2 May 2022
See how JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® can help you.
Click here for the latest articles on ADA Compliance and Defense.
The Department of Justice recently released a set of guidelines reconfirming that the Americans with Disabilities Act applies to website accessibility. In order to avoid legal action, it is crucial for hotel owners to understand what they can do to ensure compliance with ADA regulations.
Stuart Tubis of JMBM’s ADA Compliance & Defense Group outlines the new guidance below.
DOJ Issues Guidance On Website Accessibility
by
Stuart Tubis, JMBM’s ADA Compliance & Defense Group
Recently on March 18, 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a “Web Accessibility Guidance” statement for state and local governments and public accommodations (including businesses) under Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
A copy of the Guidance document can be found here.
In the Guidance, the DOJ clarifies once again that the ADA applies to websites: “the Department’s longstanding interpretation of the general nondiscrimination and effective communication provisions applies to web accessibility.”
The Guidance also provides some examples of website accessibility barriers, including poor color contrast, lack of text alternatives for images, lack of labels for forms, and mouse-only navigation design.
Many in the business community have called upon the DOJ to promulgate official regulations describing exactly what needs to be done to make a website accessible. To date, this has not been done. The DOJ clarified its position by stating that “The Department of Justice does not have a regulation setting out detailed standards, but the Department’s longstanding interpretation of the general nondiscrimination and effective communication provisions applies to web accessibility.”
The DOJ also referenced the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and the Section 508 Standards as resources for making websites accessible.
Finally, the DOJ provided sample ADA legal actions it has pursued against public and private entities regarding website accessibility as a mechanism of enforcement.
The recent Guidance seems to be a signal that the DOJ is renewing its focus on website accessibility, although official regulations are likely still many years away.
Stuart Tubis is a lawyer at Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP and a member of JMBM’s ADA Compliance & Defense Group. Stu counsels businesses on the full spectrum of ADA compliance issues and represents their interests in civil litigation and Department of Justice investigations. He has a background in technology, which helps in resolving the growing area of website accessibility issues. Contact Stuart Tubis at 415.984.9622 or STubis@jmbm.com.
This is Jim Butler, author of www.HotelLawBlog.com and founding partner of JMBM and JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group®. We provide business and legal advice to hotel owners, developers, independent operators and investors. This advice covers critical hotel issues such as hotel purchase, sale, development, financing, franchise, management, ADA, and IP matters. We also have compelling experience in hotel litigation, union avoidance and union negotiations, and cybersecurity & data privacy.
JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® has helped clients around the world with more than 4,500 hospitality properties worth more than $112 billion. Contact me at +1-310-201-3526 or jbutler@jmbm.com to discuss how we can help.