[Capchapohio] The Home Appliance Accessibility Act

[Beth Debus]

The Home Appliance Accessibility Act

Digital technology has improved the ease and efficiency of the way 
we live our lives­but now blind people can no longer operate
most fundamental home appliances.

Home appliance manufacturers are constantly incorporating advanced
technology into their products. Most new stoves, dishwashers, washing machines, and other home
appliances require interaction with digital displays, flat panels, touch
screens, and other user interfaces that are inaccessible to people who are
blind or have low vision. Knobs, buttons, and other tactile methods of use are
disappearing. 

Technology exists to make home appliances accessible to blind people.Manufacturers often claim nonvisual access cannot be achieved, but
text-to-speech technology is inexpensive and more prevalent than it has ever
been­Apple has incorporated VoiceOver (a text-to-speech function) into its
touch-screen products, making the iPhone, iPod, and iPad fully accessible to
blind people right out of the box. All ATMs manufactured in the United States
are accessible, and every polling place provides a nonvisually accessible
voting machine. Frequently, a simple audio output or vibrotactile feature can
make a product fully accessible at minimal cost, as well as more dynamic and
appealing for all users. 

Unfortunately most manufacturers refuse to incorporate nonvisual access
technology in their products. Companies claim that adding accessibility
features is too expensive, but no public data demonstrate that claim. Furthermore,
it is proven to be more cost effective to include accessibility features during
the design phase rather than after, but manufacturers generally do not invest
in this approach. Simply put, if companies include access technology in the
design of home appliances, they will sell more products. 

No laws exist to require companies to make home appliances accessible.Although the Americans with Disabilities Act and many other laws mandate
physical accessibility for people with disabilities (e.g., wheelchair ramps,
Braille in public buildings), no laws protect blind consumers’ right to access
to fundamental home appliances. This trend of inaccessibility will continue to
grow as technology becomes more advanced and accessibility solutions are
ignored. 


The Home Appliance Accessibility Act: 

Calls on the Access Board to conduct a study. The Access Board (a small
government agency fully equipped with the resources to review the current
marketplace, consult with stakeholders, and commission research on issues of
access) will issue a report with findings and recommendations for a minimum
nonvisual access standard for home appliances and at-home medical equipment. 

Establishes a minimum nonvisual access standard for home appliances. Six
months after the Access Board publishes the above-mentioned report, the Board
will begin a rulemaking period, not to exceed 36 months, to establish a minimum
nonvisual access standard for home appliances. The final standard will go into
effect three years after the rule is finalized. 

Gives the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) authority to enforce the standard.
Having already been given consumer protection enforcement powers by
Congress, the FTC will handle violations, conduct investigations, and levy
civil penalties against manufacturers who fail to comply with the standard. 

Provides flexibility to manufacturers. The legislation does not mandate
a single, one-size-fits-all solution for all products. Additionally,
manufacturers who can demonstrate that meeting a minimum nonvisual access
standard creates an undue burden and companies with gross annual sales less
than $250,000 are exempt from the law. 

END THE DIGITAL DIVIDE

Sponsor the Home Appliance Accessibility Act


For more information
contact:
Lauren McLarney,
Government Programs Specialist
National Federation of the Blind
Phone: (410) 659-9314, Extension 2207 E-mail: lmclarney at nfb.org
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