2018 Legal Update on Digital Access Cases with Lainey Feingold

2018 Legal Update on
Digital Access Cases
3PlayMedia Webinar 11/29/18
Lainey Feingold
@LFLegal**LFLegal.com

(not so) Fine Print
LFLegal.com Legal
Updates
are Not Legal Advice
©Law Office of Lainey Feingold | LFLegal.com 2

Goals of this Webinar
Make sense of the
legal landscape
Help shift from fear to
motivation
You have a role: how
can the law help?
Make sense of what
happens tomorrow

Accessibility as a Civil Right
Legal Foundation
How is the Law Being Used
Best Practices

Why is the Law Part of Digital
Accessibility?

Accessibility is….
A civil
(human) right
of disabled
people
Photo credit: Tom Olin 1990

Disabled People with
Legal Rights

Instead of thinking of
Plaintiffs….
Students
Shoppers
Patients
Customers
Tax payers
Investors
Employees and
applicants
Sports fans
Citizens /
Voters
Diners
Home owners©Law Office of Lainey Feingold | LFLegal.com 8

With Accessibility. . . .
•Participation
•Inclusion
•Equality

No accessibility?
Left out
Exclusion
Discriminatio
n

Judges Agree….
Today, internet technology enables individuals to
participate actively in their community and engage
in commerce from the comfort and convenience of
their home. It would be a cruel irony …
©Law Office of Lainey Feingold | LFLegal.com
to adopt the interpretation of the ADA espoused
by Blick, which would render the legislation
intended to emancipate the disabled from the
bonds of isolation and segregation obsolete when
its objective is increasingly within reach.. – J.
Weinstein, federal judge
13

Accessibility is also…..
Confidentiality
Security
Privacy
Right to
information

A Choice…
15

Legal Foundation is Strong!

US Laws and Policies
ADA
Public Sector
Private Sector
Employment
Effective
Communication
Federally funded
(504)
Federal employment
(501 and 503)
Federal
Procurement (508)
Airlines | CVAA
Section 1557
(#HealthIT)

ADA Web
Regulations?

ADA Web Regs…..
are Inactive
The ADA Isn’t!

Judges agree
“The court will not delay in
adjudicating [plaintiff’s] claim on the
off-chance the DOJ promptly issues
regulations it has contemplated
issuing for seven years but has yet
to make significant progress on.”

Even the
Current DOJ
Agrees!
Dear Congressman Budd…

DOJ
2018
2004-2017
Today’s Courts Rely on Yesterday’s DOJ
23

Take-away?
ADA Web Regs. . . are Dead
ADA is Alive + Well

U.S. State
Laws
• Procurement
• State Funding
• Anti-discrimination

UNCRPD
• W3.org/WAI/Policy
• LFLegal.com

Legal
Remedies
Injunctive Relief – Fix
Attorneys’ Fees
Damages for the plaintiff /
claimant
Court Supervision
27

Without Advocates and Strategies28

US Legal Strategies
Disabled People’s
Advocacy
Lawsuits
Federal Agency
Complaints
Structured
Negotiation

Lawsuits Enforce Civil Rights
And the Lawsuit Strategy Can be
Misused
On all sides

Most cases
in early
stages
Most
defendants
losing

Stop Wasting
Money Fighting
Lawsuits

Winn-Dixie
On Appeal 11th
Circuit

Domino’s Pizza
On Appeal 9th
Circuit

GNC
Who’s an
Expert?

Whisper
Lounge
In CA: $ (once);
WCAG

Phone ≠ Web

Alameda
County Voting
First WCAG 2.1
Settlement

Dunkin Donuts
11th circuit

Credit Unions
BECU… or
Backlash

US Department
of Education
“Mass Filer” Regs

Higher Ed
Lawsuits
Best Practices?
bit.ly/HigherEdLaw
40 cases against
Mid-Atlantic
Colleges /
Universities this Fall

Employment

Audio
Description

Digital Access > Websites

Accessibility = Privacy
Walmart Kiosk Lawsuit

Unusual Twists
Whistleblower case
(TFA) - settled
Web developer sued
in Wet Willies
”Web Site Designed
and Hosted by Sabre
Technologies”

3 Legal Concepts

Who can bring
the lawsuit?
(standing)

Can the same
company get more
than one suit?
(mootness)

Does the website have
to be connected to a
bricks + mortar place?
(nexus)

Many judges understand…
“A rigid adherence to
a physical nexus
requirement leaves
potholes of
discrimination in what
would otherwise be a
smooth road to
integration.”

Foundational Cases
……..AN…
55

More Foundational

And Even More
Foundational Cases
……..AN…
57

Numbers (Federal Web
Lawsuits)
2015 … 57
2016 … 262
2017 … 814
2018 Jan - June…
1054
Want more?
adatitleiii.com/©Law Office of Lainey Feingold | LFLegal.com 58

Don’t be
distracted
by court
cases

Good Strategies Bake in
Access

Best Practices….
•Web and Mobile ++
•WCAG 2.1 AA
•Web Accessibility Coordinator
•Independent consultant
•Accessibility Policy

Best Practices…. Training
Who
What
By Whom
Check it out….
Photo: Shutterstock
63

Best Practices…. Accessibility
Statement
NEW!
w3.org/WAI/plannin
g/statements/
LFLegal.com
[search Hitachi]
Photo: Whirlwind Int’l
64

Best Practices…. More
•Add to performance evaluations
•Use a testing tool Usability Testing
•Vendor Contracts (specificity)!
lflegal.com/2018/04/vendor-contracts/

Best Practices….Culture!
lflegal.com/2018/05/accessibility-culture/
66

When You Think about Digital
Accessibility Law

Resources
•LFLegal.com/
•contact
•Legal Update Tab
•ADATitleiii.com
•Last year’s
3PlayMedia Update
•Accessibility.legal
•Accessibility in the
News
70

LFLegal.com/book
•Stories!
•Strategies!
•A11y!
•20% off w/
LFLEGAL20
on shopaba
71

Stay In Touch
• @LFLegal
• LFLegal.com/c
ontact (mailing
list)
• LFLegal.com
• Website has:
updates,
settlements,
media,
webinars,
upcoming talks
72

2018 Legal Update on Digital Access Cases with Lainey Feingold

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