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By Kristina M. Launey

Seyfarth Synopsis: AB 1757, which would set a standard for website accessibility for businesses in California, has been held in the Legislature to resume discussion in 2024.

While Southern California and Burning Man revelers were hit with unprecedented severe storms in August, the California Legislature has given businesses at least a temporary reprieve from legislation that…

Continue Reading California Assembly Bill on Website Accessibility Downgraded from Potential Lawsuit Tsunami to 2024 Weather Watch

By Minh Vu, Kristina Launey, and Susan Ryan

Seyfarth Synopsis: The decline in ADA Title III lawsuits that began in 2022 continues in 2023.  New York remains the filing hotspot.

Continuing the trend discussed in our 2022 blog posts here and here, the number of lawsuits filed in federal courts alleging violations of Title III of the…

Continue Reading 2023 Mid-Year Report: ADA Title III Federal Lawsuit Numbers Continue to Decline

By Kristina M. Launey & Minh N. Vu

Seyfarth Synopsis: Plaintiffs filed 3,225 website accessibility lawsuits in federal court in 2022 – a 12% increase over 2021. 

2022 was another record setting year for website accessibility lawsuits filed in federal court.  The total number of lawsuits filed in federal court alleging that plaintiffs with a disability could not use websites…

Continue Reading Plaintiffs Set a New Record for Website Accessibility Lawsuit Filings in 2022
Graphic of three judges.

By Minh N. Vu

Seyfarth Synopsis:  The California Court of Appeals decision that put an end to lawsuits against online only businesses in California and called out DOJ and Congress for inaction stays put after California Supreme Court denied plaintiff’s review request.

Update: On November 9, 2022, the California Supreme Court denied plaintiff’s request that the Court review the California…
Continue Reading Websites Are Not A Public Accommodation Under the ADA, Says California Court of Appeals; CA Supreme Court Denies Review Petition

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By Kristina M. Launey

Seyfarth Synopsis: On October 18, the DFEH issued Guidance which expressly approves denial of entry to individuals who cannot show a negative COVID test or proof of vaccination, refuse to have their temperature taken or respond to COVID-19 symptom screening questions, subject to providing reasonable accommodations to customers with disabilities.

In the latest COVID-related quandary, businesses…
Continue Reading COVID Confusion Clarity: California DFEH Issues Guidance for Businesses Confronting Vaccination and Testing Exemption Requests

Service dog.

By Kristina Launey

Seyfarth Synopsis:  California enacts new law, effective January 1, 2022, to crack down on fraudulent emotional support dogs.

Yesterday, September 16, having just defeated a recall effort, California Governor Newsom signed into law a bill, AB 468, that will impose various requirements, effective January 1, 2022, designed to curb emotional support animal fraud.

To be clear,…
Continue Reading California Governor Takes Action to Combat Emotional Support Animal Fraud

On May 21, a California state court in Los Angeles held on summary judgment that the Whisper Lounge restaurant violated California’s Unruh Act by having a website that could not be used by a blind person with a screen reader, and ordered the restaurant to make its website comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Level 2.0 AA.  The…
Continue Reading CA Court Rules Unruh Act Requires Website to Conform to WCAG 2.0 AA, But Denies Damages for Multiple Visits to Website

Seyfarth Synopsis: Plaintiffs who pursued numerous web accessibility actions under Title III of the ADA are now using website accessibility to test the limits of a different area of law – employment law – California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act.

Over the past few years, we have frequently written about the proliferation of demand letters and lawsuits alleging that a…
Continue Reading Beyond Title III: Website Accessibility Lawsuits Filed Alleging Inaccessible Online Employment Applications

Seyfarth Synopsis:  2017 saw an unprecedented number of website accessibility lawsuits filed in federal and state courts, and few courts willing to grant early motions to dismiss.

Plaintiffs were very busy in 2017 filing ADA Title III lawsuits alleging that public accommodations’ websites are not accessible to individuals with disabilities. Here is our brief recap of the 2017 website accessibility…
Continue Reading 2017 Website Accessibility Lawsuit Recap: A Tough Year for Businesses

Seyfarth Synopsis: California will soon have a new law requiring WCAG 2.0 AA compliance for state agencies’ websites by 2019.

On October 14, 2017 California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law AB 434, which will create a new Government Code section 11546.7 and require, beginning July 1, 2019, state agencies and state entities to post on their website home…
Continue Reading California Passes Website Accessibility Requirements Applicable to State Agencies