DoJ Refuses Request to Issue ADA Guidance for Websites
More than 100 lawsuits have been filed against CUs alleging that the websites are not accessible to people with disabilities.
The Justice Department isn’t ready to come to the rescue of credit unions and others being hounded by lawsuits alleging that their websites are not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The Department is “evaluating whether promulgating specific web accessibility standards through regulations is necessary and appropriate to ensure compliance with the ADA,” Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd wrote in a letter Tuesday to Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C.).
He said that “public accommodations have flexibility in how to comply with the ADA’s general requirements of nondiscrimination and effective communication.”
More than 100 lawsuits have been filed against credit unions alleging that the institutions’ websites are not accessible to people with disabilities. Many of those lawsuits have been filed by the same attorneys and many have been settled out of court. Similar lawsuits have been filed against other types of businesses.
The Justice Department under President Obama had announced its intention to issue ADA guidance governing websites.
But the Trump Administration put the guidance on an inactive list and did not take it off it in the Spring update of its regulatory agenda. The administration has placed a high priority on rolling back regulations.
More than 100 members of Congress and 19 state attorneys general have asked the Justice Department to issue ADA guidance for websites.
So far, the administration has resisted pressure to issue the guidance.
The House, in its version of the FY19 appropriations bill for the Justice Department included instructions directing the department to issue ADA guidance. The Senate version of the same bill does not include that provision.
The House Appropriations Committee, in its report for the Commerce-Justice-Science funding bill, states, the that the panel “expects the Department to clarify standards for website accessibility requirements pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act in fiscal year 2019. The Committee recognizes the confusion caused by a lack of uniform website accessibility standards. The lack of clear requirements disadvantages small businesses that provide essential services for our communities.”
Credit union trade groups have been assisting individual credit unions in fighting the rash of lawsuits.
“NAFCU and its members strongly support the protections of the ADA, and we believe that these efforts are best achieved through clear guidance and standards for website compliance, not through meritless and costly lawsuits,” Carrie Hunt, NAFCU executive vice president of government affairs and general counsel said. “Unfortunately, the Department of Justice’s letter sheds no new light on this issue and, we will continue to work with Congress to make sure compliance with the ADA is feasible and workable for credit unions.”
CUNA took aim at the attorneys who have filed the suits against credit unions.
“Many credit unions have been adversely affected by the tactics of unscrupulous plaintiff attorneys who appear to be more concerned with collecting settlements than advancing the spirit of the ADA,” CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle said.