The ADA Book

Kris Rivenburgh explains the difference between WCAG 2.2 vs. 2.1 and 2.0 and then provides a quick overview of the seven new success criteria  found in WCAG 2.2 AA. WCAG 2.2 AA contains 57 success criteria.  WCAG 2.1 AA contains 50  success criteria.  WCAG 2.0 AA contains 38 success criteria.  Each  subsequent version is backwards compatible which means no previous &n...

Kris Rivenburgh discusses notable 2023 updates to the ADA website  compliance legal landscape.  A continuing decline in litigation (demand letters, complaints / lawsuits), DOJ regulation on website accessibility, and WCAG 2.2 release will all shape 2023. Kris will also release his ADA Compliance Course which will dramatically  reduce the cost of website accessibility while lowering...

Kris Rivenburgh explains why Fiverr is a stew of bad website accessibility and ADA compliance gigs.  Most outright admit they will install a toolbar / plugin as part of the service. What's problematic is buyers don't know whether they're actually receiving any value from  the services.  Accessibility services on Fiverr include VPATs, PDF and Word document  accessibility, Sectio...

Kris Rivenburgh covers the most important considerations before you choose a service provider for website accessibility in 2023. The keys to buying services are: avoid overlays / widgets you need a manual audit to identify issues you need manual remediation to fix issues concentrate on 2.0 AA and then 2.1 AA conformance before 2.2 AA do not pay for automated scans or "checkers" accessibility train...

Kris Rivenburgh discusses the multiple layers to ADA compliance for  websites in 2023.  For the majority of private entities, the practical answer is, yes, the ADA applies, and you should make your website  accessible despite looming technical exceptions (one being there is no law or regulation that explicitly mandates website accessibility). Some layers to consider:   The ADA...

Kris Rivenburgh explains why "WCAG Compliance" is the wrong terminology. Always use conformance when referring to WCAG because WCAG is a set of voluntary standards and not the law. Use compliance when referring to mandatory requirements from a governing body (e.g., the law or regulations).   Examples: ADA compliance Section 508 compliance WCAG 2.1 AA conformance WCAG 2.0 AA conformant Watch K...

Kris Rivenburgh explains why investor relations or IR pages and not the main websites are being sued over accessibility by plaintiffs' law firms  in "ADA website" litigation. This is because of standing. Plaintiffs' name investor relations pages because these are available and open to the public and invite interest from everyone whereas the offering from the business side of the website may p...

Kris discusses the monumental California Court of Appeals decision in the Martinez v. Cot’n Wash, Inc. case.  The result is plaintiffs can no longer successfully sue online-only businesses in California state and federal court. This is a big set back for serial plaintiffs' law firms who file website accessibility complaints in California state and federal court like Pacific Trial Attorneys an...

AccessiBe aggressively displays logos of corporate giants - some of the  largest companies in the world, but their social proof is frequently deceptive. In this instance, I screenrecord how AccessiBe makes use of  State Farm's logo twice on their homepage to indicate use by State Farm when the linked page is a subdomain of CESpecialties.com, a company that makes custom merchandise and no...

Kris Rivenburgh explains that Title III the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to small businesses.  Title I can as well, if the small business employees 15 or more employees. In terms of "ADA website compliance", this can mean that, litigation may be initiated against a small business.  How, when, and if the ADA applies to online-only businesses depends on the state or federa...

Kris Rivenburgh answers a reader email asking for objective criteria to help choose a provider for website accessibility audit services and a certificate of conformance (certification of accessibility to demonstrate ADA compliance). Kris further addresses evaluating digital accessibility providers in this video:   https://youtu.be/KHRKWVST9lo Kris designed the ADA Compliance Course (ACC) as i...

Kris Rivenburgh explains that Title III of the ADA doesn't have a 15 or more employees exception. Title I of the ADA applies to employers of 15 or more employees, but the titles in the Americans with Disabilities Act are standalone titles. Because Google only showed a snippet of Title I for many popular search results, many people - including law firms - had this information wrong on their website...

