By Minh N. Vu
Seyfarth synopsis: The opening brief in Acheson Hotels v. Laufer, the first case to reach the U.S. Supreme Court in more than 18 years, was filed today.
Today, Petitioner/Defendant Acheson Hotels LLC filed its opening brief in the first ADA Title III case before SCOTUS in over eighteen years. In our view, the decision
Continue Reading SCOTUS UPDATE: Opening Brief Filed in Acheson Hotels v. Laufer
Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Health and Human Services Department Office for Civil Rights issued a bulletin reminding healthcare and other entities receiving federal funds that their anti-discrimination obligations under Section 1557 and the Rehabilitation Act remain in place in this time of COVID-19 emergency.
By Kristina M. Launey and Minh N. Vu
In this unprecedented time of COVID-19 emergency, there
Continue Reading HHS Bulletin Warns COVID-19 Resource Rationing May Constitute Unlawful Disability Discrimination
By Minh N. Vu and Kristina M. Launey
Seyfarth Synopsis: Congress Members recently renewed their efforts to take legislative action and urge the DOJ take regulatory action regarding physical and website accessibility, respectively.
You have to give them credit for trying. A group of Senators recently sent Attorney General Barr a letter asking the Department of Justice (DOJ) take
Continue Reading Renewed Web and Physical Accessibility Congressional Efforts an Exercise in Futility?
By Kristina M. Launey & Minh N. Vu
Seyfarth Synopsis: Four years and two motions to dismiss based on the pleadings later, the National Association of the Deaf’s (NAD) online video captioning lawsuit against Harvard is moving forward to fact discovery. On March 28, Federal Magistrate Judge Robertson in the District of Massachusetts denied the university’s motion for judgment on
Continue Reading Four-Year Court Battle Between Deaf Advocates and Harvard Over Closed Captioning of Videos Proceeds to Discovery With Some Limitations
By: Minh N. Vu
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Justice Department withdraws pending rulemakings for accessible websites, furniture and non-fixed equipment.
The current Department of Justice’s (DOJ) regulatory approach to Title III of the ADA is yet another example of what a difference an election can make.
In 2010, the DOJ started the rulemaking process to issue new regulations about the
Continue Reading DOJ Nixes All Pending ADA Rulemakings, Including Website Access Rules
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Supreme Court declines to review a Fifth Circuit decision stating that a public accommodation covered by Title III of the ADA has to be a physical place and vending machines are not sales establishments covered by Title III of the ADA.
In August 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled in Magee v.
Continue Reading Supreme Court Denies Review of Rules That Vending Machines Are Not Places of Public Accommodation
Seyfarth Synopsis: The federal government has adopted the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 Levels A and AA as its accessibility standard for federal agency websites, making it very likely that the Department of Justice will also adopt this standard for public accommodations websites in its forthcoming regulations.
Businesses working on making their websites accessible to individuals with disabilities often
Continue Reading WCAG 2.0 AA Is the New Accessibility Standard for Federal Agency Websites
Seyfarth Synopsis: Many years in the making, today the Access Board issued design criteria and other standards for medical diagnostic equipment.
Today, the U.S. Access Board issued new accessibility standards for medical diagnostic equipment (MDE). The final rule will be effective February 8 – 30 days from today’s publication of the final rule containing the standards in the Federal Register.
Continue Reading U.S. Access Board Issues Standards for Medical Diagnostic Equipment
Bloomberg BNA and Lifezette yesterday published articles about the “explosion” of web accessibility lawsuits, quoting Seyfarth ADA Title III Team Leader Minh Vu. The articles come on the heels our blog reporting on the of the DOJ’s further delay of web accessibility regulations until at least 2018. For more on this surge of litigation activity, and what your business
Continue Reading Articles On Rising Website Accessibility Lawsuits Quote Seyfarth Title III Team Lead
By: Karen Stephenson
The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) has issued proposed accessibility guidelines for the construction and alteration of passenger vessels covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). These guidelines will apply to passenger vessels that provide public transportation services such as ferries and excursion boats, and public accommodation passenger vessels such as dinner or
Continue Reading All Aboard For Access! Access Board Proposes Accessibility Guidelines For Cruise Ships And Other Passenger Vessels