Just as your physical location must by physically accessible to members of the disabled community, so must your website be “digitally accessible” to disabled individuals who rely on the use of Assistive Technologies such as screen readers, audio transcribers, etc.
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Commonly Asked Questions
Any business that has a physical location tied to its website, or any business that operates by the website only, is required to comply to ADA Title III regulations and must make their websites accessible to ALL users, including the members of the disabled community.
ADA Title III is a Regulation that prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in the activities of places of “public accommodation” which for physical locations, are usually businesses that are generally open to the public and which fall into one of 12 categories listed by the ADA, to comply with the ADA Standards.
However, thanks to the rulings of not only local Circuit Courts, but also the legal precedent set by the Supreme Court on October 7th, 2019 in the case of Robles vs. Dominos, “places of public accommodation” are now interpreted to include the websites of any business … regardless of if it has a physical business location or not.
Section 504 & 508
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in federal entities or programs that receive federal financial assistance. It aims to protect children and adults with disabilities from exclusion, and unequal treatment in schools, jobs, and the community. Section 504 sets the stage for the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Subsequent amendments to the Rehabilitation act of 1973 strengthened requirements for access to electronic and information technology in the federal sector.
The Section 508 “refresh” of the ADA was issued as a final rule by the Access Board and jointly updated and reorganized the Section 508 standards in response to market trends and innovations, such as the convergence of technologies. The refresh also harmonizes these requirements with other guidelines and standards both in the U.S. and abroad, including standards issued by the European Commission and with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), a globally recognized consensus on the standard for web content accessibility, and information and communication technology.
Specifically, the rule references WCAG 2.0 Level AA success criteria and applies them not only to websites but also to electronic documents and software.
You can read the ruling here: Resource Link
WCAG
For ADA website compliance, the Courts have recognized web accessibility standards, called the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0/2.1), created by an international, and Globally recognized consortium of volunteers.
Just a few of the dozens of requirements found within the WCAG Guidelines are:
- Content must be coded for audio translation by screen-reader software.
- Adding Descriptive Image ALT tags
- There must be on-screen captions in videos for screen-reader software to read to the blind and descriptions for the deaf.
- Sites must include accessible drop-down menus for those who use a keyboard as an alternative to a mouse.
WCAG 2.0 and 2.1 guidelines consist of three levels of Accessibility that a website can achieve. It’s recommended that you aim for Level AA at the beginning in order to mitigate litigation risks, and then add to the website in order to achieve a AAA rating if possible:
Level A – Your website is accessible to some users.
Level AA – Your website is accessible to almost all users.
Level AAA – Your website is accessible to all users.
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