Company websites that aren’t ADA-compliant becoming litigation targets
Websites that are not accessible to people with disabilities have generated a record wave of lawsuits in connection with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The litigations allege that websites are not ADA compliant, according to one of the lawyers who crunched the numbers. More than 1,000 lawsuits have been filed so far this year, already surpassing those filed in 2017.
“Everything is online now … and so it is very difficult to be able to do anything without being on a website and able to access it,” Minh Vu of the Seyfarth Shaw law firm told FOX Business’ Stuart Varney on “Varney & Co.” on Tuesday.
The problem is the vast majority of businesses don’t have accessible websites, she said, and there are no federal regulations adopting web accessibility standards.
“Everybody is kind of caught unaware and these plaintiffs’ lawyers are taking advantage,” she said.
But adhering more to ADA requirements would be very expensive for companies.
“You think about how many millions of websites there are out there – I don’t even think there are enough consultants to help people,” she said. “This is not something you and I can just figure out.”
As part of the settlement, companies are required to pay fees in addition to changing the website, she said, but sometimes the fees have nothing to do with actual time spent on the matter.
“We do defense work so obviously we are benefitting from this,” Vu added. “But the situation is wrong. There should be regulations on this … a process, clear rules and a time for businesses to make their websites ... accessible.”