Website Accessibility 101:

Transcription

1 womblebonddickinson.com Website Accessibility 101: What Is It, Why Does It Matter, and How Can I Avoid Getting Sued Over It? Association of Corporate Counsel Compliance and Ethics Committee Meeting April 17, 2018 SPEAKERS: Jamie Dean Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP Reggie Mathis Truliant Federal Credit Union

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3 Litigation Landscape Success spawned imitation No industry or region is immune New individual and class suits daily

4 Lawsuit Architecture Generally on behalf of VIPs Rote ADA / accessibility allegations Vague individualized claims Demand for injunctive relief under ADA and/or remedies under state laws Often accompanied by quick settlement demand

5 Litigation Challenges Difficult to analyze, factually Lack of clear law / standards Repeatable even after settlement / judgment Cost / benefit favors settlement

6 Website Accessibility: What Is It? Website = web content on any platform Accessible = content is coded and presented so that it can be read, understood, and acted upon by people with disabilities

7 What Is the Law? ADA prohibits places of public accommodation from discriminating against people with disabilities Places of public accommodation traditionally include physical locations Case law trending towards finding websites are places of public accommodation Many states have statutes mirroring ADA

8 What Does the Law Require? No legal standards exist DOJ enforces ADA - Began rulemaking process in Rulemaking no longer an active priority

9 The WCAG Stopgap W3c = World Wide Web Consortium - Unincorporated association of web professionals - Creates voluntary web standards WCAG = Web Content Accessibility Guidelines - W3C s web accessibility standards - Voluntary for businesses; mandatory for federal agencies 2.0 = Current WCAG version A/AA/AAA = Varying degrees of WCAG compliance - A is basic, AAA is aspirational Goal = WCAG 2.0 AA

10 Pillars of WCAG Readability Navigability Interactivity

11 Screen Readers Primary tool for VIPs is screen reader software - PC = JAWS / NVDA - Mac = Voiceover Screen reader interprets text and outputs it as computerized speech or braille Generally relies on keyboard rather than mouse control

12 Readability Readability = info presented in text format Screen readers only read text - Not images of text - Not pictures Visual content must have a text equivalent - Images must be described with an alt tag - Links / controls must be labeled - Video content must include descriptive audio

13 Navigability Navigability = structures + labeling + coding Screen readers process content from top to bottom Users rely on keyboard and keyboard shortcuts to navigate Structures like headings facilitate quick navigation (if labeled) Coding for Tab key enables linear progression through site

14 Interactivity Interactivity = labeling + keyboard control + focus Form fields, buttons, checkboxes, and controls need to be labeled with description of desired input (e.g. Enter search terms ) Elements need to be navigable and operable via keyboard Effects of action should be obvious to screen reader

15 Website Accessibility: Why Does It Matter? Altruism Image Customers SEO Lawsuits

16 Website Accessibility: How Can I Avoid Getting Sued Over It?

17 Website Accessibility: How Can I Avoid Getting Sued Over It?

18 Website Accessibility: How Can I Avoid Getting Sued Over It? Web content is dynamic Accessibility is impacted by user technology Some plaintiffs are opportunists, not advocates Accessibility can be subjective

19 Ok, So How Can I at Least Improve My Odds? 1. Remediate 2. Create web content policies and an audit plan 3. Assign responsibility

20 Remediate Evaluate site for current accessibility barriers WAVE extension (Chrome and Firefox) SortSite (paid software solution) SiteImprove (paid auditing service) Create a prioritized remediation plan Engage your development team or vendor

21 Create Web Content Policies and Audit Plan Get legal, web development, marketing, and other stakeholders involved Establish internal policies / procedures to prevent accessibility barriers from being created Set a schedule and procedure for periodic accessibility audits Create / publish public accessibility statement (and abide by it)

22 Assign Responsibility Train personnel on website accessibility Incorporate website accessibility into relevant job descriptions Establish accountability criteria

23 THANK YOU Questions? Jamie Dean Partner Womble Bond Dickinson Reggie Mathis Associate Legal Counsel Truliant Federal Credit Union

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