"Accessibility" - Google News - Tuesday, June 25, 2019 at 7:38 AM
Not Website Handicap Accessible? The Lawyers Are Out To Get You - CloudWedge
Home > Resources > Not Website Handicap Accessible? The Lawyers Are Out To Get
You
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) sets rules and regulations that all
businesses must follow when doing business in stores, hiring and retaining
employees, and even having an online presence. If you aren’t meeting these
requirements, your business may be at risk for a significant lawsuit. More and
more disabled internet users are filing lawsuits against businesses that aren’t
complying with ADA regulations.
The drastic increase in lawsuits that have popped up in the last few years has
caused businesses to seriously reconsider their online presence. No longer does
the ADA only apply to brick and mortar locations. Recent rulings have deemed
websites for many businesses as an extension of a brick and mortar location,
meaning the website falls under ADA guidelines.
Many small businesses haven’t considered online disability compliance, often
because they don’t understand the requirements for accessibility online. Let’s
take a look at what’s changed in the online ADA landscape in recent years and
how you can ensure your website remains compliant.
Gil vs. Winn Dixie
One of the most famous and most recent online ADA lawsuits was Gil vs. Winn
Dixie. The plaintiff, a visually-impaired man, was unable to access parts of
Winn Dixie’s website with his screen reading software. The court landed on the
plaintiff’s side, ruling that the website was an extension of the brick and
mortar locations, and since the website was not compatible with the screen
reader software, Winn Dixie was in violation of the ADA.
As a result, Winn Dixie was required to update their website to be compliant
with ADA regulations, and they were also ordered to pay all of the plaintiff’s
attorney and court fees. There have been many businesses that have lost cases
and have been required to pay tens of thousands of dollars to plaintiffs, on
top of updating their website to industry compliance standards.
Steps You Can Take
With more and more lawyers looking for vulnerable websites and businesses, it’s
time to update your website to current industry standards. Fortunately, there
are a few steps that you can take to get your website up to date.
First, you should have your website audited by web accessibility experts. We
have reviewed some of the top web accessibility services available today, and
with so many to choose from, you’ll easily find the right service for your
business.
Depending on the size and scope of your business, you may need an accessibility
service that can update and audit thousands of pages at once. If you’re a small
business, a semi-regular manual review of a few pages may be a better choice.
There is a wide range of service options and price points when it comes to
remaining compliant online.
Once you’ve found the right service for your business, getting your website
updated is a fairly straightforward process. Many compliance businesses use
both automated and manual updates to ensure your website remains compliant with
WCAG 2.1 guidelines and Section 508 guidelines.
If your business doesn’t have a website that’s handicap accessible, it’s time
to start your upgrades. Check out some of our top compliance service
recommendations to find the right service for your needs!
https://www.cloudwedge.com/resources/not-website-handicap-accessible-the-lawyers-are-out-to-get-you/
David Goldfield
Assistive Technology Specialist
Feel free to visit my Web site
WWW.DavidGoldfield.info
