News & Regulations
There are different sorts of laws in the world regarding digital accessibility. Most of them follow the rules implemented by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) in their Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). This is also the case with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) – a federal law that encompasses all different sorts of services online.
ADA makes sure that website owners cater to the needs of people with disabilities. ADA compliance violations can result in big fines and expensive lawsuits.
Here, we will outline some of the industries that are affected most by ADA website lawsuits.
Which Industries Are at Risk of Accessibility Lawsuits?
All industries that provide services online are susceptible to legal action based on ADA website compliance.
ADA enforces accessibility for all government services online, but there are some industries who are more at risk of lawsuits. Here we will highlight the main types and give examples of famous ADA lawsuits in those areas.
Ecommerce and Retail Industry
The ecommerce and retail stores online are the number 1 companies sued based on ADA. These companies have everything web-based and they have to make sure that their services are accessible for people with disabilities.
Most retailers and ecommerce companies comply with the WCAG guidelines for web accessibility, which is a great start. But sometimes businesses can overlook different elements, resulting in an ADA lawsuit.
Different statistics suggest that the ecommerce and retail industry comprise up to 84% of all ADA web accessibility lawsuits.
Source: Pexels
National Federation of the Blind vs. Target Corp.
This is one of the most high-profile cases in the ecommerce and retail industry. In 2006 the big company was sued over accessibility of their online shops for people with vision problems and blindness.
The plaintiffs argued that people with impaired vision and blindness can’t access the Target website and shop online without sufficient help.
The case was settled 12 years later, resulting in Target paying $6 000 000 in damages.
Maria Mendizabal vs. Nike Inc.
In 2017 a Maria Mendizabal filed an ADA website compliance lawsuit against Nike, claiming that the company doesn’t provide equal access to its websites for people with visual disabilities.
Based on court documents, the websites were impossible to use with screen readers or other assistive tech. Some of the major issues were missing alt text, empty links and redundant links.
Cedric Bishop vs. Amazon Inc.
Amazon is probably the biggest ecommerce company in the world. In 2018 they were sued because their website wasn’t accessible for people with blindness. The plaintiff was a man called Cedric Bishop who filed a class action lawsuit and argued that the website couldn’t be used with Braille readers and screen reader technology. The lawsuit was settled by Amazon.
Hospitality Industry
The hospitality industry is the second most targeted by ADA lawsuits. This is because in the modern world it’s completely normal to search for and reserve places to stay online. It’s the most common method in the world to organize a holiday.
All companies in the hospitality industry have to comply with accessibility guidelines so that people with disabilities can use their online services.
The hospitality industry also falls under the ADA guidelines for physical accessibility but here we are looking only at website's accessibility in hospitality.
Hotels.com
This is by far the biggest lawsuit in the online hospitality sector. Hotels.com is a major website that provides access to people to all sorts of hotels all over the world. In 2007 they were sued because the website wasn’t accessible for people with mobility disabilities.
It was argued that people with loss of motor function couldn’t navigate the website, let alone make a reservation for a hotel room without sufficient help from others.
The company was found guilty and had to make significant changes to the website. Also, it was also to ensure that information about accessibility was available about the hotels, listed on the website.
Източник: Pexels
Healthcare Industry
For the healthcare industry it’s crucial and sometimes lifesaving to comply with accessibility standards. Providing alt text, descriptions, transcripts, etc, can be very important for people with disabilities who have to access a healthcare website. Also, keep in mind that most people with disabilities need frequent medical attention, so it’s really common for them to look for services online.
The biggest lawsuits in this sector were during the COVID-19 pandemic. The DOJ filed a number of ADA lawsuits regarding the vaccination campaign in the United States.
The businesses that were impacted are CVS Pharmacy, Inc., Hy-Vee Inc., Rite Aid Corporation and many others. All lawsuits were regarding the same problems – platforms for vaccine registration weren’t accessible with assistive technology.
This meant that some patients that had the biggest need of a COVID-19 vaccine couldn’t arrange to get one.
Finance Industry
Giving people with disabilities the tools to live a normal life is crucial in today’s society. So, it’s common for people with disabilities to use the online services in the finance industry.
Making sure that every step of every process online is accessible by everyone is extremely important for banks, tax paying websites and companies and many more.
H&R Block
In 2014 the global tax company H&R Block was slammed with an ADA lawsuit. The DOJ argued that the websites and online services of the company were not usable by people with disabilities. This resulted in major problems for those people.
This is also the first case in which the DOJ looked both at websites and mobile applications for implementing accessibility features.
The company had to pay $100 000 in damages and employ a special web accessibility coordinator.
Source: Pexels
Entertainment Industry
The entertainment industry was severely impacted by ADA lawsuits, especially in recent years. The shift towards online streaming services has accelerated this process. This is because people with disabilities get to experience entertainment content mostly online, depending on the severity of their problems.
There are a number of companies that were sued based on ADA compliance.
Mary Conner vs. Beyonce Knowles
2019 wasn’t a great year for Beyonce. Her company Parkwood Entertainment was sued because their website didn’t have the required accessibility features for people with impaired vision. There were missing alt text, menus weren’t navigable and a lot more.
The website sells goods related to Beyonce – music, memorabilia and all sorts of other products.
National Association of the Deaf vs. Netflix
Netflix was still the major provider for online-based movies in 2012 when this lawsuit was filed. It argued that the company didn’t provide closed captioning for most of its movies and series online which resulted in accessibility issues for legally deaf people.
The company had to caption all of its video library by 2014 and has to continue doing so in the future. Netflix also paid $750 000 in damages.
Fox News
Fox News Network was sued because it didn’t provide enough additional information for people with disabilities on its website. This happened in 2019 and the media company settled the case, agreeing to resolve all the issues.
How to Protect Yourself Against ADA Compliance Lawsuits?
ADA lawsuits can be long and very expensive. Most companies settle the cases, but this also results in damages being paid. So, it’s better to protect your business right from the start.
Here we give some tips on just how to do that.
Be sure that your website complies with WCAG AA standards
The WCAG Level AA standard includes all the guidelines to achieve very high conformance with the law. On the W3C web page you will find a list with every step you need to take to make your website fully accessible for everyone.
Impose accessibility early on
It’s best if you impose accessibility standards very early on – even in the development stages of your website.
Hire professionals to help you
There are a number of companies that offer accessibility software and/or mentors. They have the accessibility expertise and knowledge to help you achieve compliance.
Conclusion
ADA compliance is very crucial if your business operates in the US. But even if that’s not the case, accessible websites are good for everybody. You can make people with disabilities feel included and overall influence the success of your company.
Providing accessible services online also creates very high trust among clients and users and benefits your business's reputation.