WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

E-mail List Archives

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

for

From: Jonathan Avila
Date: Oct 10, 2018 10:28AM

The US DOJ recently sent a letter to members of congress indicating:
* Broadly the DOJ sees websites as being covered under the ADA
* Failure of following WCAG 2 A/AA is not necessarily non-conformance under the ADA-- there is no defined web accessibility standard including WCAG 2 under the ADA that is mandated to achieve or determine conformance -- fundamentally the determining factor is access by people with disabilities to the goods, services, and benefits through some method including alternatives.
https://www.adatitleiii.com/2018/10/doj-says-failure-to-comply-with-web-accessibility-guidelines-is-not-necessarily-a-violation-of-the-ada/

Given the above it does leave room in either direction for what is an accessible website is and how you measure it. Following WCAG 2.x, addressing the functional accessibility of core functions, and performing user testing with users that have disabilities are all things I would recommend and something we provide to our customers to increase access and reduce risk.

Jonathan

Jonathan Avila
Chief Accessibility Officer
Level Access
<EMAIL REMOVED>
703.637.8957 office

Visit us online:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Blog

Looking to boost your accessibility knowledge? Check out our free webinars!

The information contained in this transmission may be attorney privileged and/or confidential information intended for the use of the individual or entity named above. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any use, dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited.


-----Original Message-----
From: WebAIM-Forum [mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ] On Behalf Of Colleen Gratzer, Gratzer Graphics LLC
Sent: Wednesday, October 10, 2018 12:12 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

GET IN TOUCH: Please use this email instead: <EMAIL REMOVED>