Coding for Beginners: Recap #74—Section 508 and the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)
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What are the Section 508 Guidelines? And who does it apply to?
In the U.S., the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was amended in 1998 to require all federal agencies make their electronic and information technology (IT) accessible to people with disabilities. It was enacted to eliminate any barriers to IT for the disabled, give them new opportunities, and promote the development of technology to achieve these goals.
The law applies to all federal agencies when they develop, procure, maintain, and use any electronics or IT. These agencies MUST give employees and members of the public with disabilities equal access comparable to what is given to others. This also applies to private companies whose websites are receiving federal funds or under contract with a federal agency.
Under Section 508, federal agencies can be in legal compliance even if they are not meeting technical standards. There are exceptions for reasons of national security (ex. NSA). If accommodations are considered an undue hardship to an agency or department, then they need to provide an alternative means to reach those with disabilities.
How do the regulations with the 1990 ADA or Americans With Disabilities Act apply to websites?
The ADA prohibits discrimination against those with disabilities to ensure equal rights and opportunities for those with and without disabilities. This covers all sectors as well as public and private entities. The law was applied to all electronic and information technology, including websites, in 2010 by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) as the ADA Standards for Accessible Design.
Businesses that fall under a Title I or Title III ADA designation are required to develop an accessible website. Title I businesses have at least 15 full-time employees and operate 20 or more weeks per year. Title III covers places of public accommodation. These are businesses open to the public and can include schools, places of recreation, offices, hotels, banks, and public transportation. E-commerce websites and public mobile applications can fall under Title III. If you are unclear if your business falls under Title I or Title III, consult a lawyer for legal advice.
You may be wondering about Title II under the ADA. This is where Section 508 applies to federal agencies and state/local government.
While the ADA did not offer specific guidelines for website compliance, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are a reference for understanding digital accessibility. The P.O.U.R. Principles previously described fall under the WCAG 2.1 guidelines and next week, we will get more specific as to what is necessary for creating an accessible website.
What is the liability for failing to have an ADA-compliant website?
Without an ADA-compliant website a business will be open to lawsuits. In addition to the costs of a lawsuit, the business will be forced to become compliant which is costly as well.
Businesses that aren't compliant are also deliberately excluding a certain segment of the population from accessing their content. As we saw previously, 20% of the world's population has some sort of disability that impairs their use of a computer in some way. This is a large number of people to be deliberately excluding from your business and could represent a significant cost in terms of missed sales opportunities.
ADA-compliant websites are automatically search engine optimized (SEO) so by being compliant, you may notice better ranking of your website by search engines.
Ultimately, designing your website with ADA compliance in mind is good business. It is also the right thing to do to design your site for inclusion of all.
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