Seyfarth Synopsis: Department of Justice (DOJ) issues proposed website accessibility regulations applicable to state and local governments under Title II of the ADA.
Almost precisely a year after the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced its intent to begin the rulemaking process to enact website accessibility regulations applicable to state and local governments under
Continue Reading Hot off the Presses: DOJ Issues Proposed ADA Regulations For State and Local Government Websites
By Kristina Launey and John W. Egan
Seyfarth Synopsis: Department of Justice (DOJ) announced its intent to begin the rulemaking process to enact website accessibility regulations applicable to state and local governments under Title II.
This week the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced its intent to begin the rulemaking process to enact website accessibility regulations applicable to state and
Continue Reading Website Accessibility Regulations On The Horizon: DOJ To Start Title II Rulemaking For State and Local Governments Next Year
By Minh N. Vu
Several weeks ago, we blogged about mask objectors presenting businesses with documents bearing the U.S. Department of Justice seal stating that they are not required to wear masks because of their disability. Last week, the DOJ issued a statement that “[t]he Department of Justice has been made aware of postings or flyers on the internet regarding
Continue Reading Mask Policies Put Businesses Between A Rock And A Hard Place
Seyfarth Synopsis: DOJ’s response to members of Congress about the explosion in website accessibility lawsuits contains some helpful guidance for public accommodations fighting these claims.
As we reported in June, 103 members of the House of Representatives from both parties asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions to “state publicly that private legal action under the ADA with respect to websites is
Continue Reading DOJ Says Failure to Comply With Web Accessibility Guidelines is Not Necessarily a Violation of the ADA
Seyfarth Synopsis: Not long after a similar Congressional appeal, Senators sent a letter to Attorney General Sessions urging action to stem the tide of website accessibility lawsuits plaguing businesses.
On Wednesday, September 12, 2018, Senator Chuck Grassley (Iowa) announced that he and Senator Mike Rounds (South Dakota) sent a letter to United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions seeking clarification on
Continue Reading Senators Send AG Sessions Letter Seeking Clarity on Website Accessibility Under ADA
Seyfarth Synopsis: In amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Justice Department agreed with the Fifth Circuit and defendant Coca-Cola that a vending machine is not a place of public accommodation and that public accommodations can comply with the ADA by providing assistance to customers in lieu of having accessible self-service equipment.
The Supreme Court recently asked the U.S.
Continue Reading Justice Department Says Vending Machines Are Not Places Of Public Accommodation—And So Much More
Seyfarth Synopsis: Trump Administration’s first Unified Agenda reveals DOJ has placed web accessibility, medical equipment, and furniture rulemakings under Title II and III of the ADA on Inactive List.
Federal agencies typically provide public notice of the regulations that are under development twice a year in the Unified Regulatory Agenda. The first Agenda the Trump Administration issued, which went
Continue Reading DOJ Places Website Rulemaking on the “Inactive” List
Seyfarth Synopsis: Fewer online videos from UC Berkeley will be available to the public as a result of a DOJ demand that the videos have closed captioning.
Starting March 15, 2017, more than 20,000 videos of classroom lectures and podcasts on UC Berkeley’s YouTube and iTunes channels will no longer be available for public viewing, according to a recent statement
Continue Reading UC Berkeley To Remove More Than 20,000 Online Videos From Public Access In Response To DOJ Captioning Demand
Seyfarth Synopsis: An executive order from President Trump will likely halt the Justice Department’s public accommodations website rulemaking.
President Obama’s Department of Justice (DOJ) had stated that proposed regulations for public accommodations websites would be issued in 2018—eight years after the agency began its rulemaking process. The likelihood of such a proposed regulation being issued now is virtually non-existent.
Among
Continue Reading Executive Order Likely Dooms Website Regulations for Public Accommodations
Seyfarth Synopsis: Fighting a web accessibility lawsuit could invite DOJ’s intervention, as did a Florida retailer’s recent Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings.
Fighting a website accessibility lawsuit is very tempting to many frustrated businesses, but can be a risky decision. One such risk – Department of Justice intervention in the lawsuit – came to fruition for one such business
Continue Reading A Cautionary Tale: DOJ Intervenes in Another Web Accessibility Lawsuit