ADA & Accessibility: What You Need to Know

ADA Website Compliance Background, Risks & Penalties, Resources.

57 million have a disability 8.1 million are visually impaired 2 million are legally blind Other impairments to consider: color blind, hearing, para/quadriplegic, cognitive, speech, neurological
What is the ADA? The Americans with Disabilities Act is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of life.	What is Accessibility? Just like a brick and mortar office, your online presence should be accessible by anyone, no matter their circumstances.
What's the risk of not being compliant? In addition to not being able to serve clients, there are numerous legal risks for not being compliant. Solutions: Take reasonable steps towards compliance Consider a monthly compliance solution ($80-$100) Small businesses must take reasonable efforts toward compliance. There is no one-size-fits-all solution Remember: There are multiple levels of accessibility, starting with the minimum access provided by a software widget. Solutions start at $80 to $100 per month. Some of them advertise up to 95% accessibility. 100% compliance will require an audit. U.S.-based Sources: 8.1 million visually impaired and 2 million legally blind Source for both: U.S Census Bureau Also from the US Census Bureau, but also listed on https://www.interactiveaccessibility.com/accessibility-statistics From Chicago-based law firm Seyfarth & Shaw. https://www.adatitleiii.com/2019/07/federal-ada-title-iii-lawsuit-numbers-continue-to-climb-in-2019/ Accessibility Tools Here is a partial list of website accessibility providers: Accessibe: https://accessibe.com/ *Agency Revolution: https://agencyrevolution.com AudioEye: https://www.audioeye.com/ Deque Systems: https://www.deque.com/ eSSENTIAL Accessibility: https://www.essentialaccessibility.com/ Equalweb: https://www.equalweb.com/ GetADAAccessible: https://getadaaccessible.com/ Level Access: https://www.levelaccess.com/ Make-Sense: https://mk-sense.com/ Monsido: https://monsido.com Neilson Marketing Services:* https://www.neilsonmarketing.com/ada/ Siteimprove: https://siteimprove.com User1st: https://www.user1st.com/ * ACT supporting member Educational Resources ACT Article: 'Your Website Should be ADA-Compliant' ACT/IIABA: 'FAQ Regarding Website Compliance with the ADA' ADA WCAG 2.0: 'Web Content Accessibility Guidelines' and ADA WCAG 'Checklist for Web Content Accessibility' Bottom line: We recommend taking some action to make your website more accessible. Whether it's a risk management or civic duty decision, the cost is negligible compared to the risk. ***** IIABA and ACT do not endorse a specific third-party website accessibility service or service provider and provide this list for information purposes only. All services rendered are subject to the terms and conditions established as between any third-party service provider and customer. IIABA, ACT, and their affiliates shall not be held responsible in any way for, and specifically disclaim, any liability arising out of or in any way connected to, reliance on, or use of any of the information provided or services rendered by any third-party service providers listed above. Learn more at independentagent.com/ACT