This document discusses five key steps organizations can take to mitigate their legal risk for web and mobile accessibility: 1. Run an automated accessibility scan to identify technical issues and monitor progress over time. 2. Identify and fix critical accessibility issues that block access or make it difficult to use the site or app by prioritizing frequently used content. 3. Add an accessibility page to demonstrate commitment to accessibility and provide a way for users to give feedback. 4. Increase accessibility awareness within the organization through training and experience labs. 5. Integrate accessibility into policies, standards, software development lifecycles, digital assets, and organizational culture.

1. Mitigating Your
Legal Risk for Web
and Mobile
Accessibility
Wednesday March 13th, 2019
© 2019 Interactive Accessibility

2. Disclaimer
I am not a lawyer and am not providing legal advice in
the session today
I will share my experience with you and how
organizations have been able to move things forward
and make their products more accessible
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3. Legal Landscape
Many organizations have received demand letters or
lawsuits
◦A lot of cases in the United States but also lawsuits in Europe
and other countries
Laws require equal access to users with disabilities
◦Often Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) is the
default standard
◦Equality Acts and Civil Rights laws require “reasonable
adjustments” to enable people with disabilities to access
services
W3C publishes laws and policies around the world:
https://www.w3.org/WAI/policies/
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4. U.S. Federal Website Lawsuits Nearly Triple
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Source: https://www.adatitleiii.com/2019/01/number-of-federal-website-accessibility-lawsuits-nearly-triple-exceeding-2250-in-2018/
According to Seyfarth Shaw, in 2018 ADA Title III lawsuits filed increased by
177% over 2017
In 2018 there were 2258 cases that could be identified through a diligent
search, vs. 814 in 2017

5. How can you mitigate
your legal risk?
5 Key Steps
6

6. #1 Run an Automated Scan
An automated accessibility scan identifies technical
accessibility issues
◦In the U.S. many plaintiff lawyers are using automated scans
to determine who to target and to identify accessibility issues
A clean accessibility scan does not mean the site is
accessible
◦Automated scans can capture 35-40% of accessibility issues
◦Cannot automatically scan for all WCAG 2.0/2.1 success
criteria
◦Does not mean that the product can be used by people with
disabilities
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7. Prioritizing Issues
GOAL: Reduce the overall percentage of issues
◦Determine if the reported issue is an actual issue
◦Start with the issues that are part of templates or common
components
◦Fix issues with high percentage of frequency
Categorize the issues by who needs to fix them
◦Design will most likely need to fix color contrast issues
◦Development code level issues
◦Content structure and missing text alternatives may be
editorial or marketing teams
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8. Set Up Ongoing Monitoring
Track progress over time
Monitor accessibility risk
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9. #2 Identify and Fix Critical Issues
Start with the key user journeys or the primary
functions of the site
◦Include the search, contact, policy pages, sitemap and other
screens likely to be used by users with disabilities
◦Look at the most frequently accessed content
Test through manual review and with the assistive
technology
Identify issues that will block access or make it very
difficult to use the product
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10. Prioritize Issues
Prioritize accessibility issues the same way you treat any
other defect
◦Issues that block access or make it very difficult to use should
be fixed first
Identify where the accessibility issue is located and
prioritize issues that impact users from completing key
user journeys
◦Fix any issues that prevent a user from accessing your contact
information
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11. Testing with Assistive Technology
Start testing with a screen reader
◦Most lawsuits call out JAWS screen reader
◦Tools such as JAWS Inspect can help novice screen reader
users identify issues
◦Test with multiple browsers
◦Include the responsive breakpoints (desktop, tablet, mobile)
Identify issues where
◦Content is confusing or not available
◦Functions that do not work or are very confusing
◦Assistive technology features do not work
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12. #3 Add Accessibility Page
Shows your commitment to accessibility
Provides users with information about the accessibility
of the product
Provides a way for users to communicate and submit
feedback
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13. What to Include in Accessibility Statement
At a minimum include:
◦Commitment statement
◦Applicable accessibility standard applied and national or local
laws/policies
◦Contact information
Also consider adding:
◦Accessibility features and services available
◦Known limitations and work arounds
◦Supported assistive technology and technical prerequisites
◦Information on how people with disabilities can use the product
Some countries have specific content requirements
◦EU Web Accessibility Directive
◦AODA
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14. Where to Place an Accessibility Statement
Make it easy to find
Place in multiple locations
◦Footer
◦Help
◦Sitemap
Be consistent across the site in the naming of the
link
◦“Accessibility”
◦“Web Accessibility”
◦“Accessibility Statement”
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15. #4 Increase Accessibility Awareness
Increase accessibility awareness within your
organization
◦Set up an experience lab
◦Define and communicate accessibility requirements
Provide accessibility training
◦Deliver in multiple formats – in person, webinars, mentoring
and self-paced online training
◦Courses should include beginner level to more advanced
topics
◦Outline job specific training paths
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16. #5 Integrate Accessibility
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Policies and Standards Legal / Compliance Software Development
Lifecycle
Procurement
Digital Assets and
Infrastructure
Tracking and Measurement Communications and
Support
Culture

17. Questions?
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