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Re: Website dev questions (was ISO: Other developers)

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From: Henry, Michael (IntelliDyne)
Date: Oct 10, 2018 10:22AM

Hi Colleen,


Yeah, that's a tough situation. I'm still learning this stuff myself, but will attempt an answer of sorts.

#1: Personally, I wouldn't take on the assignment, unless I had a very specific and exhaustive list of violations or non-compliant elements on the site that I could individually address, then call the job done. But then, as I mentioned, I'm still learning this stuff. It makes me uneasy precisely because I don't know all the rules yet. I wonder if the lawsuit spells out specific items?
If you did take it on, I would include the cost of a certified tester in your bid, like the one you mentioned. (The only such certification I know of is the DHS Trusted Tester. If you can pass that person's test, you're golden). It might be pricey, but totally worth it if the client is willing to pay for it. My guess is, if they're getting sued, they are.

#2: Another thing occurs to me: 508 Compliance is the law for outward facing government sites, but I have no idea what obligation private commercial sites have to meet those standards. There's probably some wiggle room there for the restaurant, but that's for their lawyers to determine. I seem to recall that Target (?) got sued, but not sure the outcome of that.
Is there a requirement that X, Y, and Z items be met, or is this a case of the client making a concerted, earnest effort to meet best practices? If the latter, I assume any Accessibility contractor would have less vulnerability... That's just speculation, though.

#3: I work for a government contractor. Since the bulk of our work is for government sites, I'm certain there's a requirement that they be Compliant. I think everybody (aside from the experts) is still figuring out what that means, however. Seems like from a legal standpoint, it's still a little gray.

Take care and good luck.

Mike



---
Mike S. Henry
Creative Services Lead
IntelliDyne Contract Employee
Supporting Enterprise Infrastructure (formerly Military Health System Cyberinfrastructure Services - MCiS)
Desk: (703) 882-3962

From: WebAIM-Forum < <EMAIL REMOVED> > on behalf of Colleen Gratzer, Gratzer Graphics LLC < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
Sent: Wednesday, October 10, 2018 12:12:22 PM
To: WebAIM Discussion List
Subject: [WebAIM] Website dev questions (was ISO: Other developers)

Hi, everyone. I was originally going to ask this privately, so that's
why I had asked to contact other developers.

I've been formally trained in InDesign and PDF accessibility practices
(thank you, Bevi Chagnon of PubCom) but not formally with websites.
However, I have learned quite a bit of that myself and have built
several accessible websites (design and development, even so far as to
include special custom fields for screen reader text that the client can
fill out). I paid someone to test them all with a screen reader. Knock
on wood. All has been well so far.

Yesterday, an attorney contacted me (he was referred by a colleague who
knows I've done accessible sites). His client is a chain restaurant
being sued by a screen reader user who cannot access their site
properly. He asked me about fixing it. There's a lot I could do to help
BUT i don't know every single WCAG or ADA rule, and I know some are
ambiguous or not good for usability.

So, I'm curious about a few things:

1. Would the above situation be one that you would even consider getting
involved in if it were you?

2. If you are a developer building accessible sites, do you follow every
single WCAG or ADA rule? What steps to you take to "certify" to the
client, "hey, this site is now accessible."

3. Do you have any special accessibility-specific clauses in your
contracts that protect you in case of a legal issue? I do have one that
says if the work needs to be accessible, they need to convey that and,
if they decide against doing that work, i have no responsibility for
that. I also have a limitation of liability clause, among others that
are not accessibility-specific. I don't know what more to do to protect
my business in this way when it comes to accessible sites. (I've had it
reviewed by an attorney but thinking i need to seek advice from an
attorney well versed in accessibility laws.

Phew. That was a lot! If you made it this far, LOL, thanks for reading
all this!


Colleen Gratzer
Creative Director :: Visual Brand Expert :: Accessibility Specialist
Gratzer Graphics LLC
https://gratzergraphics.com

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