How To Avoid an ADA Website Compliance Lawsuit: Will Yours Be Next?

To Avoid an ADA Website Compliance Lawsuit a Business Should Meet These Requirements

• Remove identified ADA access requirements and ensure the website meets the current requirements for disable accessibility under the Website Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) a global standard that now governs the acceptable levels that a website must meet to be considered fully compliant with the law
• Make sure that the level of compliance is at least Level AA as outlined within the WCAG.

ADA access barriers should be removed now rather than later

Unfortunately, most small to midsized companies don’t understand the severity of not having their website in compliance with the ADA and the exposure they have for a business interrupting ADA website compliance lawsuit.

Removing website access barriers and getting into an acceptable level of compliance should be top of mind.

If a website owner waits until a claim or lawsuit is filed to deal with a non-compliance issue it’s too late. By that time a disabled person has already been denied access and the claim is valid.

The only thing left to do is to bring the website into compliance by removing the access barriers and entering into serious negotiations with the disabled person and their attorney to resolve the claim for as little money as possible.

The Cost of an ADA website compliance lawsuit is much more than the cost to get into compliance

Don’t wait. Failure to bring your website into compliance can be very costly. The average ADA website compliance lawsuit will on average cost a business $40,000 and up taking into account the requirements to remove access barriers, pay discrimination claims, and attorneys’ fees and costs.

This amount of money for the vast majority of small business owners could be the difference between profit and loss and even staying in business.

Removing access barriers for most small businesses is much less than it will cost after a claim or lawsuit has been filed.

Access barrier removal and getting a website in acceptable compliance can be done for most small business websites for under $5000 and maintained consistently. There is no need to pay exorbitant fees that are charged by some accessible companies that are advertising their wares pushing high costs of compliance.

For the most part, acceptable compliance can be achieved by obtaining an audit of a website and determining what is needed to bring the website into compliance. Some companies provide them for free on a limited basis and then from there, they will provide coding of a website to bring it into compliance and monitor it regularly to keep it in ADA compliance.

Monthly and annual plans are offered by ADA accessibility companies and along with bringing the website into acceptable compliance, they will support the website owner in defending any claims that are filed afterward by a disabled person or lawyer filing and making a claim that the website is not in compliance.

ADA Website Accessibility Costs Are Reimbursable From the Federal 

Government

A little known fact is that the federal government will reimburse a business for bringing a website into compliance with the ADA. This makes it all the more reason a business should make sure that its website complies with the law.

Under Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Section 44 there is a tax credit that provides up to $5000   toward the cost of ADA access barrier removal. A tax credit gives dollar for dollar credit for every dollar spent by a business. IRS code Section 190 also provides for an additional tax deduction of up to $15,000 in addition to the $5000 tax credit.

Removing ADA website access barriers helps to increase business profits

Persons with disabilities are a huge market. They have 490 billion dollars of discretionary income to spend and they are loyal when it comes to businesses that cater to them and make them welcome by removing access barriers. 490 billion dollars is a lot and right up there with other identified groups like African Americans and Hispanics when it comes to overall spending power.

Doesn’t it just make sense to go after this market and create an additional stream of income for business?

Yearly, more than 6 billion dollars are lost in sales profits because businesses don’t have accessible gateways to disable persons. Think about getting just a tiny sliver of that to your business by spending less than $5000 to make your website ADA accessible. Even more so, if your business is a physical location where you provide goods and services.

Remember, disabled persons have family and friends who aren’t disabled. However, those friends and family shop, eat, and visit places of entertainment that welcome their disabled friends and family and provide access to them to enjoy these things together.

Statistically, 1 in 4 people lives with a disability. There is a 1 in 3 chance that a person during a lifetime will become disabled for 2 or more years during a lifetime. These are sobering facts that should motivate making websites and physical buildings accessible to persons with disabilities.

Here’s the bottom line:

• The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a mandatory government compliance law. It should be complied with because of the law and every business requirement to comply.
• Compliance is the right thing to do.
• There is money provided by the federal government to remove access barriers and lessen or remove the cost of ADA compliance.
• ADA compliance opens up new markets for businesses and provides a way to scale up for more profits.
• Compliance avoids claims and lawsuits that can wipe out profits or close a business for good.