ADA website accessibility: 2019 trends and predictions for 2020
As predicted, the flood of website accessibility lawsuits is continuing in the first months of 2020 after the U.S. Supreme Court declined late last year to weigh in on whether the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to the websites of places of public accommodation.
Background
The high court's decision not to hear Robles v. Dominos Pizza, LLC was seen as a major victory by disability advocate groups and has encouraged the flood of new lawsuits. The U.S. Department of Justice has long held the view public websites must be accessible to people with disabilities.
Without any Supreme Court guidance to the contrary, many trial courts across the country will continue to hold that Title III of the ADA requires places of public accommodation (including retail businesses) to ensure their websites are accessible to all, including visually impaired individuals using screen-reading software.
Wait, what?! Look who's getting sued now
In 2019, more than 2,000 new website accessibility lawsuits were filed in federal court. Website accessibility was in the public eye more than ever before, and the proliferation of lawsuits has led to some interesting headlines: