[Nfb-web] : law firms use blind web testers as litigants, article below

[Peter Donahue]

Good morning everyone,

 

                Just wanted to pass this on in case someone here has been
recruited to be a part of this scam. This is just as bad as what sheltered
workshops have done to their blind workers for years. I know several blind
folks that were recruited to be testers for these law firms. Upon knowing
the real nature of this scheme they stopped being pawns for these outfits.
Exploitation of the blind in all forms needs to be stopped! All the best.

 

Peter Donahue

 

 

 

From: Robert Branco [mailto:branco182 at verizon.net] 
Sent: Wednesday, May 22, 2019 8:45 AM
To: 'Robert Branco'
Subject: law firms use blind web testers as litigants, article below

 

Has your business been contacted by a law firm stating that they have a
Blind litigant who has filed a lawsuit against your company because your
website

is not accessible, and therefore, not compliant with the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA)? This hits you out of the blue, and you don't quite
know

what to do. You may have not even known about compliance with the ADA, and
your webmaster may not have either. With a lawsuit looming, you may spend a

lot of money to fix it, but it still may not be right so you're taken to
court, on the basis of the blind litigant the law firm has told you about.
STOP!

READ THIS! I've been part of a group of Blind folks who have been debating
the ethics of this kind of trial by fire, and its effect on the Blind
community.

Several of the Blind people in the group have been approached by these law
groups. There are two primary law offices that are perpetuating these kinds

of lawsuits. Here's how it works: They find a Blind person who is willing to
give their signature to an agreement they can't see. They are promised that

they will be paid if the case actually goes to court. What happens,
according to the people in the group, is that the blind person goes through
the website

and notes accessibility issues. Then, the law firm contacts the company and
tells them that this Blind person is the litigant. Here's where it gets very

mirky to say the least. If the case goes to court, and the company is found
guilty of not having a website which complies with the ADA, they face steep

fines...into the 10s of thousands of dollars, maybe even more. Guess what?
The Blind person gets paid $1,000...the rest goes to the law firm, thus
using

the Blind person as a pawn to make hundreds of thousands of dollars. This is
just ethically depraved to say the least! It's difficult enough for Blind

people to get jobs, and now this off-putting stunt in the name of
accessibility just reinforces the mistrust and misunderstanding of the Blind
community.

Our nation's largest Blind organization, the National Federation of the
Blind is also backing off this scheme for its members. Several months ago, a
South

Florida city reached out to our Vision World Foundation for help with their
website because they said they had all sorts of these lawsuits popping up,

and they spent a lot of money trying to conform to the ADA. I told them we
could do it, and we could work out a business deal to fix it for them. They

were relieved, and said they would be happy to do it that way, that they
appreciated the upfront way that we did business instead of the carnivorous
attitudes

of the law firms. I explained that our people would be paid fairly, unlike
that of the aforementioned firms. We also create an air of understanding,
not

of defiance or aggitation. Most companies as well as individuals gladly sit
down, and try to understand website accessibility, and the Blindness
community

in general. So, my point is this...if one of these firms try to scare you
with their lawsuits that use Blind people as pawns to increase their own
bank

accounts, reach out to us or some other organization which will give a fair
market price. Soon, these law firms will be ran out of business because of

their unethical methods, and the use of Blind people. Don't let them rob you
BLIND! Ren'ee Rentmeester, Creator/Executive Producer "The Cooking Without

Looking" TV Show Founder/President, Vision World Foundation 305.200.9104

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Renee Rentmeester

is with 

Bob Branco

.

 

Has your business been contacted by a law firm stating that they have a
Blind litigant who has filed a lawsuit against your company because your
website

is not accessible, and therefore, not compliant with the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA)?

 

This hits you out of the blue, and you don't quite know what to do. You may
have not even known about compliance with the ADA, and your webmaster may
not

have either. With a lawsuit looming, you may spend a lot of money to fix it,
but it still may not be right so you're taken to court, on the basis of the

blind litigant the law firm has told you about.

 

STOP! READ THIS!

 

I've been part of a group of Blind folks who have been debating the ethics
of this kind of trial by fire, and its effect on the Blind community.

 

Several of the Blind people in the group have been approached by these law
groups. There are two primary law offices that are perpetuating these kinds

of lawsuits.

 

Here's how it works: They find a Blind person who is willing to give their
signature to an agreement they can't see. They are promised that they will
be

paid if the case actually goes to court.

 

What happens, according to the people in the group, is that the blind person
goes through the website and notes accessibility issues. Then, the law firm

contacts the company and tells them that this Blind person is the litigant.

 

Here's where it gets very mirky to say the least. If the case goes to court,
and the company is found guilty of not having a website which complies with

the ADA, they face steep fines...into the 10s of thousands of dollars, maybe
even more.

 

Guess what? The Blind person gets paid $1,000...the rest goes to the law
firm, thus using the Blind person as a pawn to make hundreds of thousands of
dollars.

This is just ethically depraved to say the least!

 

It's difficult enough for Blind people to get jobs, and now this off-putting
stunt in the name of accessibility just reinforces the mistrust and
misunderstanding

of the Blind community.

 

Our nation's largest Blind organization, the National Federation of the
Blind is also backing off this scheme for its members.

 

Several months ago, a South Florida city reached out to our Vision World
Foundation for help with their website because they said they had all sorts
of

these lawsuits popping up, and they spent a lot of money trying to conform
to the ADA. I told them we could do it, and we could work out a business
deal

to fix it for them. They were relieved, and said they would be happy to do
it that way, that they appreciated the upfront way that we did business
instead

of the carnivorous attitudes of the law firms. I explained that our people
would be paid fairly, unlike that of the aforementioned firms.

 

We also create an air of understanding, not of defiance or aggitation. Most
companies as well as individuals gladly sit down, and try to understand
website

accessibility, and the Blindness community in general.

 

So, my point is this...if one of these firms try to scare you with their
lawsuits that use Blind people as pawns to increase their own bank accounts,
reach

out to us or some other organization which will give a fair market price.
Soon, these law firms will be ran out of business because of their unethical

methods, and the use of Blind people.

 

Don't let them rob you BLIND!

 

Ren'ee Rentmeester, Creator/Executive Producer "The Cooking Without Looking"
TV Show

 

Founder/President, Vision World Foundation

 

305.200.9104

 

Yesterday at 7:56 AM

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Stephen Andrew Théberge

I have recently pulled out of the schemes.

I think that is blood money.

is not worth ruining my reputation or a professional ethics to serve these
sharks.

I reviewed the website and found no issues with it, needless to say, they
drop me like a hot potato.

That's fine, because I did not want to continue down this path.

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Yesterday at 11:28 AM

Stephen Andrew Thé... replied · 4 replies

 

Stephen Andrew Théberge

furthermore, they target website with an automated system that is supposed
to detect issues.

Sometimes it is accurate, sometimes it is not.

They found issues with the website with this automated software, I did not.

They had a lot of pressure to find these issues so they could bring the case
to court.

I guess you'll have to find some other sucker.