If you’ve been exploring making your organization more accessible through Digital Accessibility, you’ve likely come across information about lawsuits and litigation for non compliance. Over the past few years there have been some notable cases involving major organizations. A handful of the noteworthy Digital Accessibility lawsuits include:
- Robles v. Dominos
- National Federation of the Blind, et al. v. Target Corporation
- National Federation of the Blind and HRB Digital LLC v. H & R Block
- Dudley v. Miami University
But these are all major organizations, is there really a risk for smaller organizations that don’t comply with Digital Accessibility guidelines? Unfortunately it appears so. According to the Wall Street Journal “Companies with revenue below $50 million were the targets of two-thirds of lawsuits between Jan. 1 and June 21 (2021).” Although $50 million might seem like a benchmark for a large business, Digital Accessibility legislation isn’t exclusive to larger businesses. Take the case of the Whisper Lounger in Los Angeles. The Whisper Lounge was sued in 2018 by a woman who is blind because she was unable to read the menu or make a reservation online and is now permanently closed.
So what’s at stake if you find your organization engaged in litigation for non-compliance? Obviously there are costs associated with court fees, attorney fees and settlements. But there are potential fines as well. Fines could be up to $55,000 for the first violation and $110,000 for each subsequent violation. Additionally, organizations that receive Federal funding could have those funds revoked for being in non-compliance. It’s not a risk you want to take.
Luckily there are options to help your organization support it’s digital accessibility goals and help achieve compliance. A great place to start is a Digital Accessibility tool for your website such as AllAccessible. AllAccessible is the world’s most comprehensive web accessibility tool, and is compatible with all content management systems and many enterprise platforms.