MeAC – Measuring Progress of eAccessibility in Europe

Policy approaches based on equality / anti-discrimination legislation have considerable potential in the eAccessibility field. Such approaches can provide people with disabilities – individually or collectively – with a right to seek redress if they are confronted with inaccessible ICT equipment or services, either in relation to ICT-based goods and services in a general sense or in relation to specific usage contexts.

Legislation/regulations

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 1990, as amended in 2008, guarantees equal opportunities for individuals with disabilities in public accommodations, employment, transportation, State and local government services, and telecommunications and has been utilised both as a basis for eAccessibility initiatives and in cases brought about eAccessibility issues.

ADA enforcement includes a mix of court actions, reviews conducted by the Department of Justice (DOJ), and responses by the DOJ to complaints.

Goods and services equality

The Access Board’s ADA and ABA Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities update access requirements for a wide range of facilities in the public and private sectors covered by the law. The Board’s guidelines detail how accessibility is to be achieved in new construction and alterations and provide specifications for various building elements and spaces, including entrances, ramps, parking, restrooms, telephones, ATMs, alerting systems among others.

Guidance from the Department of Justice suggests that government websites should be accessible, but notes that making a website accessible is not specifically required by law in cases where equivalent access to a program can be provided in some other way. That is, an inaccessible website is not in itself illegal. It appears to be the case, de facto, that agencies tend to assume that web pages should be accessible, but it is unclear to what extent specific actions are taken in this regard.

As regards websites of companies, in a recent judgement in a case taken by the National Federation for the Blind against a large retailer, the court held that websites for such companies fall within the scope of anti-discrimination law in California.

Various banks have reached agreements with disability organisations and have introduced talking ATMs and/or accessible online banking services

There is a tax credit available for small businesses for expenditures on accessibility improvements (the ADA Tax Incentives Packet). The credit can be used to cover a variety of expenditures, including, inter alia, purchase of adaptive equipment and production of accessible formats of printed materials (i.e., Braille, large print, audio tape, computer diskette).

Employment equality

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 1990 guarantees equal opportunities for individuals with disabilities in employment. Assistive technologies and other eAccessibility-related accommodations would fall within the scope of this.

Education

The Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act, re-authorised in 2004, requires public schools to provide assistive technology where needed to provide “free appropriate public education”.

Impacts – cases and other activity

There is a growing body of ADA-related case law and settlements / agreements dealing with eAccessibility topics.

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