Protecting Against Website Accessibility Suits

Last year more than 250 lawsuits, most of them class actions, were filed against companies for failing to maintain websites in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The legal question raised is whether, with its website, the company is operating “a place of public accommodation.” Courts are divided as to how and when that term applies to websites, but even with this uncertainty there are steps a business can take now. This article from Today’s General Counsel discusses the standard a web designer should observe in order to bring a site into compliance, as well as the broad outline of a defense strategy.