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public, store front or web, must meet ADA accessibility guidelines.
Failure to comply could result in fines up to or exceeding $100,000."

There have been lawsuits for many years dealing with this
internationally as well as domestically.

To my understanding, all websites open to the public for commercial
purposes, non-profits, and government agencies (or those working with
the government as a major client) are required to comply, just as
public access buildings are required to comply with ADA laws.

It boils down to titles on links and alts on images, but there is more
to it than just that. WordPress complies on many things but not on the
requirement of links and images. That needs to be changed, and people
need to be aware.

I can get you access to several experts on the subject if you want
their input on this.

Thanks!
Lorelle VanFossen
Lorelle on WordPress - http://lorelle.wordpress.com/
Lorelle Teaches - http://lorelleteaches.com/
Blog Your Passion - http://blogyourpassion.wordpress.com/
WordCast Network - http://wordcastnet.com/
Stories of Our Journeys - http://storiesofourjourneys.com/
Bitwire Media - http://www.bitwiremedia.com/
Taking Your Camera on the Road - http://www.cameraontheroad.com/
Lorelle's Family History Blog - http://family.cameraontheroad.com/


On Tue, Nov 20, 2012 at 10:01 AM, James <james at thinkhuman.com> wrote:
> Many thanks, esmi. Maybe I was tripped up by the word "comply". Ethical
> reasons aside (which I agree with), I wasn't aware of a *requirement* to
> comply with any accessbility regulations.
>
> By the way, I'd make one addition to what you said about Section 508: it's
> not simply the "public-facing side of (federal?) sites"--it's much more,
> and encompasses hardware and software. It also applies to technology that
> the feds *buy or use*. So, my experience has been that "compliance" comes
> into play when you're trying to sell something to the government. Not sure
> about the UK environment.
>
> Cheers,
> -james
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2012 14:02:34 +0000
> From: esmi at quirm dot net <esmi at quirm.net>
> Subject: Re: [wp-docs] Accessibility page on Codex (James GIll)
> To: wp-docs at lists.automattic.com
> Message-ID: <50AA3BFA.4070605 at quirm.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> on 17/11/2012 03:48 James said the following:
>> Lorelle, I'm an advocate of accessible sites and explaining things like
>> Section 508 (and have been since there was a WWW), but--I'm unclear about
>> how WordPress is required to "comply" with US accessibility laws or laws
>> of other countries. Also, I'm not clear how WordPress currently prevents
>> building accessible sites for those aiming to create them. Can you explain
>> that a bit, or point me towards more information?
>
> WordPress itself would come under the general heading of "CMS/Software
> Requirements" within the anti-discrimination laws of any given country.
> Certainly in the UK, it would fall under the Disability Discrimination
> Act if it did not make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled
> users are not unfairly disadvantaged when it came to using the software.
> Many other countries in Europe have similar - if not more stringent -
> legal requirements. I'd imagine ADA would apply in the US.
>
> Legality aside, there are the ethical responsibilities to ensure that
> disabled users can create sites as easily as possible. And there are
> quite a few disabled users who use WordPress as their CMS of choice -
> primarily because it already offers a reasonable level of accessibility.
> But that doesn't mean it can't be improved. We also need to teach people
> how to get the best of the features that it offers. :-)
>
> AFAIIA, Section 508 only applies to the public-facing side of (federal?)
> sites. So the onus is really on the site owner but, again, I think we
> have an ethical duty to help people create the most accessible sites
> that they can.
>
> HTH
>
> esmi
> --
> http://quirm.net
> http://blackwidows.co.uk
>
>
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