Companies Are Being Sued For Not Being ADA Compliant

Web accessibility laws and litigation continues to grow through 2020 and now into 2021. Not only that but we also continue to see an increase in lawsuits that are filed against companies who are not being ADA compliant. This is something we have seen across the US, with both California and New York both seeing a surge in the number of cases making it to court. With companies now being sued, it has never been of more importance to ensure that you are following the guidelines. There are some tools that can help you performing automated ADA compliance website checks, which can make the process much easier and pick up if any issues arise, with the ever changing landscape of website accessibility.
 
One thing that has been clear is that digital accessibility claims appear to be being settled privately, with many of the numbers unknown. This provides a much easier process for businesses, instead of going to court, which could result in a bad image for the brand. At present, most of the cases that are reaching U.S federal court and overwhelmingly ADA Title III claims. With this becoming more and more common, it further shows the importance for businesses to follow the guidelines on being ADA compliant.

Web Accessibility Lawsuits in the U.S

2019 showed record numbers when it came to the total number of ADA Title III lawsuits and 2020 nearly matched these numbers, despite COVID-19 taking place. This is with 10,982 suits filed, in comparison to the record number of 11,053 the previous year. That continued surge further shows that this is becoming more and more important, with businesses needing to ensure they are enabling equal website accessibility to all, as they would do with people accessing offices and buildings in person for example. We have also now seen a number of high-profile individuals and businesses being sued. Beyonce for example was sued due to her website violating the Americans with Disabilities Act and Domino’s Pizza was another. The latter was due to a man who is blind being unable to use the website or mobile app to order food, due to neither being accessible. This further shows the complications that are arising and that however powerful, these businesses will now not be getting away with it.

What to expect moving forward?

The above shows just a small number of the high profile cases that have taken place within the last few years and there is no doubting that there will be many more to follow. With the Biden administration now in control, it is predicted that they will look to resume much more work when it comes to digital accessibility activity. This is incredibly important and positive news for those with disabilities, who have been neglected in the past, as we have seen the growth of technology over the last decade. The new WCAG standards are also set to be released later this year, so we can expect for ever more coverage to be put on this, so businesses will need to ensure they are compliant at all times.