On November 3, Marc Rachman, Davis+Gilbert Litigation + Dispute Resolution partner will present a Massachusetts Continued Learning Education program entitled “ADA & Website Accessibility.”
Session Overview
Over the last several years, lawsuits claiming commercial websites are not in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for the visually disabled have been on the rise. Any business that has a website is a potential target for such claims. Lawyers representing businesses with publicly accessible websites need to know the elements of an ADA website accessibility claim, the claims and defenses that can be raised, ways to resolve such a claim, and what preventative steps businesses can take to avoid being the target of an ADA website accessibility claim.
Hear the panelists explain the ADA’s applicability to websites, common accessibility issues on websites, how there is a circuit split over whether there needs to be a nexus between the website and a “brick and mortar” store to assert an ADA claim, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) developed by the World Wide Web Consortium and their applicability to ADA website claims, how to conduct a website accessibility audit, ways to determine if a website has potential ADA accessibility issues, and steps businesses can take to make their websites more ADA compliant.
Topics that will be discussed:
- Overview of the ADA’s Applicability to Websites
- What Does Accessibility for People with Impairments Look Like on a Website?
- The Circuit Split on Whether There Needs to Be a “Brick & Mortar” Nexus
- The WCAG Standard and How It Is Applied to ADA Website Claims
- Companion Website Accessibility Claims Under the Massachusetts Equal Rights Act, G.L. c. 93, § 103
- How to Conduct a Website Accessibility Audit
- Ways to Assess Whether a Website Is Sufficiently ADA Compliant
- Steps Businesses Can Take to Make Their Websites More ADA Compliant