[Blindtlk] Article: Retail websites may face ADA compliance issues: accessibility in the virtual sales world

[Michelle Medina]

They should absolutely have to comply with ADA rules, brick and mortar or not.
To my way of thinking, discrimination is discrimination online or off.
I've encountered a few websites that won't work for me and I don't use
them anymore.

On 8/11/11, Steven Johnson <blinddog3 at charter.net> wrote:
> The following article is forwarded to you by the DBTAC-Great Lakes ADA
> Center (www.adagreatlakes.org) for your information:
>
> .         August 9, 2011
>
> .          <http://www.lexology.com/firms/detail.aspx?f=16845> Baker
> Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC (Published on Lexology.com)
>
> .
>
> .         Retail websites may face ADA compliance issues: accessibility in
> the virtual sales world
>
> .         By:  <http://www.lexology.com/16845/author/Shameak_B_Belvitt/>
> Shameak B. Belvitt
>
> New legal developments suggest that online sellers may need to do a quick
> web redesign. Recent legal decisions and a new interest from Congress and
> the Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding Title III of the Americans with
> Disabilities Act (ADA) may mean that all retailers with an online presence
> will need to provide new website accommodations that address the common
> disabilities of retail users.
>
> The ADA was enacted to eliminate discrimination against individuals with
> disabilities. Title III of the ADA requires that "public accommodations"
> provide the same goods and services to individuals with disabilities as
> provided to individuals without disabilities. Recently, the definition of
> "public accommodations" seems to be expanding to include not only physical
> facilities but also webbased facilities made available to the general public
> by retailers.
>
> The ADA was enacted in 1990, prior to the Internet's pervasive presence and
> the resulting e-commerce industry. Thus, the language of the ADA does not
> specifically address the Internet or online retailers. U.S. federal courts
> have split over whether the definition of public accommodation in the ADA is
> limited to actual physical structures or whether the definition includes
> digital infra-structure, such as retail websites. Some federal courts have
> found that the definition of public accommodation was not limited to an
> actual physical structure (usually reasoning that Title III of the ADA does
> not mention physical boundaries or physical entry; therefore, virtual public
> accommodations could be included within the statute's reach). In these
> cases, the courts have ruled that the failure to apply the ADA to online
> sales sites would effectively mean that businesses could discriminate
> against disabled individuals in the design and display of their online
> offerings. In contrast, other federal courts have held that the definition
> of public accommodation was limited to an actual physical structure
> (reasoning that the ADA does not include any provision with respect to
> online sales or web-based accommodations and therefore it is up to Congress,
> and not the courts, to extend the application of the statute beyond the
> physical structures explicitly referenced in the statute).
>
> Lower court opinions seem to provide some middle ground between these two
> distinct and opposite applications of the ADA to virtual retail facilities.
> In one California federal district court, the ruling as to the applicability
> of the ADA seemed to focus on whether a retail website prevents the disabled
> person from fully enjoying all of the goods and services offered inside of
> the physical retail store. Basically, the court ruled that there must be a
> connection or nexus between the physical and virtual retail space. This
> nexus means that brick and mortar stores that also offer the convenience of
> online shopping would have to ensure that their websites are fully
> accessible to disabled individuals and comply with the ADA. For example,
> brick and mortar stores may need to ensure that their websites provide color
> contrasts or larger text to make objects easier to view, text alternatives
> for pictures or predictability in website organization.
>
> The current question that remains unresolved on the federal level is whether
> online retailers that do not have public brick and mortar stores must also
> comply with the ADA.
>
> While the U.S. Supreme Court has yet to address this issue (and resolve the
> conflict across the federal circuits), a new report seems to indicate
> Congressional interest is moving in the direction of application of the ADA
> to retail websites (regardless of whether there is a physical sales
> location). Similarly, recent statements by the DOJ seem to indicate that
> they will look to retailers, including online-only retailers, to modify
> their websites to be compliant with Title III of the ADA. Practically, it
> may be a matter of whether online retailers are proactive in anticipation of
> a consistent federal approach to the application of the ADA to retail
> websites or take the risk/expense of incurring a rapid web-development
> project to comply in response to changes to the statute or in the
> enforcement environment.
>
>
>
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-- 
"Coz what I get. . . It aint half of what I give!
And that don't suit me anyway!
Coz what I get. . . . It aint half of what I give!
And that don't suit me anyway!
Give it back, or I'll take it!
Give it back, or I'll take it!"
Middle Class Rut - "Busy Bein' Born"