Kris Rivenburgh explains that, in 2023, the most likely negative outcome for websites with accessibility issues is receiving a demand letter from a plaintiff's law firm or having a complaint filed in court. Kris expects that the DOJ will publish regulations in 2024 (for private entities under Title III of the ADA) that establish a legal precedent for what is required, what standards are used, and...

Kris Rivenburgh explains that while the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) does require accessibility / WCAG 2.1 AA conformance, remediation of your entire website is not technically required.  Rather, the CCPA is focused on the ability to access privacy information and submit a request to delete personal information and/or opt out of the sale of your personal information. Resou...

Kris Rivenburgh discusses the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) and website accessibility and threads in the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for context.  NYCHRL is a city civil rights law that prohibits discrimination broadly amongst protected classes and one of those classes is disability.  The language used to protect a...

Kris Rivenburgh explains how the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL) is being applied to allegedly inaccessible websites to form a cause of action. The NYSHRL is a state civil law that prohibits  discrimination broadly amongst protected classes and one of those classes is disability.  The language used to protect access is strikingly similar to that of the Americans with Disabi...

Kris Rivenburgh explains compliance with Section 508 as it relates to ICT and, specifically, websites.  Private vendors attempting to win contracts need to make their ICT products and services accessible - this almost always includes submitting a VPAT / ACR as part of the procurement process. The standard for accessibility is WCAG 2.0 AA.  Depending on the type of technology, there are e...

Kris Rivenburgh explains the difference between an accessibility statement and an accessibility policy and the core components and considerations for each document. An accessibility statement is a public-facing document that states your organization's commitment to accessibility along with contact information for assistance / support and feedback.  An accessibility policy is an internal docum...

Kris Rivenburgh discusses meeting your digital accessibility objectives vs. what accessibility companies are selling.  There are many products and services that pad revenue for sellers, but don't efficiently or effectively accomplish your objectives like reducing risk of litigation (i.e., demand letters, complaints, lawsuits). By bargaining for only the services and products you need and want...

Kris Rivenburgh discusses why you should stay away from companies that  give the illusion they will make your website accessible / ADA  compliant, but don't actually offer manual services. Manual audits (not scans) and remediation are 100% necessary to make  your website WCAG conformant. If a company is trying to sell you on  anything short of a manual audit, stay away. Kris de...

Kris Rivenburgh explains compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act as it relates to website accessibility for private  organizations.  Under Section 504, recipients of federal assistance must  make their websites accessible. Just as with Section 508, the standard for website accessibility is WCAG 2.0 AA as of 2023. Resources: https://www.section508.gov/blog/do-section-50...

Kris Rivenburgh explains how to certify your website is accessible / "ADA Compliant" in 2023.  The two best ways are a conformance statement and user testing report.  A conformance statement needs to be issued using the 5 requirements for a statement of conformance (as published by the W3C under their Web Accessibility Initiative or WAI). A conformance statement also needs to be from a r...

Kris Rivenburgh explains the difference between Section 508 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act for private entities as it relates to compliance for website accessibility.  Section 508 applies to vendors that contract with federal agencies and  may include websites / web content involved in the procurement process. Section 504 applies to recipients of federal assistance / aid / funding. &n...

Kris Rivenburgh covers the cost of making your website accessible / ADA  compliant in 2023.  Kris generalizes the average price for a reputable service provider to fully audit and remediate your website at $12,500. The cost of website accessibility depends on multiple factors including complexity of the website, number of pages / screens within scope, and state of accessibility among oth...

Kris Rivenburgh explains why monitoring services for website  accessibility sound nice in theory but don't make sense in practice.  The sales premise is that you will receive an email alert the second  there are any accessibility issues introduced on your website, but this  is impractical and unnecessary. If there are any changes to your website, one or more people on your &nbs...