By Minh N. Vu and Paul Kehoe
The Department of Justice (DOJ) and edX today announced an agreement under which edX has voluntarily agreed to make its website, mobile applications, and open source learning platform conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0, Level AA (WCAG 2.0). EdX contracts with some of the most prestigious universities and institutions in the
Continue Reading Nation's Only Non-Profit MOOC Platform Provider Leads the Industry With Accessibility Commitment
By Minh N. Vu and Kristina M. Launey
Seyfarth’s ADA Title III Team — along with many businesses and disability advocates — has closely monitored the status of the Justice Department’s (DOJ) proposed website regulations since the DOJ started its process in September 2010. We were surprised to hear NPR’s March 7 report by Todd Bookman that the DOJ is
Continue Reading NPR Report that DOJ Will Release Website Regulations This Month Requires Clarification
By Minh N. Vu and Kristina M. Launey
On February 18, 2015, the U.S. Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (“Access Board”) issued a proposed rule (“NPRM”) which would, among other things, adopt the WCAG 2.0 Level AA Guidelines (“WCAG 2.0 Level AA”) as the standard for federal government websites. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act requires federal government websites
Continue Reading Proposed Accessibility Standards for Federal Government Websites Highlights Double Standard Justice Department Seeks to Impose on Public Accommodations
By Minh Vu and Kylie Byron
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is continuing to pressure businesses to make their websites accessible even while it is drafting proposed regulations for websites that are supposedly coming out this June. The latest business targeted by DOJ is the National Museum of Crime and Punishment, which entered into a settlement agreement that was
Continue Reading Justice Department Settlement Requires the Museum of Crime & Punishment to Make Website, Facilities, and Tours Accessible
By Minh Vu and Kristina Launey
Although we attorneys who specialize in ADA Title III matters have been dealing with and writing about website accessibility issues for years, most people, including lawyers, know very little about this topic. That status quo is about to change. Last week, the Wall Street Journal published its second piece on the this topic
Continue Reading DOJ Push for Website Accessibility Reaches the Mainstream Media
Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and U.S. Department of Education (DOE) issued a joint guidance Under Title II of ADA (the “Guidance”) explaining the obligation of public schools to provide “auxiliary aids and services” to ensure effective communication with students with hearing, vision, or speech disabilities. Although this Guidance applies to state and local
Continue Reading New Justice Department Guidance Provides Useful Roadmap for Public and Private Schools on Their Effective Communication Obligations
By Minh Vu and Kristina Launey
The Justice Department (DOJ) just officially announced in the federal government’s Unified Regulatory Agenda that it is again pushing back the target date for publishing its proposed website regulations for state/local governments and public accommodations to December 2014 and June 2015, respectively. The delay is no surprise because DOJ did not meet the
Continue Reading Justice Department Further Delays Website Regulations
By Minh N. Vu and Paul H. Kehoe
The Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday announced a settlement [here and here] with Peapod, the country’s leading internet grocery retailer and delivery service, concerning its website and mobile application. The agreement exemplifies the DOJ’s continued focus on requiring public accommodations to ensure that their websites are accessible to individuals with
Continue Reading Justice Department Enters Into Another Website Accessibility Agreement
By Kevin Fritz and Kylie Byron
If you’ve visited a shopping mall in America, you’ve probably seen the characteristic design of the Hollister Co. clothing stores. About 249 of the stores have a roofed porch-like entrance, with steps leading up onto the porch from the mall area and steps leading down from the elevated porch into the store interior. Flanking
Continue Reading Tenth Circuit Rejects DOJ and Advocacy Group’s Attempt to Inject Unstated Requirements Into ADA Standards for Accessible Design
By John W. Egan
As we have previously reported, the Department of Justice issued proposed regulations this summer that would require movie theaters to show movies with closed captioning and audio description. DOJ has requested public comment on a number of issues related to these proposed regulations.
The period for providing public comments on this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
Continue Reading Comment Period for Movie Captioning NPRM Extended to December 1, 2014
