As a business owner, you want to ensure you’re doing everything possible to create an inclusive and accessible environment for all your customers. But what does that mean exactly? And what laws are in place to protect people with disabilities? Here’s a quick guide to the ADA, and what you need to do to ensure your business is compliant.
What is the ADA?
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a law that was passed in 1990 to protect people with disabilities from discrimination. The law applies to all businesses, including restaurants, retail stores, hotels, and more. There are three main sections of the ADA that businesses need to be aware of:
Title I: This section prohibits discrimination against employees with disabilities. This means that businesses must provide reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities, and can not discriminate against them in hiring, firing, or promotions.
Title II: This section prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in all public places. This includes making sure sidewalks are wheelchair accessible, providing Braille signage in elevators, and more.
Title III: This section prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in all places of public accommodation.
The ADA covers all domains considered ‘places of public accommodation,’ language that showcases its flexibility – exactly what makes your website fall under this act. With the Internet considered a public space, websites are subject to ADA regulations. Though many websites were created without understanding this law’s requirements for accessibility and may be unshareable or even hazardous in certain ways due to their lack of design thoughtfulness with regard to people who have disabilities.
With new innovations coming out every day (smartphones included), websites need to be updated too in order to ensure they are fully accessible so no one goes unnoticed or risks being sued.
The ADA is a complex law, but there are resources available to help businesses comply. The Department of Justice has a website with information on the ADA, and businesses can also find helpful resources from the Small Business Administration and other organizations.
When was the ADA published?
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law on July 26, 1990. The ADA is a federal statute that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, public accommodations, and transportation. It also requires that businesses make their facilities accessible to those who have disabilities.
What Is ADA Compliance?
The ADA is a federal law that requires businesses to make sure they are providing equal access for customers, employees, and visitors with disabilities. Businesses that do not comply may be subject to civil penalties or even criminal charges!
The passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act has made it so all forms of communication (websites included) must meet certain standards such as ensuring everyone can use them equally no matter their personal situation-this includes any limitations imposed by disability on ability levels
ADA compliance is the process of making sure that your company does not have any actions or omissions which would harm people with disabilities. It ensures equal access for everyone.
If you’re not sure where to start, the best place to start is by assessing your business’s facilities and identifying any areas that need improvement. Once you know what needs to be done, you can start making plans and implementing changes.
Who has to be ADA-compliant?
ADA Title III applies to all businesses that offer services to the general public. This includes small businesses, even if they don’t have any employees. Public accommodations are places where you can go to buy things like food or clothes or go to a movie, concert, or sporting event. This also includes websites.
If your website is not ADA-compliant, what happens?
If your website does not meet ADA standards, you could be sued. In the past, it was rare to be sued because of ADA violations. However, in recent years there has been a sharp increase in the number of lawsuits filed for these reasons.
In fact, since 2013 their numbers have gone up 420%. Those increases are expected to continue for years ahead, which means you should prepare yourself now.
How can you know if your website is ADA compliant?
To ensure your website is accessible, you should test it. You can complete an accessibility audit for free, and it is easy to do using tools such as accessScan.
How to become ADA compliant
Are you wondering how you can make your website ADA compliant?
If you want to make your website accessible to everyone, there are a few things you can do.
The first is to make sure that your website meets the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
The three levels of compliance with website accessibility guidelines are A, AA, and AAA. These labels refer to the degree that a site adheres closely in terms of how accessible it actually is on various devices such as smartphones or other 2030-era technologies.
In order for your business’s online presence to be considered “AAA” certified byWCAG 2:6 (Level thinkers), you should have no fewer than six valid Techniques employed across all platforms where content is offered – including desktop web browsers/tablets apps, etc., whenever possible!
The second step is to use an accessibility testing tool like the one above. This will help you find and fix any accessibility issues on your site.
Lastly, you should also consider using a web accessibility solution such as User-way, accessiBe, or Audioeye.