedure Act’s notice-and-comment requirements and were arbitrary and capricious.
On May 21, 2026, the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) filed a new lawsuit challenging DOJ and HHS’ recent decision to push back deadlines for making WCAG 2.1 AA compliant the websites and mobile apps of state and local governments (previously discussed here), as well as recipients of HHS funding.
As background, DOJ and HHS issued final rules in 2024 requiring state and local governments with populations over 50,000, as well as recipients of federal funding with 15 or more employees, to make their websites and mobile apps accessible under WCAG 2.1 AA.
The deadline for larger governments – previously April 24, 2026, is now April 26, 2027. The deadline for HHS assistance recipients – previously May 11, 2026, is now May 11, 2027.
The NFB’s suit, filed in Maryland federal court, challenges those extensions under the Administrative Procedure Act. The NFB argues that DOJ and HHS had no valid “good cause” to bypass the public notice-and-comment requirement before issuing the Interim Rules. NFB also contends that DOJ’s extension is arbitrary and capricious because the agency did not seriously consider the impact of delaying accessibility on people with disabilities and relied on information that was not actually new. Against HHS, NFB asserts that the agency relied too heavily on anecdotal evidence, did not adequately consider the disability community’s input, and even undermined its own cost-benefit findings by extending the deadlines.
The Complaint includes a number of real-world examples from NFB members who have been harmed by the extension, such as people being unable to complete unemployment applications, register businesses, enroll in classes, access telehealth services, or quickly pay medical bills because websites and digital forms were not accessible. According to the Complaint, these barriers led to delays, added costs, and significant frustration.
The NFB is asking the Court to declare the extensions illegal, vacate (i.e., set aside) the Interim Final Rules entirely, and Order DOJ and HHS to enforce the original deadlines from the 2024 final rules.
What should covered entities do now? The practical answer is they should be continuing to make their websites and mobile apps accessible without delay. The extension was granted in part to ensure that covered entities would have enough time to comply with their obligations, and DOJ stated in the interim final rule extending the Title II deadlines that it expects to fully implement the regulation at the new deadlines. From our experience, covered entities will need every minute of additional time to comply.
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