Retailers and restaurants nationwide are taking notice of the new attention — and lawsuits — surrounding gift cards, and specifically whether they violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when they don't include Braille. As businesses prepare strategies for how to make those public accommodations accessible, they should stay mindful that gift cards that are bought and used electronically (eGift cards) have to be accessible to people with disabilities, too.
Digital accessibility continues to pick up steam with more organizations realizing its value and more individuals developing awareness and expertise every day. Reflecting on all that has transpired in 2019 makes it clear that accessibility will keep trending up, perhaps leading to an even more eventful 2020, which is almost hard to imagine.
Here's a snapshot of this past year in digital accessibility.
Web accessibility lawsuits under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) are proliferating, with thousands filed in just the last two years. However, many organizations seem to have adopted a “wait it out” strategy, expecting that they’ll deal with the question of accessibility if and when they receive an ADA demand letter.
Yet, businesses who wait to implement digital accessibility until after receiving an ADA demand letter may be both tempting fate and holding themselves back from achieving their full potential.
It can be tempting to believe that if you aren't aware of any customer complaints related to the accessibility of your website or app, that there must not be any accessibility issues — or at least any issues serious enough to bother making accessibility improvements.
Here are five reasons no customer complaints doesn't mean no accessibility issues.
The Domino's accessibility case will not be heard by the Supreme Court of the United States, effectively upholding the Ninth Circuit opinion from earlier this year that says their website and app must be accessible. Plus, ten reasons the pizza company's strategy was a mistake.
Hulu rolled out two accessibility enhancements to improve the navigation and experience of the streaming provider's content, especially for people who are blind or have visual impairments:
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are often referred to as the gold standard in accessibility and they are widely respected as providing the best path to accessibility compliance — but does the law actually require WCAG compliance?
A blind taxpayer, Karen Rose, alleges the IRS provided only printed letters she couldn't read. As a result, she wasn't aware she owed nearly $25,000 in taxes and $1,500 in interest and penalties. Ms. Rose, two other blind individuals, and the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) are suing the IRS.
On July 30, Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, joined by six other senators, sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Barr asking the Department of Justice (DOJ) to clarify how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to web sites.
The concepts that govern web accessibility have been around for a few decades, but in the past few years accessibility has started to pick up steam in public consciousness. So, why now is web accessibility becoming so popular? Here are eight reasons.
It can be tricky to keep track of rapid changes in accessibility perception, laws, and lawsuits, and to understand which laws apply to certain websites. So, do state and local government websites have to be accessible?
The number of website accessibility lawsuits filed in federal court in 2018 was nearly triple the lawsuits from 2017. Learn why this is happening and where we think the number of lawsuits will land in 2019.
Businesses that have a Letter of Reasonable Accessibility will be better-protected from accessibility lawsuits, according to the Bureau of Internet Accessibility (BoIA). BoIA clients who have opted into ongoing support will receive a Letter of Reasonable Accessibility that helps prove their accessibility compliance. Clients’ attorneys can quickly refer to and share the letter to help defend against web accessibility lawsuits.
Ninth Circuit Court Appeals has reversed the lower court's dismissal of a web accessibility case against the pizza company. The court determined the ADA applies to websites and that just because the ADA doesn't specify WCAG-compliance, accessibility is still the law.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a life so impactful, marked by such rare courage and strength of character, that words like "extraordinary" and "inspiring" knowingly fall short — well short. To honor his legacy and recognize that his leadership directly changed the course of American history — not just for the lives of the marginalized groups he fought and ultimately died for, but for the enlightened consciousness of an entire nation — we celebrate him on the third Monday of January each year.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a full 25 percent of U.S. adults are living with a disability, which can create large and small complications and difficulties for the people who have them. In some instances, technological developments have made the daily lives of people with disabilities easier than ever before. Here are five ways that people with disabilities can use digital technologies in the world around them.
The Bureau of Internet Accessibility (BoIA) announced today that it has launched the industry’s first live accessibility support phone line that will aid a website’s visitors 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The new support system enhances the company’s robust accessibility monitoring and support program to assist organizations with digital accessibility legal requirements.
Beyonce's company, Parkwood Entertainment, is being sued over allegations that the singer's official website (Beyonce.com) is not accessible to blind or visually-impaired people and is thus in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Here's what the lawsuit states and what we can learn from it.
The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently announced big changes to its Case Processing Manual (CPM), removing the OCR's ability to dismiss complaints it deems an "unreasonable burden" and reinstating the opportunity to appeal.
When a company decides to prioritize web accessibility, they've committed to making their website usable for people with disabilities. For companies to maintain that commitment, they need to avoid believing the myth that accessibility is a one-time fix — remaining ADA compliant requires maintenance and regular accessibility checks.
Published in June 2018, WCAG 2.1 adds to and does not replace WCAG 2.0. Because of this, adhering to WCAG 2.1 means you automatically also adhere to WCAG 2.0, as the existing guidelines and checkpoints remained unchanged.
As the 2018 edition of NIAM draws to a close, and as children and parents prepare for the new school year, it’s the perfect time to look back on why web accessibility is so crucial for healthcare. Nearly 1 in 5 people in the U.S. has a disability, so making your website accessible is imperative to fully serve all of your users.
The ongoing delay in the release of federal accessibility guidelines has contributed to the giant increase in website accessibility lawsuits in 2018. With the lack of a federal directive by the DOJ, law firms are actively pursuing suits, resulting in a large spike in the number of web accessibility cases being filed.
Uber, Lyft, and other ride-hailing services have attempted to fill the transportation gap for people with disabilities, providing on-demand transportation at a price that’s competitive with traditional taxi companies. In order to cater to users with disabilities, ride-hailing companies must make website and mobile application accessibility a priority.
A recent market study conducted by Mandala Research has found that American adults with disabilities spend more than $17 billion each year on travel. Hotel website and service accessibility is a necessity for the would-be travelers.
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