eCommerce&TheAmericansWithDisabilitiesActDon’tWaittoTakeAction

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eCommerceandtheAmericanswithDisabilitiesActDon’tWaittoTakeAction

“We’re being sued for noncompliance! Help!"

These aren’t words typically expected from a CIO 2 years after the initial development and relaunch of their eCommerce platform. However, that’s where they found themselves. “How serious is it?” “What’s the projected impact to revenue?” “How long will it take to fix?” These were all serious questions, and they needed answers fast.

ADA Compliance and commerce websites? How are these even related? There are no ramps or handicap parking requirements for virtual storefronts.

How does ADA apply to us? Passed in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) seeks to limit discrimination against those with disabilities in places of public accommodation. Passed one year before the first website was launched, the law’s original intent, in Title III, was to ensure that all public buildings have wheelchair accessible entrances, accommodations for the hearing and vision impaired, and acceptance of service animals. It was not originally intended to convey to the internet. However, in 2010, the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking signaling that not only do they plan to pass an amendment to the law (expected in 2018) specifically including websites and eCommerce sites as places of accommodation that will fall under the Title III requirements, but also that they plan to enforce Title III complaints against websites in the meantime.

“56.7 million Americans (18.7% of the U.S. population) have some type of disability, and out of this number, an estimated 38.3 million

(12.6%) have a severe disability.”- United States Census Bureau

In 2006, Target, one of the largest retailers online, received notice of pending legal action due to violations of the ADA. The suit was filed by the National Federation of the Blind(link) claiming, appropriately, that the website prevented blind users from using assistive technologies to navigate and ultimately transact on Target’s commerce site. The judge found that Target's eCommerce store an extension of the brick and mortar storefront; therefore making it in scope for ADA liability claims.

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eCommerceandtheAmericanswithDisabilitiesActDon’tWaittoTakeAction

Similarly, in 2012, Netflix received notice of pending legal action from the National Association for the Deaf. The results of this federal case set a precedent for online only stores and their required compliance with ADA standards. All Netflix content must now be closed captioned and present that option to all users. The Department of Justice agreed, stating “Websites that do not accommodate assistive technology can create unnecessary barriers for people with disabilities, just as buildings not designed to accommodate individuals with disabilities can prevent some individuals from entering and accessing services.”

Lawsuits Against eCommerce Sites Are on the RiseSince the beginning of 2015, more than 6,000 lawsuits have been filed against websites alleging discrimination against people with disabilities. Of those, 61 have made their way to federal court, and, as the graph below demonstrates, while the industries targeted run the gamut, retailers are currently experiencing the greatest amount of complaint activity.

Source: http://www.adatitleiii.com/

Industry experts point to continuing uncertainty regarding the DOJ’s interpretation of Title III, the willingness on the part of many judges and circuit courts to prosecute even in light of the DOJ uncertainty, and the upcoming legislation promised to settle the uncertainty as signs that the lawsuits will increase. One research report showed that the lawsuits jumped more than 40% in 2016 alone, and the trend shows no signs of slowing down.

The numbers prove that The numbers prove that the vast majority of lawsuits are civil in nature, and offer the opportunity to remediate the compliance issues without large penalties. However, it is important to note that the DOJ may take action should civil proceedings continue; however this is rather atypical. A typical ADA violations engagement begins with a client, usually an ADA compliance firm, Often the civil plaintiffs are the same companies that offer remediation strategies and tools. Nevertheless, understanding the current ADA landscape and how it relates to your eCommerce store is a critical part of managing your platform.

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eCommerceandtheAmericanswithDisabilitiesActDon’tWaittoTakeAction

The Client

The problems our client faced were significant. According to the DOJ, ADA compliance infractions start at $55,000 for the first violation and become more expensive ($110,000 per violation afterward.) As you can imagine, a large commerce site, with 1,000’s of product pages, can rack incredibly large fees rather quickly. The organization recognized that and responded by instituting project initiatives to remediate compliance issues.

How Amplifi Resolved the SituationThe client solution implemented involved a few different tactics.

First, the scope of the work had to be identified and properly sequenced. There are several automated tools available to audit and catalog the various ADA violations. Instead of focusing on discreet errors, it’s best to focus on similar patterns of non-compliance. Prioritization of the work should be done based on the severity level of the violation. Also, it’s important to note, that while automated tools make a lot of things easier, there will always be a measure of manual testing required to ensure compliance. Failing to account for this can push back estimated release dates.

Second, adopting an agile process made estimation and delivery a breeze. The scope of the development work involves identifying the appropriate HTML tags and values that enable and support the native accessibility features of industry standard browsers. Your UI development resources should be well versed in the proper HTML tag and value structure.

Third, we worked with the client team to engage in automated testing and manual validation of complex use cases. Every site is different, and each deployment will have its own areas of complexity. These areas should be identified as soon as possible and have particular attention paid. Well documented User Stories and Test Cases supporting these areas will help guarantee that nothing slips through the cracks and helps illuminate the manual test cases that need to be run.

Should You Worry about ADA Compliance?The short answer is “Yes.”

If you are unsure whether or not your website or eCommerce storefront is compliant with Title III of the ADA, there are audit tools available that will provide you with a baseline understanding of your exposure. The DOJ acknowledges that Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.0 stand as the basis on which to judge a website is accessible not only to people with disabilities but to all web users, including those with highly limited devices.

If you know that your site is potentially non-compliant, what are you waiting for? Put together a team to audit your site according to the WCAG 2.0 standards immediately. Better yet, a trusted partner with highly trained and experienced UI / UX engineers can not only help you identify and remediate glaring compliance issues, but they can also apply a proprietary and innovative delivery methodology to identify these compliance issues further upstream in your development process.

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