A shocking 98% of websites fail to meet the minimum standard for accessibility used in US court cases. Not surprisingly there’s been an explosion in accessibility lawsuits for websites — and as of late, mobile applications.

1. CLAUDIO LUIS VERA
Accessibility:
the letter of the law
Understanding the laws that apply to digital content
Claudio Luis Vera - Accessibility Professional, UX Designer, human
Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd.
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2. CLAUDIO LUIS VERA
I am not a lawyer.
Nothing in this presentation should
be taken as legal advice.
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3. CLAUDIO LUIS VERACLAUDIO LUIS VERA
Royal Caribbean
Cruises, LTD (RCL)
Digital Accessibility
● Websites
● Apps
● Augmented reality
● Kiosks
● Gaming stations
● Digital experiences
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Demographics
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30.3% of Americans over the age of 18
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
0–17 years
18–24 years
25–34 years
35–44 years
45–54 years
55–64 years
65–69 years
70–74 years
75 years and older
People with disabilities other

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The social model
of disability
● The problem is not the impairment,
it’s the barriers we create as a society.
● We create and perpetuate our own
disabilities.

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Basic concepts
1. Everyone has the right to
live independently
2. The built world must not
have any barriers
3. The digital world is part of
that built world

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The Road to the ADA
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1964
Civil Rights Act

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Curb cut
protests
Picking up where
the Civil Rights
movement left off.

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1973
Section 504
Section 508

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ADAPT
Public
transportation
protests in Denver

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1990
Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA)

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What’s in the
Americans with Disabilities Act?
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15. CLAUDIO LUIS VERAC L A U D I O L U I S V E R A
What does the ADA cover?
Retail establishments
Hotels
Restaurants
Public buildings
Public transportation
Airports
Hospitals
Streets and sidewalks
Employment
State and local government
Workplace accommodations
Learning institutions
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16. CLAUDIO LUIS VERACLAUDIO LUIS VERA
Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act
Original interpretation:
Prohibits discrimination on the basis of
disability in the activities of places of
public accommodations.
Title III affects brick-and-mortar
facilities, especially:
Restaurants, movie theaters, schools,
day care facilities, recreation facilities,
and doctors’ offices
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17. CLAUDIO LUIS VERAC L A U D I O L U I S V E R A
Title III and digital media
Who’s affected now:
Websites offering services
available in public
accommodations
Any commercial website,
starting with major brands
Educational materials
Employment software
Software in the workplace
Kiosks
Who will be affected:
Any native/mobile app
Online meetings
Online education
Any XR experience
Games and installations
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What lies ahead:
There will be no guidance from the DOJ.
Web accessibility will be decided
piecemeal by the courts.
Title III is likely to be found to apply to
all websites
All websites will have to be accessible or
risk a lawsuit.
All websites will need an ADA statement
along with Privacy policy and copyright.
WCAG 2.0 AA will be the standard going
forward.

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Section 508
Federal procurement law
Part of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
All digital products built for the
government must be accessible to all

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Higher Education
Funding is at stake
If it receives state funding,
then it must abide by
Section 508

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The 21st Century Video
Accessibility Act
(CVAA)
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October 8, 2010
21st Century Video
Accessibility Act

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10 Performance Objectives
● Operable without vision
● Operable with low vision and limited or
no hearing
● Operable with little or no color
perception
● Operable without hearing
● Operable with limited manual dexterity
● Operable with limited reach and
strength
● Operable with a prosthetic device
● Operable without time dependent
controls
● Operable without speech
● Operable with limited cognitive skills
Provide at least one mode that is:

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Safe Harbor
A provision that affords protection
from liability or penalty, if certain
conditions are met.

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The Unruh Act
California State Law
5th largest economy in the world
Stricter than federal laws (ADA on steroids)
Penalties of $4,000 per violation
Don’t have to prove damages
No building required

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What’s missing?
Regulation specific to digital
accessibility
● Legislation (requires a study
and a bill in Congress)
● Government agency regulation
● Department of Justice ruling

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A web accessibility lawsuit
is a civil rights lawsuit
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60 years ago
This type of
discrimination was
so routine,
that no one would
give it a second
thought

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WebAIM
Million
Report
Survey of the
1,000,000
most-frequented
home pages
98.0%
Percent of websites have detectable issues
(WCAG 2.x failures)

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Everyday
forms of
discrimination
An accessibility case
is a discrimination
case
Offers that you can’t
see or hear
Purchases that
you can’t make
Reservations that
you can’t book
Notifications that
you don’t get
App you can’t use
Having to stick to
office hours
Videos that
you can’t hear

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Today:
What does discrimination
sound like?
Blind people don’t use our app.
These are edge cases.
Accessibility is not MVP.
Accessibility is not in our budget.

