As our blog readers are aware, website accessibility claims have been on the rise for the past decade, with no end in sight. To make matters worse, there is a new bill making its way through the California assembly that will exacerbate these types of claims. And, although the bill is state-specific, it would have consequences throughout the country. 
Indeed, if passed, this bill would immediately create liability for businesses everywhere, so long as those businesses’ websites have California-based visitors. In other words, virtually every business with a representative reading this blog would be affected.
By way of background, the U.S. Department of Justice has emphasized that businesses should make websites accessible to the disabled and has emphasized that businesses should do so by relying on a set of accessibility guidelines called the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (“WCAG”). Last year, the DOJ issued what it termed “helpful guidance” on website accessibility, stating that businesses have “flexibility in how they comply with the ADA’s general requirements of nondiscrimination and effective communication.”
In contrast, this proposed new CA law takes a much stricter and more rigid approach. Specifically, Continue reading
the websites. (For more information about the developing law on this issue, check out our prior posts 
You own a store and you have a website…does your website and mobile app have to be accessible with the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”)? This is a question that many retailers are struggling with especially in light of new aggressive litigation tactics taken by a single plaintiff represented by law firm in Pittsburgh who has been sending letters to companies and organizations across all industries, big and small, national chains and independents, threatening litigation under the ADA for a non-compliant website. The law firm even recently