The Viscardi Center

at The Viscardi Center

Providing a lifespan of programs and services that educate, employ and empower children and adults with disabilities.
An employer membership organization and comprehensive resource for disability employment best practices.

DONATE

Header Links

  • Login
  • Media Room
  • Contact Us

Share

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • You Tube
  • Instagram
  • Home
  • Our Services
    • Abilities, Inc.
    • E-Learning
    • Henry Viscardi School
    • National Center for Disability Entrepreneurship
    • Nathaniel H. Kornreich Technology Center
    • Services by Type
    • Services by Age/Audience
    • Services for Businesses
    • How to Obtain Services
  • Our Stories
    • Adults
    • Businesses
    • Children
    • Donors
  • Get Involved
    • Ways to Give
    • Together We Soar Campaign
    • Advocacy
    • Volunteer
    • Share Your Story
    • Viscardi Alumni
  • News & Events
    • News
    • Blog
    • Events
    • Media Room
    • Viscardi Voice Newsletter
  • Digital Accessibility
    • Document Accessibility
    • Web Accessibility
    • Captioning & CART Services
    • Audio Description
    • Viscardi Multimedia Learning Center
  • About
    • History
    • Staff Leadership and Boards of Directors
    • Henry Viscardi Achievement Awards
    • Sunny
    • FAQs
    • Careers
    • Financials
    • Contact Us
www.viscardicenter.org > Viscardi Blog > Education > Your 5-Step Digital Accessibility Playbook

Your 5-Step Digital Accessibility Playbook

January 16, 2019 by Mike Caprara

  • A A A

With accessibility lawsuits on the rise, follow these steps to lower your organization’s risk.

 January 16, 2019

 Michael Caprara

Keyboard and gavel
Photo Source: https://www.goodfreephotos.com

Over the past decade, one of the most concerning legal trends for organizations in the U.S. has been digital accessibility lawsuits. According to analysis by Seyfarth Shaw, 2018 was a watershed year for these lawsuits. ADA Title III lawsuits may have topped 10,000 for the first time in a calendar year, and no entity has been safe from the blitz1. In November alone, one plaintiff sued 50 universities for maintaining inaccessible websites and online documents2.

This environment of “serial litigation” has been especially prevalent in certain states; California, New York, and Florida accounted for well over 80% of the lawsuits documented in the above report. In Florida particularly, a barrage of ADA and Rehab Act complaints against public and private institutions have been perpetuated since at least 2013. Targets have included cities (Jacksonville3, Vero Beach4, St. Lucie5, Fort Myers6), counties (Lafayette County7), public universities (Florida State University8), restaurants (Hooters9, Panda Express10, Carrabba’s), supermarkets (Winn Dixie11, Sedano’s), and many others.

In Florida, akin to the rest of the country, this movement is showing no signs of slowing down. According to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, six plaintiffs accounted for over 300 digital accessibility lawsuits in 2017 alone, and those same six filed 167 suits in the first half of 201812. The complaints included organizations having websites or documents inaccessible to screen readers, or video content not captioned & audio described. The suits almost always settle out of court, with the one landmark ruling in the case of Gil v. Winn Dixie siding with the plaintiff. As a result, there is an urgent imperative for organizations both in and outside Florida to proactively make their digital content accessible or suffer the financial and social consequences associated with these lawsuits.

For organizations trying to avoid the risks of maintaining inaccessible digital environments, there is already a well-established playbook. Following these five steps is paramount for any size organization to avoiding costly litigation.

  1. Create a Plan – First and foremost, organizations should check with their legal counsel to ensure that accessibility is a priority, and that a comprehensive compliance plan and accessibility policy is developed and made available to the public. The compliance plan should include steps to assess and remediate accessibility for websites, apps, documents and videos, along with a dedicated, accessible method of contact for users who are experiencing accessibility issues. In conjunction, internal IT teams or vendors should be consulted to make sure they are aware of their responsibility to make digital environments accessible, and that the accessibility plan includes training for those teams.
  2. Assess Current Digital Assets – Most organizations with web properties should have their sites and apps audited for accessibility by an outside organization to get a baseline of what is needed. The ensuing reports will help guide future training and remediation efforts and will prove crucial in prioritizing work.
  3. Train & Educate Teams – Whether the accessibility fixes will be done by internal IT teams, the current IT vendor, or a digital accessibility focused vendor, organizations should ensure that those responsible for making them are well-versed in digital accessibility: what the issues are, what changes need to be made, and how to implement them.
  4. Make Changes & Reassess – Once the accessibility issues have been identified and teams have been trained in how to fix them, organizations should begin making changes prioritizing the most trafficked pages and documents to have the greatest immediate impact. Once the issues have been addressed, it is strongly recommended (and sometimes required) to have those sites and apps checked for usability by stakeholders in the outcomes – people with disabilities.
  5. Ensure Continuity of Accessibility Planning – Digital accessibility is not an end-goal, because your digital environments will ostensibly keep changing. As such, organizations must make sure that accessibility is continuously considered in any digital iterations, to avoid falling back out of compliance.

