Recently, one of our clients received the settlement letter below regarding the accessibility of their website. This letter references the Fair Housing Act and Title III, two pieces of crucial anti-discrimination legislation that cover website accessibility. Housing isn’t the only industry at risk for potential lawsuits.
Accessibility can fall under a range of legislation that covers all areas including Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, ADA Title II, and ADA Title III. Almost all websites that serve the public are potential targets, from corporations or housing to healthcare or mom-and-pop shops.
The original score of the website in question was 54% with 28 found issues. After our updates, we reached a score that meets compliance standards. Our team also went through website accessibility training and performed extensive research on ways to protect our clients from potential future lawsuits.
After reviewing this letter with our client, we undertook a comprehensive approach to address the concerns it raised. Automated accessibility checkers don’t identify all issues that users with disabilities may face as they navigate your website. We worked with local experts to learn more about what was needed to ensure information on the website was easy to access for everyone.
Here are the steps we took to ensure website accessibility:
- Employed a variety of website accessibility audits to identify issues and areas for improvement
- Consulted with experts for accessibility training and manual audits
- Compiled detailed spreadsheets documenting errors identified during manual accessibility testing
- Made necessary modifications to the website’s code to rectify errors such as video player controls, color contrast, the impact of linking to 3rd party sites, ensuring screen reader navigation, and other issues discovered with manual audits
- Conducted follow-up website audits to ensure compliance
- Developed an internal accessibility checklist to facilitate ongoing monitoring and compliance
Learn how you can take steps to avoid legal action. Contact us today to see how we can help.
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