Ensuring ADA Compliance for Your Website

Legal Alert
from Attorney Bob

Dear WHLA Members,
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As digital accessibility lawsuits continue to rise, it is crucial for all companies and organizations to ensure that their websites, both internal and publicly facing, comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

​This alert outlines actionable steps for assessing and enhancing your website's accessibility to mitigate legal risks and improve service offerings.

Step 1: Determine Applicable Laws

• Title I of the ADA: Applies to internal websites like employee intranets, requiring reasonable accommodations for qualified employees with disabilities.
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• Title III of the ADA: Applies to publicly facing websites of "places of public accommodation" such as retailers, hotels, banks, and educational institutions. These sites must offer equal access to goods and services for consumers with disabilities.

Step 2: Business Implications of Website Accessibility

​Accessibility is not just a legal requirement but a business imperative. Ensuring that disabled persons can access your website can expand your customer base and prevent potential revenue loss from accessibility barriers.

Step 3: Assess Areas of Potential Noncompliance

Consider the following to determine if your website meets accessibility standards:

• Is the content navigable by keyboard alone?
• Are there text equivalents for all images and video content?
• Do videos include closed captions?
• Are dynamic content like forms and tables accessible?
• Compatibility with screen readers like JAWS or NVDA is crucial.

​The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, Levels A and AA, serve as a benchmark, though not legally mandated, they are frequently used by courts to evaluate website accessibility. Click here for a checklist with 50 WCAG success criteria.

Step 4: Remediation Strategies

• Consultation: Engage a web accessibility consultant familiar with WCAG 2.0 standards to perform a comprehensive audit. Click here for a guide on Selecting the Right Web Accessibility Service Provider.
  
  
• Implementation: Based on the audit, make necessary adjustments to the website’s source code, add closed captions to videos, install accessibility aids like web overlays, and ensure all new content meets accessibility standards.
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• Training: Educate your staff on how to assist persons with disabilities in navigating your site.

Legal Considerations

​Retaining experienced legal counsel can minimize litigation risks. Counsel can guide compliance with the ADA and other applicable laws, defend against accessibility claims, and assist in negotiating settlements if necessary.

Continuous Improvement

Regular post-remediation audits are recommended to ensure ongoing compliance and to address any new accessibility challenges that may arise.
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Ensuring your website is accessible is an ongoing commitment that enhances your service offerings and protects your business from legal risks. For more detailed information on ADA compliance and to ensure your website meets all required standards, please consider the steps outlined above and consult with legal experts.

Note: This alert is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It provides an overview of the law’s key components and provides factual background.

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About Attorney Bob

​Bob Sanders is an Attorney and the founder of NextGen Legal. After spending over a decade in BigLaw, working with clients of all sizes across the US, he became acutely aware of the recurring barriers that deterred businesses from seeking proactive legal advice: shrinking legal budgets competing with escalating fees. This realization spurred Bob to create NextGen Legal, a firm designed to eliminate these barriers and provide clients with the high-quality legal advice they need, exactly when they need it. 

At NextGen Legal, we're transforming the traditional law firm model. Bob’s extensive experience in labor and employment law has been instrumental in shaping a service that offers both day-to-day legal counsel and rapid response for emergent issues. We strive to empower our clients with the knowledge and strategies necessary to navigate the legal landscape effectively and make confident employment decisions, without the fear of unexpected costs.
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Rated a Rising Star by SuperLawyers (an accolade reserved for only 2.5% of attorneys in Wisconsin), Bob provides strategic legal advice and counsel to companies of all sizes, helping business leaders make confident, informed decisions. His expertise spans employment law, regulatory compliance, litigation, safety, corporate strategy, and risk mitigation. Bob excels in transforming complex legal challenges into clear, actionable business solutions, offering strategic guidance to leadership teams.

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