Company Websites Could Violate The ADA

Plaintiff attorneys are aggressively targeting businesses that sell goods and services online, claiming their websites are not accessible to people with disabilities and therefore violate Title III of the ADA. Courts are divided on the question of whether Title III accessibility requirements apply to websites that have no nexus to a physical place of accommodation. The risk is likely to increase in the near future because of legal uncertainties resulting from a delay in DOJ publication of regulations that would clarify the matter, from April of 2016 until 2018. Nixon Peabody attorneys Matthew T. McLaughlin and Staci Jennifer Riordan look at the trend and suggest ways that companies can reduce their risk of becoming a target.