Websites & ADA Compliance
Making Sure Your Business is Accessible
by Trent Cotney, Partner, Adams & Reese, LLP
(Editor’s Note: Trent Cotney, partner at Adams & Reese, LLP, is dedicated to representing the roofing and construction industries. Cotney is General Counsel for the Western States Roofing Contractors Association and several other industry associations. For more information, contact the author at (866) 303-5868 or go to www.adamsandreese.com.)
The American Disabilities Act (ADA) became law in 1990, and its mission is to protect the rights of people with physical and mental disabilities. It addresses accommodations that include but are not limited to parking spaces, entrance ramps, service animals, and communication methods, ensuring that disabled individuals have access to the same opportunities as everyone else. One sometimes overlooked ADA-related factor is website accessibility, and in recent years, that has led to a number of nuisance lawsuits.
One prime example of a website accessibility lawsuit is Acheson Hotels, LLC v. Laufer. This case regards Deborah Laufer, a Florida woman who filed suit against a Maine hotel since it failed to include its accessibility features on its website. The key detail here is that she never intended to visit the hotel. Instead, she is a so-called tester, a person who monitors websites to see if they are ADA-compliant. When Laufer discovered hotel websites that were not compliant, she would often sue the hotels. In fact, she has filed hundreds of lawsuits that allege noncompliance.
In many cases, the hotels have quickly settled. However, others have argued that Laufer lacks standing since she never intends to patronize the hotels in question. Some courts have sided with the hotels, and some have not.
Acheson Hotels, LLC v. Laufer addressed the standing of testers and their cases regarding ADA compliance. The Supreme Court was set to hear the case in late 2023, but Laufer dropped her lawsuit, and the case was considered moot. However, Laufer’s actions are not unique. Around the country, interested parties have filed similar lawsuits against businesses whose websites are not compliant.
For years, there was no clear direction on ADA compliance requirements for websites. However, the Department of Justice recently issued a new rule addressing this matter. Titled Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability; Accessibility of Web Information and Services of State and Local Government Entities, this rule went into effect on June 24, 2024. It focuses on Title II of the ADA, which requires all state and local governments to ensure their services, activities, and programs are accessible to individuals with disabilities. That includes state and local government offerings that appear online and on mobile apps.
In addition to providing information about program and activity accessibility, the rule notes that websites and mobile apps must themselves be accessible; otherwise, they create barriers for those with disabilities. For example, a person who is blind might use a screen reader to review a website. If the website’s images do not include text descriptions of those images, known as alternative text or alt text, the user will not know what the images illustrate.
The rule asserts that the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines should be followed to ensure accessibility. These guidelines address how text is presented and list requirements for photo captions and other features. People with disabilities will find it difficult to use websites and mobile apps that are not accessible. For instance, they might not be able to acquire tax information or order mail-in ballots.
Although the new Department of Justice rule pertains specifically to public websites, creating accessible sites and apps is a best practice for all companies. As the hotel lawsuit demonstrates, some people are specifically looking for ADA noncompliance, and there are lawyers eager to make a profit from such oversights.
If you own a business, it is essential that your brick-and-mortar facilities follow ADA guidelines, and it is equally important that your website and other electronic offerings do the same. By making your services accessible, you can avoid being the victim of a nuisance lawsuit, but you will also ensure optimal customer service.
