IS THE BURNING TREE MASTER ASSOCIATION WEBSITE ADA COMPLIANT?

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)  covers accessibility as it relates to information technology and that could affect you.  Increasingly the ADA, which is enforced by the United States Justice Department, is being successfully applied to websites.  Not applying the ADA to websites opens the door to civil penalties.  

United States Department of Justice Policy Ruling, 9/9/96: ADA Accessibility Requirements Apply to Internet Web Pages 10 NDLR 240

In an opinion letter dated September 9, 1996, The U.S. Department of Justice stated that:     “Covered entities under the ADA are required to provide effective communication*, regardless of whether they generally communicate through print media, audio media, or computerized media such as the Internet. Covered entities that use the Internet for communications regarding their programs, goods, or services must be prepared to offer those communications through accessible means as well.”


Members of the public who have a disability attempt to access a Web site, are entitled to equal access as are any other members of the public.    According to a 1996 settlement letter from The Office of Civil Rights of the United States Department of Education (OCR):     [T]he issue is not whether the [person] with the disability is merely provided access, but the issue is rather the extent to which the communication is actually as effective as that provided to others. (Do you have Paypal on your site? If so, how do your blind viewers use it? )


The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires covered entities to furnish appropriate auxiliary aids and services where necessary to ensure effective communication with individuals with disabilities.The policy ruling states that ADA Titles II and III require State and local governments and the business sector to provide effective communication whenever they communicate through the Internet. The effective communication rule applies to covered entities using the Internet for communications regarding their programs, goods or services since they must be prepared to offer those communications via an accessible medium.
 

Assure accessibility to the Internet for individuals with visual disabilities who use screenreaders. Without special coding, a text browser will only display the word "image" when it reads a graphic image. Moreover, if the graphic is essential to navigating the site (such as a navigational button or arrow) or if it imparts vital information (such as a table or image map) the user can get stuck and not be able to move or understand the information provided.

People who are blind or deaf aren’t the only people with disabilities who surf the Web. Web sites which are perfectly accessible to fully-abled people may be impossible for people with disabilities to access.

 

• In August 2004, Cendant Corporation, owner of Ramada.com and Priceline.com, settled a lawsuit brought by the state of New York and Attorney General Elliot Spitzer. In the settlement, Cendant agreed to make Ramada.com and Priceline.com easier to use for the blind and visually impaired. In addition, Cendant will pay New York state $77,500 for the cost of the state's investigation.
• The law is being applied to all manner of disabilities and technologies. In September 2005, the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) and the law firm of Outten & Golden filed a class-action discrimination complaint in Connecticut after Morgan Stanley refused to accept a stock trade order from a deaf account holder who called using a telecommunications relay service.
• In February 2006, a blind UC Berkeley student filed a class-action lawsuit against the website hosted by Minnesota-based retailer Target Corporation. The suit alleges violations of the ADA, stating, "Target thus excludes the blind from full and equal participation in the growing Internet economy that is increasingly a fundamental part of daily life." Joining in the suit is the National Federation of the Blind.

     

Making your site fully accessible protects you from potential liability under The ADA. Web sites are covered under the ADA (and quite possibly the Rehabilitation Act, too).  An access issue with your website could land you in court.


Oklahoma is one of the many states with their own laws:

• Oklahoma IT Accessibility Legislation and Resources - Oklahoma IT IT accessibility laws and 5 states are presently in the preliminary stages of drafting legislation, issuing executive orders, or writing policies.
• The State of Oklahoma passed HB 2197 in 2004 for the provision of electronic and information technology accessibility.Oklahoma's EITA law reflects an ongoing commitment to provide access to information resources and technologies to individuals with disabilities.   Oklahoma Statute: Title 62 Section 34.28, Section 34.29 ,and Section 34.30

 The Access Board (a.k.a. Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board) is an independent federal agency  that is responsible for guideline development under (1) Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, (2) The ADA, (3) The Telecommunications Act of 1996 and (4) The Architectural Barriers Act.   For more information about this, see http://www.access-board.gov/notices/eitaac.htm. UPDATED!! SEE THE ARCHITECTURAL BARRIERS ACT WHICH IS NOT THE SAME AS THE 2010 Standards ADA MANDATE FROM THE DOJ.
 

 
Application of ADA to the Internet: US Department of Justice Ruling