Plaintiffs are Suing Companies of all Sizes for Accessibility Violations.

The Americans with Disabilities Act has been influencing businesses for decades to ensure proper spatial amendments are made to retail stores, hotels, restaurants, and businesses of all sizes. However, a less obvious provision of the Act requires that businesses’ websites are also ADA accessible – meaning they need to take account for visual and audio specifications to meet the needs of variously impaired internet users. Optimizing a site in order to comply with regulations can be a massive operation, especially for more complex sites – but well worth the investment. As the LA Times points out, the cost of legal recourse for small business owners who are sued for violations can be crippling.

It is a known fact in the legal community that those who are abusing the system are more interested in lining their pockets than in creating a more inclusive internet. As it stands, businesses are in the midst of an onslaught of lawsuits, in part due to a lack of support for ADA web-regulation by the current White House.

Businesses large and small agree that having an opportunity to get ahead of these rogue suits through a warning system would be more beneficial than rampant, expensive legal battles. In the meantime, we encourage business owners to familiarize themselves with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, a trusted set of best practices. By the way, efforts implemented here can help pay off for your website’s SEO, too.

Stay ahead of the curve when it comes to providing the ultimate customer experiences, especially when it comes to complying with ADA requirements for websites. ASTRALCOM can help with comprehensive digital & content services. Get in touch today.