1https://www.adatitleiii.com/2018/07/website-access-and-other-ada-title-iii-lawsuits-hit-record-numbers/
2https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/12/10/fifty-colleges-sued-barrage-ada-lawsuits-over-web-accessibility
3https://www.ada.gov/jacksonville_pca/jacksonville_pca_sa.htm
4https://www.ada.gov/vero_beach_sa.htm
5https://www.ada.gov/st_lucie/st_lucie_sa.htm
6https://www.ada.gov/ft_myers_pca/fort_myers_sa.htm
7https://www.ada.gov/lafayettefl.htm
8https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-reaches-settlement-florida-state-university
9https://www.fisherphillips.com/resources-alerts-court-permits-website-accessibility-lawsuit-against-hooters
10https://www.leagle.com/decision/infdco20180130916
11https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=52e1d0e2-043b-45bd-9163-73923f387a59
12https://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-bz-website-accessibility-status-report-20180719-story.html

Michael Caprara

Michael Caprara

Chief Information Officer, The Viscardi Center
Michael oversees all aspects of technology at The Viscardi Center, where he implements and innovates accessibility for students, staff, and faculty.

Filed Under: Education, Employment, Empowerment

News & Events

  • News

    >

  • Blog

    >

  • Events

    >

  • Media Room

    >

  • Viscardi Voice Newsletter

    >

Blog Categories

  • Empowerment
  • Education
  • Employment

Events

Celebrity Sports Night

Celebrity Sports Night,

Presented by Delta Air Lines

[php snippet=2]

The Mill River Country Club

Save The Date – Annual Golf Outing

[php snippet=2]

View All Events

Related Posts

A graphic with a network of social media and web icons over an image of hands typing on a laptop keyboard

Should WCAG Compliance Be Your Goal?

A man in business attire points to a touchscreen graphic featuring icons representing the legal system.

Web Accessibility Insurance: The Next Frontier

Young professional engaging in a video conference with four colleagues through his laptop.

Answering Your Top Digital Accessibility Questions

Recent Posts

View All >
  • 2022 Games for the Physically Challenged Announced

    April 26, 2022 County Executive Blakeman and Viscardi student athletes announce return of annual Games at Mitchel Field Athletic Complex in June April 26, 2022 ALBERTSON, NY – Nassau County Executive Bruce A. Blakeman and student athletes from the Henry Viscardi School at The Viscardi Center today announced plans for the 2022 Nassau County Games for the Physically [...] Read More...
  • Celebrity Sports Night Returns to In-Person Event

    March 28, 2022 At this signature fundraiser, presented by Delta Air Lines, all-star athletes support vital programs for children and adults with disabilities. March 28, 2022 The Viscardi Center, a network of non-profit organizations providing programs and services that educate, employ, and empower children and adults with disabilities, is holding its 55th annual Celebrity Sports Night live and in person [...] Read More...
  • Save The Date - Annual Golf Outing

    March 11, 2022 Mark Your Calendar to Play a Round of Golf with Us! Date:September 19, 2022 Brunch:10:30 a.m. Shotgun Start:12:00 p.m. Location:The Mill River Club 103 Mill River Rd. Oyster Bay, NY 11771 PURCHASE TICKETS & SPONSORSHIPS Join us for our annual golf outing at The Mill River Club, a private, members-only country club located on Long [...] Read More...
  • Viscardi Awards Honor Leaders with Disabilities

    January 27, 2022 Recognizing innovators, role models, and advocates from around the globe. January 27, 2022 The Viscardi Center — an Albertson, NY-based non-profit organization providing a lifespan of services that educate, employ, and empower people with disabilities — has announced seven recipients of the 2021 Henry Viscardi Achievement Awards. Watch the Awards announcement video now on YouTube. [...] Read More...
  • Recognizing Martin Luther King Jr. Day

    January 17, 2022 January 17, 2022   Today on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a National Day of Service, we’re reflecting on Dr. King’s commitment to community, empowerment, and the work that must still be done to achieve racial equality. The Viscardi Center’s mission and work are strongly aligned with the values we uphold on MLK Day: diversity, [...] Read More...
  • Students Interview New Viscardi President & CEO

    January 4, 2022 Henry Viscardi School Student Reporters Talk with Dr. Chris Rosa for Cougar Chronicle Special Edition January 4, 2022 Henry Viscardi School student reporters interviewed Dr. Chris Rosa, the new President & CEO of The Viscardi Center, for a special edition of the Cougar Chronicle newspaper. The activity was a way for the students to improve [...] Read More...

Contact Us

The Viscardi Center
National Business & Disability Council at The Viscardi Center
201 I.U. Willets Road
Albertson, NY 11507
516.465.1400
info@viscardicenter.org
Careers at the Viscardi Center | Staff Log in
Accessibility | Privacy | Site Map

Sign up For Enews

The Viscardi Center is a 501(c)(3)
non-profit recognized by the IRS.

Connect With Us

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • You Tube
  • Instagram

© 2022 The Viscardi Center. All rights reserved. | Designed & Developed by Infinite Media Corp.