UsableNet Releases its 2019 ADA Web Accessibility and App Lawsuit Report
UsableNet releases its official ADA Web and App Lawsuit Recap Report for 2019. The highly anticipated report has become an annual source for businesses of all sizes, accessibility professionals, digital agencies, law firms, news outlets and all impacted by the thousands of ADA Website lawsuits filed over the last few years.
Download now: 2019 ADA Web and App Lawsuit Recap Report >>
CCPA: A Spotlight on Digital Accessibility
The effective date of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is finally here and while most companies have been working hard to prepare compliant notices and privacy policies for distribution to employees and consumers, the requirement that these policies are accessible to consumers with disabilities may not be top of mind. The California Attorney General's proposed regulations, however, contain specific requirements for the formatting and delivery of these notices and policies, which include the requirement that the policies are accessible.
Key Takeaways
- CCPA-covered businesses are required to provide accessible information about their data collection and sharing practices, including practices for offline data.
- Businesses covered by the CCPA should ensure their websites and apps comply with industry-standard accessibility guidelines and should implement policies and procedures to ensure access to information distributed offline.
- Offering to read notices and policies to customers or providing a privacy-specific customer service number may not be sufficient to meet a business's accessibility obligations.
Griswold hotel has three years to comply with ADA
On Thursday, John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that the U.S. Attorney’s Office has reached a settlement agreement with the AmericInn by Wyndham Hotel in Griswold to resolve allegations that the hotel had not been operating in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).
In a press release about the settlement, an unnamed individual with disabilities made an ADA complaint, saying the hotel was not accessible for people with physical disabilities.
In the release, Durham noted that the AmericInn by Wyndham, Griswold Hotel’s management has worked quickly and cooperatively with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to address the ADA issues without litigation. The hotel is now in the process to make their facilities ADA compliant. This includes making improvements to guest rooms, public bathrooms, eating areas, recreation areas, and adding parking signage. These changes must be made within three years.
Under federal law, private entities that own or operate “places of public accommodation,” including hotels, are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of disability. The release says the ADA authorizes the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate complaints and undertake periodic compliance reviews. The DOJ is also authorized to file a civil lawsuit in federal court in any case involving a pattern or practice of discrimination , or raises issues of general public importance. The DOJ can also seek injunctive relief, monetary damages, and civil penalties.
PSXDigital Delivers Vital Solutions to Ensure Compliance with ADA Website Accessibility Requirements
PSXDigital has unveiled solutions that ensure websites designed for the company's dealer-partners are completely compliant with current ADA digital accessibility requirements.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and its subsequent amendments, website accessibility is not directly addressed. However, the US Department of Justice has weighed in repeatedly on the topic and held that while the ADA does not specifically mention web accessibility, "it's language is still broad enough to include websites as part of your business operations," according to the Bureau of Internet Accessibility.
"Having accessible sites benefits everyone," explained Larry Bruce, CEO of the company. "By making sure your website is inviting to all walks of life, you will not just provide equal access, but it demonstrates good ethics and morals as a business."
The ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability, and business owners are required to ensure that all their digital offerings are accessible to all potential audience members, despite any potential disabilities. This includes:
· Websites
· Apps
· Documents
· Presentations
However, website accessibility actually goes deeper than mere legal compliance. It also offers a number of benefits to business owners. For instance, website accessibility can have a profound effect on SEO and visibility within the SERPs. In addition, it improves a company's public image, and creates a more user-friendly website for individuals on mobile devices with low network speeds.
Expert Opinion: Retailers Targeted for Failing to Offer Braille Gift Cards
In recent years, many retailers have made significant efforts to ensure that their physical locations, websites, and mobile applications are accessible to customers with disabilities in compliance with Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”).
However, retailers now may have another accessibility issue to address – gift cards. Recently, visually impaired plaintiffs filed over 100 class-action lawsuits in New York federal courts against retailers claiming that they are in violation of the ADA because they do not offer braille gift cards.
In these “cookie-cutter” lawsuits, the plaintiffs allege that they are legally blind and require braille to read written materials. They contend that store gift cards are generally the same size and texture as credit cards, and, therefore, are indistinguishable by a blind person from credit cards or other store gift cards. Since the plaintiffs purportedly are unable to buy braille gift cards, they claim that they are deterred from visiting the retailers and denied equal enjoyment of their locations.
These lawsuits may be the first publicly filed claims attacking the accessibility of gift cards, and there do not appear to be any published court decisions addressing the question of whether retailers must offer braille gift cards to comply with the ADA. Moreover, the ADA and its regulations do not directly address this issue, and the plaintiffs’ claims beg other questions. For example, if gift cards must be in braille, as these plaintiffs allege, then what about product price tags, labels, receipts, or credit cards?
