Legal Issue: The ADA, Website Accessibility, and eCommerce
When building an eCommerce store, merchants usually try to make their site as attractive and easy to use as possible. However, many do not take accessibility for individuals with disabilities into consideration. According to the CDC, 53 million Americans have some type of disability – that’s 22%. The Internet has become an important part of everyday life and often helps people to live more independently. For individuals with disabilities, however, the Internet can be a frustrating place where many websites lack appropriate and helpful accommodations.
The Americans with Disabilities Act
There are two important parts of the ADA at play here: Title II and Title III. Title II refers to nondiscrimination on the basis of disability in state and local government services, while Title III refers to nondiscrimination on the basis of disability in public accommodations and commercial facilities. There is a fair amount of ambiguity since the ADA lacks clear language and requirements about its applications to commercial websites, and an update is not expected until 2018.
Within the Title II regulations, the Department of Justice states the following:
“[…] the Department has taken the position that Title II covers Internet Web site access. Public entities that choose to provide services through web-based applications (e.g., renewing library books or driver’s licenses) or that communicate with their constituents or provide information through the Internet must ensure that individuals with disabilities have equal access to such services or information, unless doing so would result in an undue financial and administrative burden or a fundamental alteration in the nature of the programs, services, or activities being offered.”
“The Department has consistently interpreted the ADA to cover websites that are operated by public entities and stated that such sites must provide their services in an accessible manner or provide an accessible alternative to the website that is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
“[…] an agency with an inaccessible Web site may also meet its legal obligations by providing an alternative accessible way for citizens to use the programs or services, such as a staffed telephone information line. However, such an alternative must provide an equal degree of access in terms of hours of operation and the range of options and programs available.”
Within the Title III regulations, the DOJ recommends the same actions listed in Title II to meet legal obligations. Title III also states:
“[…] the Department has taken the position that Title III covers access to web sites of public accommodations.”
Section 508
In addition to the ADA regulations, Section 508 (Standards for Electronic and Information Technology) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 “requires that individuals with disabilities, who are members of the public seeking information or services from a Federal agency, have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to that provided to the public who are not individuals with disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency.”
Lawsuits Citing the ADA and Web Accessibility
In recent years, hundreds of lawsuits have been filed against online companies, claiming that their sites were inaccessible. For example, the Department of Justice found that UC Berkeley was in violation of Title II of the ADA because some of its online content was not accessible to individuals with disabilities. The DOJ noted problems with Berkeley’s publicly available videos and podcasts, stating that they lacked appropriate captioning, formatting, and keyboard accessibility for individuals with hearing, vision, or manual disabilities (read the full letter from the DOJ to UC Berkeley here). Rather than implement the changes recommended by the DOJ, UC Berkeley elected to place all this content behind a gated portal, thus rendering it not publicly available.
Lawsuits have also been filed against commercial entities, resulting in rulings on both sides of the issue. A judge in California dismissed a case by a plaintiff with a visual impairment who claimed that he was unable to use the Domino’s Pizza online ordering service. The judge agreed that Title III of the ADA law applies to websites; however, the judge stated that since Domino’s has a fully accessible telephone ordering service during the same business hours as the online ordering service, there was no violation. The judge also noted the lack of clear requirements set forth by the ADA.
On the other hand, another California judge ruled in favor of a plantiff with a visual impairment who claimed that a retailer’s website was inaccessible. Colorado Bag’N Baggage was found in violation of Title III because they failed to allow for full and equal use of their goods and services by individuals with visual and other impairments. Noted issues with the Bag’N Baggage website included a lack of alternative text and lack of form field labels. The company was ordered to pay $4,000 in damages and to make its website fully accessible to those with vision disabilities.
What Should An eCommerce Retailer Do?
As I said before, clear guidelines for commercial websites are not expected until 2018 at the earliest. However, given that courts have rules in favor of plaintiffs with disabilities and that retailers should always strive to serve every customer equally, eCommerce stores should take steps now to make their sites accessible to all. This involves making sure that your site can work with assistive technology such as screen readers, text enlargement, voice control, and operating system adjustments.
Website accessibility tips:
- Provide alternative text for all images and other non-text content
- Use closed captioning on videos
- Offer an audio description for visual context in videos
- Avoid playing audio automatically
- When using a PDF, provide an alternative format such as RTF
- Add HTML tags to forms
- Make sure all form fields are labeled
- Allow for user-designated font size and color
- Use consistent, accurate heading structure
- Site content and layout should be organized, logical, consistent, and well-structured
- If using a drop-down menu, make sure it can be accessed without having to use a mouse
- Do not blend layout table and data table markup
- Clearly display your phone number and hours of operation, making sure there is someone available to help whenever your online service is available.
There are many more tips and ways to make your site accessible provided below under Further Resources. Although we can’t say for sure what the future guidelines will look like, these tips and tools can get you started on offering a superior eCommerce shopping experience for every customer.
If you need a developer, designer, or marketer to make any necessary changes to your current site, contact ParadoxLabs today at 717-431-3330, sales@paradoxlabs.com, or by form.
Further Resources
WebAIM:
Website Evaluation Tool
Articles
World Wide Web Consortium:
List of Other Evaluation Tools
WCAG 2.0 requirements and guidelines
Tips for Designers
Tips for Developers
Tips for Writers
Tutorials
American Foundation for the Blind:
Creating Accessible Websites
University of Maryland:
Photosensitive Epilepsy Analysis Tool
Toptal:
Colorblind Web Page Filter
*Disclaimer: This post is for informational or educational purposes only; it is not intended to provide legal advice. Although we make every effort to provide accurate information, the information contained in this post may not be correct or current at the time of reading. If you need legal assistance, please contact an attorney directly.
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