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

Wed May 22 14:23:40 UTC 2019

How does this compare to your pull yourselves up by the bootstrap 
pyramid schemes you generally try to foist on blind people?

On 5/22/2019 10:18 AM, Peter Donahue via NFB-Web wrote:
> 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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>
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>
>   
>
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>
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>
> main region
>
> 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
>
> Public
>
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>
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>
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>
> 6
>
>   
>
> 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.
>
> 1 reaction, including Love
>
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>
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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.
>
>   
>
>   
>
>   
>
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