Web Site Owners Are Getting Sued Because Their Sites Are Not ADA Compliant

Blind person using the computer

In recent years, more and more businesses have been getting served with lawsuits due to their websites not being ADA compliant.

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, USA, June 10, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ — A website can only be considered in compliance with ADA guidelines if a person who has a disability can effectively use it in the same way that a non-disabled person can – according to section 508 of US Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This is becoming more and more required, as people with disabilities need access to these websites, and business owners who do not want a lawsuit will need to comply.

The law generally applies to public accommodations, commercial facilities, or private entities that offer examinations or courses related to applications, licensing, certification, or credentialing for secondary or post-secondary education, professional, or trade purposes, federally funded non-profits, public schools, public colleges, and universities.

Brett Thomas, the president of New Orleans web development company, Rhino Web Studios says, “We are getting more and more calls from business owners who needs to upgrade their older website because they have been sent certified legal notifications that their website is not ADA compliant and demanding them to address the problem or be taken to court”.

Thomas goes on to say, “It can be a scary thing to get one of these intimidating letters from an attorney, however, it doesn’t mean a lawsuit is unavoidable. More often than not, if the website issue is resolved in a timely manner, the legal issue is usually resolved with it.”

An ADA compliant website has captions for videos, no strobing or flashing lights, the videos and noises coming from the website must be easy to turn off and the site visitor should be able to zoom in.

There are also advanced plugins that automatically make websites more compatible with the screen readers blind people rely on to access the internet.

There are plugins that can be added onto a website to make sure it is ADA compliant such as AudioEye, Equalweb, accessiBe, and Userway. Having and keeping one of these websites would be an ongoing and continuous project due to software and laws constantly changing.

An example of a lawsuit filed over a non-ADA compliant website would be in Chicago, Illinois when a blind man named Guillermo Robles sued Domino’s Pizza for not being able to order food from the mobile app or website, even though he had screen reading software. The case was a loss for the company, and a win for disabled people due to the fact that if it was inaccessible to disabled people, they could be shut away from the community and substantial parts of the economy.

Brett Thomas
Rhino Digital, LLC
+1 504-875-5036
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