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Thread: US DOJ and HR Block Website
Number of posts in this thread: 4 (In chronological order)
From: Chagnon | PubCom
Date: Mon, Nov 25 2013 3:13PM
Subject: US DOJ and HR Block Website
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From the US Department of Justice's ADA office:
The Justice Department announced today that it seeks to intervene [
http://www.ada.gov/hrb-motion-intervene.htm ] in a lawsuit against HRB
Digital, LLC and HRB Tax Group, Inc. ("Block") in federal court in Boston to
remedy violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The
department's proposed complaint in intervention in the lawsuit, "National
Federation of the Blind v. HRB Digital LLC and HRB Tax Group, Inc.", alleges
that Block discriminates against individuals with disabilities in the full
and equal enjoyment of its goods and services provided through
www.hrblock.com [ http://www.hrblock.com/ ].
The complaint is online at http://www.ada.gov/hrb-proposed-complaint.htm
- Bevi Chagnon
- PubCom.com - Trainers, Consultants, Designers, and Developers.
- Print, Web, Acrobat, XML, eBooks, and U.S. Federal Section 508
Accessibility.
- It's our 32nd year!
From: Birkir R. Gunnarsson
Date: Tue, Nov 26 2013 3:46AM
Subject: Re: US DOJ and HR Block Website
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Greetings.
Firstly, that DOJ website is not exactly the apex of accessibility.
Secondly, out of some ignorance and desire to reduce it: What does this mean?
Does this mean the DOJ will ensure a favorable outcome by intervening?
Does it mean that they will seak to throw the law suit out?
Does it just mean that whatever the outcome this will have a huge
impact by setting an example?
Basically, is this good or bad for accessibility?
At a glance this looks like good news for us in the accessibility
sector, but I would love interpretation from someone who understands
these procedures better, adding a bit of commentary to help us
understand if we should celebrate or worry.
Cheers
-Birkir
Accessibility SME | Deque Systems
On 11/25/13, Chagnon | PubCom < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> From the US Department of Justice's ADA office:
>
> The Justice Department announced today that it seeks to intervene [
> http://www.ada.gov/hrb-motion-intervene.htm ] in a lawsuit against HRB
> Digital, LLC and HRB Tax Group, Inc. ("Block") in federal court in Boston
> to
> remedy violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The
> department's proposed complaint in intervention in the lawsuit, "National
> Federation of the Blind v. HRB Digital LLC and HRB Tax Group, Inc.",
> alleges
> that Block discriminates against individuals with disabilities in the full
> and equal enjoyment of its goods and services provided through
> www.hrblock.com [ http://www.hrblock.com/ ].
>
>
>
> The complaint is online at http://www.ada.gov/hrb-proposed-complaint.htm
>
> - Bevi Chagnon
>
> - PubCom.com - Trainers, Consultants, Designers, and Developers.
>
> - Print, Web, Acrobat, XML, eBooks, and U.S. Federal Section 508
> Accessibility.
>
> - It's our 32nd year!
>
>
>
> > > >
--
Work hard. Have fun. Make history.
From: Whitney Quesenbery
Date: Fri, Nov 29 2013 9:13AM
Subject: Re: US DOJ and HR Block Website
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INAL (I'm Not A Lawyer), but looks like good news. The critical text:
4. Specifically, Defendants have failed to ensure the accessibility of
www.hrblock.com and its subdomains ... and, as a result, individuals with
disabilities, including those who require assistive technologies, cannot
access the information, enjoy the services, or take advantage of the
benefits offered through Defendants' website.
5. Such discrimination persists notwithstanding the existence of readily
available, well-established, consensus-based guidelines for delivering Web
content in an accessible format – the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
2.0 ("WCAG 2.0"), which are available at http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/.
6. The Attorney General has commenced this action based on reasonable cause
to believe that Defendants are engaged in a pattern or practice of
discrimination ... and that such discrimination raises issues of general
public importance. .... The United States seeks *declaratory and injunctive
relief, monetary damages, and civil penalties* against Defendants.
Again INAL, but "intervene" is because the DOJ cannot initiate the lawsuit.
It's stronger than filing an amicus brief (as an interested friend of one
party). The motion says the DOJ "...moves to intervene as of right in this
action, pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 24, because it has a
significant protectable interest in enforcing the Americans with
Disabilities Act"
On Tue, Nov 26, 2013 at 5:46 AM, Birkir R. Gunnarsson <
= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> Greetings.
>
> Firstly, that DOJ website is not exactly the apex of accessibility.
> Secondly, out of some ignorance and desire to reduce it: What does this
> mean?
> Does this mean the DOJ will ensure a favorable outcome by intervening?
> Does it mean that they will seak to throw the law suit out?
> Does it just mean that whatever the outcome this will have a huge
> impact by setting an example?
>
> Basically, is this good or bad for accessibility?
> At a glance this looks like good news for us in the accessibility
> sector, but I would love interpretation from someone who understands
> these procedures better, adding a bit of commentary to help us
> understand if we should celebrate or worry.
> Cheers
> -Birkir
> Accessibility SME | Deque Systems
>
>
> On 11/25/13, Chagnon | PubCom < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> > From the US Department of Justice's ADA office:
> >
> > The Justice Department announced today that it seeks to intervene [
> > http://www.ada.gov/hrb-motion-intervene.htm ] in a lawsuit against HRB
> > Digital, LLC and HRB Tax Group, Inc. ("Block") in federal court in Boston
> > to
> > remedy violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The
> > department's proposed complaint in intervention in the lawsuit, "National
> > Federation of the Blind v. HRB Digital LLC and HRB Tax Group, Inc.",
> > alleges
> > that Block discriminates against individuals with disabilities in the
> full
> > and equal enjoyment of its goods and services provided through
> > www.hrblock.com [ http://www.hrblock.com/ ].
> >
> >
> >
> > The complaint is online at http://www.ada.gov/hrb-proposed-complaint.htm
> >
> > - Bevi Chagnon
> >
> > - PubCom.com - Trainers, Consultants, Designers, and Developers.
> >
> > - Print, Web, Acrobat, XML, eBooks, and U.S. Federal Section 508
> > Accessibility.
> >
> > - It's our 32nd year!
> >
> >
> >
> > > > > > > >
>
>
> --
> Work hard. Have fun. Make history.
> > > >
--
Whitney Quesenbery
www.wqusability.com | @whitneyq
Storytelling for User Experience
www.rosenfeldmedia.com/books/storytelling
Global UX: Design and research in a connected world
@globalUX | www.amazon.com/gp/product/012378591X/
From: Bourne, Sarah (ITD)
Date: Tue, Dec 03 2013 9:30AM
Subject: Re: US DOJ and HR Block Website
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IANAL (I'm Also Not A Lawyer) but adding to Whitney's observations, it looks like the DOJ is hoping to get some solid case law showing that the ADA does, indeed, apply to websites. All the other big lawsuits have resulted in settlements, which is not case law.
sb
Sarah E. Bourne
Director of Assistive Technology &
Mass.Gov Chief Technology Strategist
Information Technology Division
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
1 Ashburton Pl. rm 1601 Boston MA 02108
617-626-4502
= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
http://www.mass.gov/itd