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Department of Justice Update: ADA Applies to Web

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DOJ Clarifies Digital Accessibility (Well, Sort Of)

On Friday, March 19th, 2022, the United States Department of Justice published guidance on web accessibility regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This guidance applies to local and state governments (covered under ADA Title II) and businesses open to the public (covered under ADA Title III).

The DOJ begins by clarifying that inaccessible web content denies equal access to individuals with disabilities and that the exclusionary impact of this is just as significant as inaccessible entrances to physical buildings. They go further by stating that their position is that the ADA’s requirements are applicable to goods, services, privileges, or activities in the case of businesses, and services, programs, or activities in the case of local and state governments, including those offered on the web.

While the Department of Justice references standards like the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and Section 508 as useful guides for accessibility, many in the accessibility community are disappointed that they do not take a definitive stance on how government agencies or businesses must be accessible. This has left many petitioning for greater regulation and clearer guidance.

Although accessibility has been slow to evolve from a legal standpoint, the technology and knowledge in this space have advanced significantly. We believe that there are many good reasons to invest in accessibility. Above all, it’s the right thing to do, but additional benefits include growth in revenue (tapping into a market of more than one billion people globally living with a physical or cognitive impairment), market differentiation, better usability for everyone. and more. The best time to focus on accessibility is now, and even if your concern stems more from the legality of accessibility rather than the many benefits, it is worth noting that lawsuits over inaccessible web content continue to be prevalent.

We recommend closely evaluating your current accessibility program (or developing one if you don’t have one), using the most current WCAG version to build a framework for accessibility, and then going beyond by focusing on true usability by including individuals with physical or cognitive impairments across your organization. Accessibility is everyone’s job and we should all be knowledgeable, whether we’re in design, in development, in quality assurance, or other roles.

And if you need help getting started with accessibility or accelerating your success, you can check out our free Digital Accessibility Starter Kit or schedule a free consultation with our team.

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Author:

Paul Morris, Director of Engineering & Accessibility Services

Paul Morris started his career as a chemist with the United Kingdom’s Laboratory of the Government Chemist (LGC). During his tenure at the LGC, he developed an aggressive degenerative eye condition called retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic disorder of the eyes that eventually causes a loss of vision, and he had to leave the chemistry field. However, along with the change, came opportunity. While Paul transitioned to an administrative position with the UK Ministry of Defense, he also began teaching himself how to code. As the course of his career evolved, in 1999, he moved to the United States, where he was offered a job as a test technician for QualityLogic. Now, more than two decades later, Paul is QualityLogic’s Director of Engineering and Accessibility Testing Services.

During his career with QualityLogic, Paul has had the opportunity to explore all aspects of QA testing, while simultaneously benefitting from the use of assistive technologies. He is recognized as an accessibility subject matter expert for both user experience and development and is certified in JAWS technology, a screen reader developed by Freedom Scientific that provides speech and Braille output for computer applications. Paul also has expertise in Ruby, JAVA, Python, and is an SQL administrator.

While a shift from chemistry to a career in software testing may have seemed unlikely, Paul is grateful for the course his life has taken. QualityLogic has inspired his passion to solve the problems he sees now and discovers the challenges yet to come. Paul shares his experiences in QA Engineering and Digital Accessibility often through blogs, presentations, and training of his team and QualityLogic clients.