The ADA generally prohibits “places of public accommodation” like retail stores from discriminating against individuals with disabilities by denying them the “full and equal enjoyment” of those stores. However, the ADA also exempts retailers from their obligations under the ADA if complying would “fundamentally alter” their goods or services or cause an “undue burden.”
A fundamental alteration is a modification that is so significant that it alters the essential nature of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations offered. An “undue burden” is one that would cause “significant difficulty or expense.” There is no bright line test to determine what “significant” means in these circumstances. The ADA requires a number of factors be examined, including the nature and cost of the action needed to ensure compliance with the ADA and the financial resources of the company, including the financial resources of any parent companies. Thus, what would constitute a “significant expense” for a mom-and-pop pharmacy, for example, could be much less than it would be for a local pharmacy that is part of a national chain.
In support of these general principles, the ADA requires retailers to provide “auxiliary aids” if necessary “to ensure effective communication” with customers with disabilities. However, under the ADA, when it comes to such aids, the customer is not “always right.” It is ultimately up to the retailer to make the decision as to how it accommodates disabled customers, so long as its method results in effective communication. While “brailled materials and displays” are examples of auxiliary aids under the ADA, the ADA also provides that retailers are not required to “alter [their] inventory” to include specialized goods designed for individuals with disabilities, such as braille versions of books.
The Technical Assistance manual published by United States Department of Justice provides retailers with examples of auxiliary aids that can be provided to visually impaired customers. The manual lists a number of auxiliary aids and services that may be provided to promote effective communication with visually impaired customers, including qualified readers, taped texts, audio recordings, braille materials, large print materials, and assistance in locating items. The Technical Assistance Manual also illustrates hypothetical situations where retailers and other places of public accommodation may meet the needs of visually impaired guests in various ways. For example:
To assist a visually impaired customer who is interesting in learning more about the various models of a product on a showroom floor, a store may have that customer;
A theater may have an usher guide a customer to their seat at a performance in lieu of providing braille tickets; or
That same theater could provide an audio version of its printed program for a performance instead of providing a braille program.
It remains to be seen how courts will apply these and other requirements of the ADA to gift cards, and it is unlikely that there will be any guidance or consensus from the courts on this issue in the immediate future. We also do not expect the legislature to take action soon. Therefore, retailers should consider:
Reviewing their policies and practices with respect to the design, sale, and issuance of gift cards (both physical and electronic);
Training their employees about how to respond to inquiries about braille gift cards and how to assist customers seeking to purchase gift cards; and
Consulting with counsel about how they may be able to reduce their risk of litigation or respond to claims that their gift cards are not accessible to visually impaired customers.
While there may be compelling defenses to these claims, retailers looking to avoid being a target in this new wave of ADA litigation may consider:
Redesigning their gift cards to include braille text (or offering at least some gift cards with braille text);
Terminating the sale of physical gift cards; and/or
Offering electronic gift cards in an accessible format that can be read with a screen reader.
Utah Republican Party reaches settlement in ADA compliance lawsuit
The Utah Republican Party announced it reached a settlement agreement in an Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuit.
The federal case involved claims against the Utah Republican Party and the Utah County Republican Party for not complying with the ADA during the 2016 election cycle.
The plaintiffs in the case claimed that the party failed to provide reasonable accommodations to individuals who are deaf and use a wheelchair.
According to a press release issued by Todd Weiler, legal counsel for the Utah Republican Party, the parties reached an agreement where the Utah Republican Party will update its policies and training to ensure that the state and county parties comply with the ADA.
As part of the settlement, the Utah Republican Party has agreed that there will only be standing votes at meetings, caucuses, and conventions where reasonable accommodations have been provided to those with special needs.
The Utah Republican Party recently amended its governing documents to ensure future compliance with the ADA.
Weiler said the Utah Republican Party has amended its bylaws to include Section 12.0 which reads, “Each county party shall comply with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, as set forth in Bylaw Section 12.0, by providing full and equal access to caucus activities. Compliance by the county parties shall include providing reasonable accommodations for any individual who desires to participate in the caucus. The participant should provide 7 days’ advance written notice to the county party advance of the request to provide an accommodation. Such request shall contain information sufficient for the party to determine how to best accommodate the individual in their desire to fully participate in the caucus.”
The parties said they hope this settlement will encourage other political parties to comply with the ADA and otherwise consider the needs of their disabled members so that they may fully participate in the political process.
“The Utah Republican Party is committed to fully complying with the ADA,” said Weiler. “The Party has already undertaken efforts to ensure that volunteers across the state are trained to provide reasonable accommodations for their friends and neighbors who may have special needs.”