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Half-solutions are
no solutions
All it takes is one barrier

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Taking it to the courts
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Where the action is
California
Ninth District Court
New York
Second District Court
Southern District of
New York (SDNY)
Florida
11th Southern District
Court
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9
11
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Growing legal risk
● 177% year-to-year increase in
accessibility lawsuits
● Having an accessibility settlement
in place doesn’t protect a company
from another lawsuit
● Almost all lawsuits are settled
quietly and don’t go to trial.
814
2,285 2,235
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
2017 2018 2019
Federallawsuits
Title III lawsuits filed
in federal court

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Copy-and-paste lawsuits
● The top 20 plaintiff firms
accounted for 87% of the lawsuits
filed in 2018.
● Many lawsuits are search-and-
replace copies of others filed by the
same firm.
● It’s easy to find patterns in lawsuits
and settlements
Firm Lawsuits
Cohen & Mizrahi 372
The Leal Firm, P.A. 97
Scott R. Dinin, P.A. 86
Lipsky Lowe LLP 78
Law Office of Johnathan Shalom 69
Shaked Law Group, P.C. 68
Gottlieb & Associates 60
Lee Litigation Group, PLLC 45
Law Office of Drew M. Levitt 39
Roderick V. Hannah, Esq. PA 36
Source: Level Access State of Accessibility presentation

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Mendez v. Apple
● Filed by Cohen & Mizrahi as one of
372 suits filed in 2018.
● Lists 17 major accessibility issues
that a defendant’s site could have.
● Mendez v. Apple lists four actual
types of issues out of 17.
● Copied by other firms and
accessibility advocates since

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Low-hanging accessibility issues
From Mendez v. Apple:
1. Missing alternative text
2. Empty links that contain no text
3. Redundant links (?!)
4. Linked images missing alt text

39. CLAUDIO LUIS VERACLAUDIO LUIS VERA, ROYAL CARIBBEAN
What goes into a settlement?
A typical defendant will agree to:
1.
pay a
monetary
settlement
2.
fix
accessibility
issues within
a certain
timeframe
3.
hire
accessibility
experts
4.
train web
and mobile
staff
5.
publish an
accessibility
policy
$XX,XXX $XXX,XXX-
$X,XXX,XXX
$XXX,XXX $XX,XXX $XX,XXX
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Robles v. Dominos
● A blind man finds it impossible to order a
pizza online, files in the Ninth District
● Dominos refuses to settle,
chooses to litigate instead
● Case is dismissed for lack of DOJ
guidance, Robles appeals
● Dominos loses in appellate court,
appeals to US Supreme Court
● US Supreme Court rejects the case

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What’s at stake?
Does Title III apply to websites?
● Lack of DOJ regulations isn’t a blocker
for hearing the case.
● Case went back to be heard in the
Ninth District Court

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Gil v. Winn Dixie
● A blind man from Miami can’t use
the website to file online
prescriptions or use coupons
● Winn-Dixie site uses third party
software
● Files a lawsuit in 11th District,
Winn-Dixie refuses to settle
● Goes to trial; Winn-Dixie loses

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Thurston v. Midvale
● A blind woman from LA can’t use
the website to make reservations
● Website uses Open Table
● CMO did not research accessible
reservation options
● Dismissed with summary judgment
(The judge ruled without a trial)

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Rulings
● Title III applies
● You are responsible for
vetting the third-party
software you embed.
● An 800 number is not
equivalent, unless you
work it 24x7
● WCAG is the standard

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Accessibility Guidelines
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WCAG 2.1:
The de facto standard for
web accessibility, made up of a set
of hundreds of guidelines.
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WCAG Principles
Perceivable
Can I see/hear the
content?
Operable
Can I work the
controls?
Understandable
Can I tell what to do?
Robust
Does it work in all
circumstances?

48. CLAUDIO LUIS VERAC L A U D I O L U I S V E R A
WCAG levels
A
Obsolescent standard
that doesn’t meet legal
requirements
AA
Nearly-universal standard
AAA
Advanced requirement
where near-perfect
accessibility is imperative
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49. CLAUDIO LUIS VERACLAUDIO LUIS VERA
Top accessibility mistakes
1. Missing alternative “alt” text
2. Missing form field labels
3. Insufficient color contrast
4. Broken tab index
5. Hidden focus
6. Using styles instead of headings
7. Using buttons where links should go
8. Missing “Skip navigation” link
9. Keyboard traps in modals
10. Missing language declaration
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“Don’t feed the trolls”
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- SHERI BYRNE-HABER

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Serial plaintiffs and shady attorneys
● Sued 26 gas stations for having video
without captions at the pumps
● Sued most cities and towns in central
Florida for their websites
● Billed himself as a $500/hour expert for
services he didn’t perform
● Presented defense as a legal novice
over 650
ADA
cases

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#1 Check your code
Make sure you don’t have accessibility issues
Use a testing tool like axe or WAVE

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#2 If you see something, fix it!
A paper trail of known issues will make the case for a plaintiff.
Stay away from free risk assessments.

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#3 Use an accessible theme.
If you’re using a CMS or prefab product, make sure you start with clean code.

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#4 Test all third-party products
That includes your shopping cart, ecommerce platform, media player, email signup
form, and reservation system.

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#5 Avoid accessibility overlays
They’re snake oil, and offer you little or no protection from lawsuits

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#6 F---ing use alt text, already!
Add captions or alternative text to all your images

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#7 Same goes for captions
Make sure all your media has captions

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#8 Don’t do it alone.
Hire an accessibility expert and have people with disabilities test your work.
If you receive a demand letter, get proper legal counsel.

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Thank you
Claudio Luis Vera - Accessibility Professional, UX Designer, human
Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd.
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Resources
WCAG web site
Sheri Byrne-Haber on Medium
Seyfarth Shaw ADA Title III blog
Jack McElany’s newsletter
Level Access’ State of Accessibility
Report