The Role of Law in the Quest for an Accessible, Inclusive

Web

Lainey Feingold (LF@LFLegal.com) (@LFLegal)

Linda M. Dardarian (Ldar@gdblegal.com)

CSUN 2012

San Diego, California USA

PRESENTATION OVERVIEW

WHAT laws require the web to be accessible?

HOW are advocates using those laws?

What are the results of those advocacy efforts?

How can you be your own advocate?

WEB ACCESS IS A CIVIL RIGHT

Right to: InformationServicesParticipation

Right to be

free from discrimination

EducationTravelCommunity

WHAT LAWS REQUIRE WEBSITE ACCESS?

Americans With Disabilities Act

State Laws

Section 508

Section 504

21st Century CVAA

Air Carriers Access Act

International

Web Guidelines

=

More than a Code

HOW CAN WE USE THE LAW?

LEGAL STRATEGIES FOR WEB INCLUSION

Structured Negotiations

Lawsuits

State Attorney General Investigations

Federal Administrative Complaints

LAW + ADVOCACY = ACCESS

Bank of America Ticket Master CVS Major League Baseball American Cancer Society Staples Amazon TravelocityPenn State

ChaseTarget Rite Aid Credit Reports LSAC HSBC Price Line Ramada eBay

LITIGATION EFFORTS PENDING

CNN Captioning Netflix Captioning Disney JetBlue Airways

SETTLEMENT TERMS

Accessibility Standard

3rd party contentTerm of AgreementPublicity

Training Web Development Customer Service

Monitoring Enforcement

MONEY IS PART OF THE LANGUAGE OF THE LAW

Attorney’s fees and expert costs Payments to individuals/organizations Damages in class actions Money means law is part of the business case

Punch in the Stomach or

Outstretched Hand?

Carrot or Stick?

CHOOSING A STRATEGY: FACTORS TO CONSIDER

Who decides outcome and how?

Cost RisksWho has a voice at the table?

MoneyPrecedentFlexibility RelationshipsExperts

LAW WITHOUT LAWYERS

Advocacy Efforts BEFORE you Call a Lawyer

Complaints to Website Owners

On-line contact pages

Toll-free phone numbers

Facebook

Twitter

Document Document Document

Keep track of communications

Give deadlines

Follow-up

Use the Language of the Law

» Everyone Deserves the Right to Travel ….

On the Information Highway

LEARN MORE

HTTP://LFLEGAL.COM

HTTP://GDBLEGAL.COM

1-800-822-5000