The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) recently
reiterated its intent to enforce website accessibility standards
under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The DOJ is
focusing on ensuring that covered entities provide ready access for
the disabled to their websites. In short, the ADA accessibility
rules cover any entities (governmental or private) that open their
doors to the public, including nonprofit organizations, places of
lodging, retailers, restaurants, medical facilities, banks, local
governments, and schools, among others. Any nonprofit with a public
website is directly affected by theses accessibility rules. The DOJ
has consistently maintained the position that websites operated by
covered entities are "public accommodations," and recent
court decisions have supported this view. The courts have reasoned
that websites serve as extensions of, and invitations to, the
physical structures that serve as more traditional public
accommodations.
The DOJ has issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM)
for public accommodation websites and has promised increased
enforcement and heightened scrutiny of public and private websites.
Through the public comment process, the DOJ seeks input on such
matters as barriers to website accessibility, coverage limitations
of the ADA, cost of compliance on small organizations and the need
for increased DOJ enforcement. While the DOJ will solicit comments
over the next several months before it issues final regulations,
now is the time for entities covered by the upcoming rules to
address any accessibility issues on their websites.
Nonprofit organizations should review their website content and
design for accessibility by individuals with disabilities,
including visual, motor and cognitive impairments. For example, web
designers should be employed to provide text descriptions for
visual content that is compatible with assistive technology
(braille and screen readers) used by the blind. Web design should
be consistent and easy to navigate, and all video and audio should
be captioned and should minimize the use of color cues. Online
recruitment and hiring capabilities should conform to all ADA
standards as well.
In addition, website content should include a full description of
how your organization provides full access to the disabled at its
physical locations. Architectural and engineering compliance should
be fully explained and all online purchasing opportunities should
be available to persons with disabilities. Any barriers to, or
limitations upon, accessibility should be fully disclosed. For
example, a travel industry association should consider counseling
its members to provide informative descriptions of access
limitations for all facilities it recommends to the public.
Similarly, retail industry associations should describe best
practices to its member stores that regularly host the
public.
Failure to comply with the new regulations may leave a covered
entity exposed to damages and other compliance measures initiated
by the DOJ, as well as lawsuits by individuals under the ADA.
Venable attorneys will be monitoring DOJ's rulemaking, as well
as legal developments in the legislative and judicial arenas.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
