If you pay attention to the Internet world you have probably heard a lot about lawsuits targeting non-ADA compliant websites. For many of you you probably never heard about when this would be enforced and thus you haven’t done anything about it. If this is you, you need to change that approach as ADA compliance is law and it has been since it was signed into law in 1992.
But The Internet Didn’t Really Exist in 1992
That is quite true, at least as far as access went for normal people. The Internet did exist but it was intended to be used by the scientific community for research and peer review. Kinda boring compared to what it has become. They certainly could not have envisioned what the Internet would become but that does not mean it is not subject to the law.
Nearly every business is subject to ADA compliance and law. Private businesses with more than 15 people on the payroll, local and state public sectors, public facilities, non-profit entities and any online business need to have every part of their business ADA compliant and that includes your website. Also if you work with the Federal government in any capacity your business needs to be ADA compliant. This includes your website as well as that of your business (I think we’ve mentioned that but we will again just to drive the point home).
But Why Isn’t The Law Being Enforced Then?
If you are referring to the fact that the government going around handing out fines to non-compliant websites is not happening does not mean that this law is not being enforced. Having a governmental body responsible for examining the approximately 1.3 billion websites for compliance is a colossal waste of time and taxpayer resources.
That means at this point it falls to the average citizen to enforce this law and they have been doing so. The number of lawsuits that have been filed exceeded 2000 in 2018 and that number is only going to rise. These lawsuits are pretty cut and dry, either the website meets ADA compliance or it does not. In the end there are several commonalities, both the defendant has to shell out a lot of money to an attorney and in a settlement and they have to get their website ADA compliant.
Save Yourself Some Money
You have the opportunity at this point to hopefully save yourself some money. By getting your website to meet ADA compliance you can avoid any lawsuit or if you are subjected to one you could see its effects mitigated or dismissed entirely. You can also get a tax credit for doing so too. There is no reason not to do so.
Federal lawsuits are being filed and Pennsylvania finished 3rd in the total number filed in 2017-2018. While our state is a distant third behind New York and Florida they are being filed, and that of course does not take into account cases filed in state or local courts. The number is increasing and it is only a matter of time until your company’s website is put in the crosshairs.
If you need help getting your website to meet ADA compliance Nicely Done Sites is here to help. We can just give your site a check or we can do the actual work to get your site compliant. We will also try to make it as affordable as we can for you but the cost of getting your website to achieve compliance is much less than the cost of a lawsuit and in the end you’ll have to make it compliant anyway. Why not get started now? Click the chat box that popped up on your screen to get started.