DOJ halts efforts for website accessibility
Source: National Law Review — 7/31/2017
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has put website accessibility regulations that would have been based on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on the back burner indefinitely.
However, this doesn’t mean businesses are in the clear. If anything, due to the patchwork of litigation occurring out there based on ADA and other laws like the ADA, it has created an uncertain legal climate for businesses. DOJ creating regulations would have actually helped to clarify regulations and made it much easier for businesses to avoid needless litigation. National Law Review said it better than I could have, so I’ll just quote them here:
At first blush, fewer regulations may appear to be a positive development for the business community; however, the lack of official standards ensures that the only guidance for businesses open to the public (so-called “places of public accommodation”) and state and local governments is the developing and generally unfavorable body of case law in this area. For the time being, the only official standard in this realm is for entities covered under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, federal agencies and federal contractors. Pursuant to the final rule published by the U.S. Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board), these entities’ websites must conform to the Website Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 Level AA (WCAG 2.0 AA) standard. As WCAG 2.0 AA is the only official standard that has been adopted regarding websites, this standard is likely the best option for Title II and Title III entities that are striving for compliance with the ADA.
In addition, hopes have been dashed that any regulatory effort may provide relief to the business community in the form of a “safe harbor,” grace period, options for alternatives to website accessibility, or clarity on how strictly a website must comply to avoid liability under the ADA.
As a result, private businesses may want to consider complying with WCAG 2.0 AA at the earliest possible time as the best hope to avoid liability and litigation. In the absence of immediate compliance, steps can be taken to provide accessibility to web-based services through alternative means and to generate a compliance schedule and plan to which the business is prepared to adhere.
So there you have it: DOJ has pretty shelved accessibility for the web for the time being, and businesses have been left in the lurch due to not having a clear path forward. Businesses at this point would certainly benefit from simply going ahead and creating/adhering to a plan of achieving accessibility.
