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<b>Subject:</b> [ABA-3D] Monster.com agreement w/NFB announced<br>
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<b>FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
<br><br>
<div align="center"><a href="http://MONSTER.COM">MONSTER.COM</a> FIRST IN
INDUSTRY TO MAKE WEBSITE ACCESSIBLE FOR BLIND USERS <br><br>
</b><i>Effort a Result of Agreement Between Monster Worldwide and the
Attorney General’s Office and National Federation of the Blind; First Job
Search Website to Be Fully Accessible<br><br>
</i></div>
<b> <br><br>
BOSTON –</b> The popular job search website
<a href="http://Monster.com">Monster.com</a> will be the first job search
and recruitment website in the industry to provide job seekers who are
blind with full and equal access to all of its products and services
including mobile applications, Attorney General Martha Coakley, Monster
Worldwide, Inc. and the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) announced
today.<br><br>
<br><br>
The announcement is the result of an agreement with the AG’s Office and
the NFB and provides meaningful benefit to individuals nationwide who are
blind or visually impaired, including more than 35,000 residents in
Massachusetts. As part of the agreement, Monster will contribute $50,000
to the Commonwealth that will be used to fund the Massachusetts
Commission for the Blind’s (MCB) job internship program. Monster will
also make a $50,000 contribution to the NFB and serve as the title
sponsor of the NFB’s annual convention in 2013. <br><br>
<br><br>
“Unemployment and underemployment in the blind community are significant
problems and given the extent to which computers and the Internet have
become integral to our daily lives, it is essential that websites are
accessible to everyone,” AG Coakley said. “We are pleased to have worked
with the NFB and Monster to make the company’s valuable products and
services accessible and to provide better employment opportunities to job
seekers who are blind, visually impaired or have other print disabilities
such as dyslexia. We are hopeful that with the ability to access
written information in an audible text to speech format, these users will
now have access to jobs, and better jobs, than ever before. We want
technology to improve people’s lives, not create obstacles or
barriers.” <br><br>
<br><br>
“Over the past year, a team at Monster has been working closely with
teams from the National Federation of the Blind and the Massachusetts
Attorney General’s Office to enhance our
<a href="http://Monster.com">Monster.com</a> website in a way that will
provide more opportunities for blind job seekers to find jobs,” said Mark
Conway, Chief Information Officer, Monster Worldwide. “Although portions
of our site were already accessible, we all agreed we could do more.
Based on the work of these teams, the
<a href="http://Monster.com">Monster.com</a> site will be enhanced to
make its website and mobile applications accessible to blind job seekers.
This has been an enormous undertaking and is an exciting accomplishment
for which we can all be proud.”<br><br>
<br><br>
“The National Federation of the Blind works for full and equal access by
blind Americans to all forms of digital information,” said Dr. Marc
Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind. “Access to
digital information and applications is critical to success in the
twenty-first century in all areas of life, including searching and
applying for career opportunities. We are therefore pleased that Monster
is making this commitment to full and equal access to its website and
mobile applications. We also thank the Attorney General of Massachusetts
for being such a strong partner and advocate for accessibility.”<br><br>
<br><br>
“We are excited to partner with Monster and the National Federation of
the Blind to provide access to job opportunities available to individuals
who are blind,” said Commissioner Janet LaBreck of the Massachusetts
Commission for the Blind. “The MCB internship program enables individuals
the opportunity to access early work experience. Utilizing
accessible technology available on Monster’s website to conduct a job
search ensures that individuals who are blind can independently and
successfully perform the same tasks as other job seeking candidates.”
<br><br>
<br><br>
To make its website and mobile applications accessible to job seekers who
are blind, Monster is making them compatible with innovative
technology called screen access software that renders on-screen
information into Braille or speech so that blind individuals can use
keyboard commands to access the same information as sighted users.
<br><br>
<br><br>
In accordance with the agreement, Monster is in the process of making its
desktop and mobile websites fully and equally accessible and will have
its mobile applications accessible within two years. Monster has also
ensured the templates employers use to post job advertisements on its
site will be fully and equally accessible within six months. <br><br>
<br><br>
Monster will also train its customer service representatives to assist
users who are blind and will establish a standing committee to oversee
implementation of the agreement and other issues related to accessibility
in the future. In addition, Monster has agreed to work with the NFB to
encourage higher education programs to incorporate accessible design and
assistive technology in to their core curricula. <br><br>
<br><br>
The
agreement is the most recent result of collaboration between AG Coakley’s
Office and the NFB. Past collaborations have included making Apple’s
iTunes services and Cardtronics ATMs fully and equally accessible to the
blind.<br><br>
<br><br>
State
and federal laws not only prohibit disparate treatment of individuals
with disabilities in employment and housing, but also require that all
businesses operating places of public accommodation provide people with
disabilities with full and equal enjoyment of their goods, services, and
facilities.<br><br>
<br><br>
<a href="http://Monster.com">Monster.com</a> is the worldwide leader in
connecting people to jobs and provides a full array of job seeking,
career management, recruitment and talent management products and
services in more than 40 countries.<br><br>
<br><br>
This matter was handled by Assistant Attorney General Genevieve C. Nadeau
and Paralegal Bethany Brown of Attorney General Coakley’s Civil Rights
Division, and Assistant Attorney General Maura Healey, Chief of Attorney
General Coakley’s Public Protection and Advocacy Bureau.
<br><br>
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