Accessibility
Laws
Find the latest on accessibility laws & lawsuits and learn what you can do to avoid being sued for lack of compliance.
ADA Accessibility Lawsuit Tracker
FAQ
An accessibility lawsuit is a legal action brought against an individual or organization that has violated accessibility laws or regulations.
These laws and regulations are designed to ensure that people with disabilities have equal access to public accommodations, such as buildings, websites, and other facilities.
In an accessibility lawsuit, the plaintiff, who is typically an individual with a disability or an advocacy group, alleges that the defendant has failed to provide adequate access to their facilities or services for people with disabilities.
The goal of an accessibility lawsuit is to secure compensation for the plaintiff and to bring about changes to the defendant’s policies or practices to ensure that they are in compliance with accessibility laws.
There are a number of accessibility regulations and laws that you should be aware of, depending on where your organization is located. Some of the main ones include:
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): This is a federal law in the United States that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in a number of areas, including public accommodations, employment, and transportation. The ADA includes specific requirements for making facilities, websites, and other services accessible to people with disabilities.
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act: This is a federal law in the United States that requires federal agencies to make their electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities. This includes websites and other online services that are provided by federal agencies.
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG): These are a set of international standards for making web content accessible to people with disabilities. The WCAG are widely used as a benchmark for evaluating the accessibility of websites and other online services.
The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA): This is a law in the United Kingdom that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in a number of areas, including the provision of goods, facilities, and services. The DDA includes specific requirements for making websites and other online services accessible to people with disabilities.
It’s important to note that these are just a few examples of the many accessibility regulations and laws that may apply to your organization. You should consult with legal counsel to determine which laws and regulations apply to you, and to ensure that you are in compliance with them.
Understand the relevant accessibility laws and regulations: In order to avoid violating accessibility laws, it’s important to know what they are and what they require. This will help you to identify any areas where you may need to make changes to your policies or practices in order to comply with the law.
Here are some steps you can take to make your website compliant with accessibility legislation:
Conduct an accessibility audit: An accessibility audit is a thorough review of your website to identify any areas where it may be in violation of accessibility laws. This can be done by an independent accessibility expert or by a team of trained individuals within your organization.
Make any necessary changes: Once you have identified any areas where your website is not in compliance with accessibility laws, you should take steps to make the necessary changes. This may involve adding alt text to images, providing text transcriptions of audio and video content, or making changes to the design of your website to make it easier for users with disabilities to navigate.
Use accessibility tools and resources: There are a number of tools and resources available that can help you to make your website more accessible. These include software that can automatically check your website for accessibility issues, as well as guidelines and best practices for designing accessible websites.
Test your website: After making changes to your website, it’s important to test it to ensure that it is accessible to users with disabilities. This can be done by using accessibility testing tools, as well as by getting feedback from users with disabilities.
Keep your website up to date: As technology and accessibility standards evolve, it’s important to regularly review and update your website to ensure that it remains compliant with accessibility laws. This will help to ensure that your website is accessible to all users, regardless of their abilities.
The cost of making a website ADA compliant can vary depending on a number of factors, such as the size and complexity of the website, the extent of any existing accessibility issues, and the approach taken to address those issues.
In general, however, the cost of making a website ADA compliant depends on the approach you take:
If you opt for manual remediation, it can range from a few thousand dollars for a small website with limited accessibility issues, to tens of thousands of dollars for a large, complex website with significant accessibility issues.
If instead you opt for an AI-based automated solution, the initial costs are around $40/month.
It’s important to consult with an accessibility expert to determine the specific costs associated with making your website ADA compliant.
Do you know if you are at risk of being sued for lack of ADA compliance?
The average cost of an accessibility lawsuit is $25,000…but you can protect yourself for less than a dollar per day in just a few minutes.
Let us run a FREE ACCESSIBILITY SCAN on your website to see if you need to protect yourself today!