No company is too big to be sued for not having an Accessible site.
In today's digital age, having an accessible website is crucial for businesses to ensure that everyone, including people with disabilities, can access their products and services. However, many (perhaps most) companies have failed to comply with web accessibility laws, leading to lawsuits and legal consequences.
The ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) was signed into law in 1990, prohibiting discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and public and private places that are open to the general public. As the internet became more prevalent, the Department of Justice began to apply the ADA to websites and digital content, stating that they must be accessible to people with disabilities.
In recent years, several high-profile companies have faced lawsuits for failing to provide accessible websites. In 2008, Netflix was sued for not providing closed captioning for its streaming video content, leading to a settlement of $755,000. In 2019, Nike was sued for violating the ADA by not having a website that individuals with visual impairments could access, resulting in a settlement of $8.25 million. Domino's Pizza was also sued for not having an accessible website for people with visual and hearing impairments. They fought all the way to the Supreme Court who threw the suit out without hearing it, ultimately resulting in a settlement of $8.75 million. These cases demonstrate that no company is exempt from web accessibility laws, regardless of their size or industry.
The legal consequences of not complying with the ADA can be financially devastating for companies. In addition to lawsuit settlements, companies may also face fines from the Department of Justice for violations of the ADA. These fines can amount to thousands or even millions of dollars, which can significantly impact a company's bottom line and reputation. Undoubtedly part of the reason for such high fines is that the law has been in place for over 30 years, longer than these sites have even existed.
The takeaway is that no company is too big to be sued for not having an accessible website, and the irony is that in addition to the massive payouts, they have to rework the website anyway to become compliant. So why not just do it correctly in the first place? (I'll be discussing steps to take in a future article.)
Want to see how your site fairs?
One simple way to check is to download WAVE, a free extension available for most browsers.