Small Businesses Frustrated with 'Frivolous' ADA Website Lawsuits

[Nancy OShea]

A legally blind woman is suing several online retailers claiming their websites violate the Americans with Disabilities Act. 

April Foster was served a federal lawsuit in May. It claims her 'arts and crafts website' doesn’t provide equal access to its products, particularly for those who are blind and depend on web assistive software that takes text and turns it into audio.  Foster says she settled the lawsuit out of court for $7,500. But after attorney fees, she says it cost her around $20,000.  Unfortunately, she's not the only one.  In 2023, over 4,600 other such lawsuits were filed in the U.S., many by the same people.

As a web developer, I've been preaching the importance of conforming to WCAG for a decade. In the government sector, it's required by law. But since there are no standardized exams for web developers, the private sector is largely self-regulated until someone gets sued.

Q: How can web developers and small business owners protect themselves from potential lawsuits?

A: Education. Get familiar with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) as recommended by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) -- the body that sets web standards. https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/

How to Meet WCAG (Quick Reference) https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG22/quickref/?versions=2.1

It isn't difficult. Most of it is just common sense. Any decent web developer can do it. 😊