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First-ever American Sign Language Accessible Video Game Launches on Campus
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Video games have come a long way since the ’80s, when “Oregon Trail” had kids act as wagon leader, guiding 19th-century settlers, and friends duked it out over a match of “Pong” on their Atari. From 3-D graphics to portable gaming systems to virtual reality, developments in the gaming world have been fast and frequent. But in all that time, there has never been an American Sign Language accessible video game. Until now.
Reminiscent of the pioneer game of yesteryear, “Deafverse World One: Duel of the Bots” is a free, online, choose-your-own-adventure game. It was launched in September by the National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes, an institution housed in UT’s College of Education that aims to help deaf individuals succeed in and after high school. With actors signing onscreen and captions throughout, “Deafverse” is the first-ever video game specifically designed to accommodate deaf players as they experience a first-person gameplay through different worlds.
The game begins with the player, whose character is deaf, having just escaped from retrieving one issue in a series of magical, sacred comic books called the Deafverse. With a mysterious organization on the hunt to gain knowledge from the Deafverse, the player meets narrator Justin and is transported into the comic book. With a sidekick named Catbot, the player is tasked with making decisions both fanciful—like helping stop a rogue bot from wreaking havoc—and ones that deaf teenagers face in reality, like what to do when an ASL classroom interpreter isn’t experienced enough for them to understand a lesson, when a movie theater doesn’t have captioning, or how to communicate with a store clerk who doesn’t know sign language.
With the motto “Choose Your Future,” NDC Director Stephanie Cawthon says the game is meant to encompass the idea of self-determination, the process by which people make their own choices and decisions. The game is equally focused on education as it is on enjoyment, and includes downloadable material for players and teachers with more situations like those seen in the game. “Self-determination is your capacity to make decisions for yourself and figure out strategies when there are problems you need to solve,” Cawthon says. “Those are the tools that deaf people need, especially deaf young people, to navigate what can be a very inaccessible system.”
The NDC focuses heavily on the years between middle school and the first year of work for deaf people. “Crucial years,” Cawthon says. Therefore, the game introduces characters and resources along the way to familiarize players with the center. “It builds a relationship with these teens not just when you’re playing this, but six months from now, when you graduate, come back and talk to us,” she says. Cawthon adds that they hope teens gain self-confidence through their accomplishments with the game, but also through their mistakes, as deaf youth typically have few opportunities to make and learn from them.
The decision to present teens with a video game for learning was highly intentional. Gaming coordinator Kent Turner worked as a teacher at the Texas School for the Deaf for five years and used games in his curriculum. He utilized strategies of gamification, overlaying game concepts in a classroom, and game-based learning, using an actual game to teach skills. Following his years as a teacher, he brought the latter practice to the NDC and worked on everything from storyboarding, the look and design, and casting the actors in “Deafverse.”
“I think that either of the gaming approaches are more effective,” Turner says. “We all like some lectures at a minimum, but kids, adults, everyone likes more hands-on activities, to get to do something while you’re learning.”
NDC Associate Director Carrie Lou Garberoglio, MA ’12, PhD ’13, Life Member, says more than 3,000 people have played “Deafverse.” “This is a huge number when considering that deafness is a low-incidence disability—only around 0.1–0.7 percent of students in K-12 settings are deaf,” she says. She also oversaw the game’s completion and like every member of the “Deafverse” creative team, she is deaf. From its engineers and designers to its writers and actors, the game demonstrates the deaf talent and showcases their experiences.
Garberoglio, says the game is deeply personal to her as she’s had to advocate for herself in all educational experiences, spanning high school through her time at UT earning her PhD in educational psychology. “I wish I had learned more about my rights and options when I was younger,” she says. “For the most part, I learned after the fact, after being thrown in situations I had to figure out how to navigate.”
Garberoglio’s father, Walt Camenisch, filed a lawsuit against the University of Texas in 1980 for the school’s refusal to pay for sign language interpreters for his graduate studies. The case went to the Supreme Court, and although declared moot, was a part of other legal cases and disability activism that contributed to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990. “I’m grateful for those that came before me, and for the fact that I have so many more choices available to me than my parents did,” Garberoglio says.
The NDC works with campus offices to ensure accessibility is a priority. With a large staff of deaf people and a mission to close the gaps between deaf and hearing peers, the NDC continues to make plans to raise awareness and provide resources. “Deafverse” is a step in that direction. The team plans to release a new world each year going forward. The next game, expected in late summer, will focus on the workplace.
“For many deaf people, decisions that affect our future are often made by hearing, able-bodied professionals, and not in partnership with us, or even led by us,” Garberoglio says. “We aim to change that in our work with ‘Deafverse’ and beyond.”