[Mi-abs] National Federation of the Blind and Blind Business Owner File Complaint with Small Business Administration

[Michelle Medina]

I think this is a great thing, glad to see it here!

Slightly off topic, but similar in nature, how come noone has
complained about Yahoo! insisting that even after you sign up & have
an account with them, you still either have to call them or have
someone there to enter a verification code to join new groups? (each
new group you want to join, you have to enter a new code).
Secondly, how come noone has complained about captias on the web
period? They make accessing various websites impossible unless a blind
person can find a sighted person to help them out. Or, am I wrong &
has this already been talked about before?
Michelle

On 7/23/09, Freeh, Jessica <JFreeh at nfb.org> wrote:
>
>
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>
>
>
> CONTACT:
>
> Chris Danielsen
>
> Director of Public Relations
>
> National Federation of the Blind
>
> (410) 659-9314, extension 2330
>
> (410) 262-1281 (Cell)
>
> cdanielsen at nfb.org
>
>
>
> National Federation of the Blind and Blind Business Owner
> File Complaint with Small Business Administration
>
>
>
>
>
> SBA's Inaccessible Web Site Discriminates Against the Blind
>
>
>
> Baltimore, Maryland (July 22, 2009): The National Federation of the
> Blind, the nation's oldest and largest organization of blind people
> and the leading advocate for equal access by the blind to information
> technology, and Virgil Stinnett, a blind business owner from
> Honolulu, Hawaii, filed an administrative complaint today with the
> Small Business Administration (SBA).  The complaint asserts that the
> SBA's Web site violates Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act because
> it is inaccessible to blind people who use text-to-speech screen
> access technology or Braille displays to access information on the
> Internet.  Because of the inaccessibility of the SBA Web site, blind
> people cannot fill out forms on the site or take online courses
> offered by the SBA.  Mr. Stinnett was unable to apply for
> certification under Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act because of
> the inaccessibility of the Web site.  Section 8(a) certification
> would provide Mr. Stinnett's business with access to federal and
> private procurement markets.
>
>
>
> Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind,
> said: "Blind Americans have the same dreams, the same goals, and the
> same entrepreneurial spirit as all other Americans.  If we are to
> have equal access to the tools and techniques needed to be effective
> business owners and to compete on terms of equality with our sighted
> peers, we must have equal access to the resources offered on the SBA
> Web site and other government sites.  The National Federation of the
> Blind demands equality for blind business owners and will tolerate
> nothing less."
>
>
>
> Virgil Stinnett, owner of Good News HI, a business providing military
> dining services, said: "As a blind entrepreneur, access to the SBA
> Web site is critical in order for me to use its programs and services
> and expand my business.  The fact that I could not access the Web
> site has cost me time and resources that I would not have needed to
> expend if I had been able to use the site like everyone else.  I hope
> the action we are taking today will prompt the SBA to take immediate
> steps so that all Americans, blind and sighted, have equal access to
> the programs, training, and resources that it provides."
>
>
>
> Complainants are represented by attorneys Daniel F. Goldstein and
> Allison L. Harper of Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP, <?xml:namespace
> prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />120
> E. Baltimore Street, Suite 1700, Baltimore, MD 21202, (410) 962-1030,
> fax: (410) 385-0869, <mailto:dfg at browngold.com>dfg at browngold.com,
> <mailto:ah at browngold.com>ah at browngold.com,
> <http://www.browngold.com/>www.browngold.com.
>
>
>
>
>
> ###
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