[Sigia-l] FW: FC: Judge rules Americans with Disabilities Act doesn't cover web

[John McCrory]

zimsby at yahoo.com wrote:

> The standards also apply to sites *funded* by federal
> organizations.  We received a government grant for a
> redesign of our healthcare nonprofit, and we're
> required to develop the site in compliance with the
> section 508 guidelines.
[snip]

A clarification: Just because an organization receives federal grants or
contracts does not necessarily mean that the organization's own web site
must be 508 compliant. Rather, the requirements apply only to the extent
that "a specific term of the contract is to supply electronic information
intended for federal employees or the public and not to information that is
merely incidental to the contract" (to paraphrase one of our in-house
lawyers who recently looked into this question).

A company that sells toilet seats to the military, for example, will not be
barred from bidding on toilet seat contracts because the company's web site
does not meet section 508's requirements.

The key issue is whether the federal government is paying you specifically
to provide electronic information or information services; if that's what
your grant or contract is about, then you need to comply with 508.

This subject came up at my organization because one of our subsidiaries was
recently approached by a web design firm with a sales pitch that included
the issue of 508 compliance. Because this subsidiary relied in part on
federal funding, the salesman told them their web site had to be 508
compliant, and said his firm could re-design the web site to comply. The
salesman was basically raising the threat of losing federal funding as a way
to convince us we needed to hire them.

I've heard from other nonprofit organizations they they're hearing the same
sales pitch, and a lot of them are scared by it and don't realize it doesn't
necessarily apply to them when their federal contracts/grants aren't for
electronic info or services. Does this seem to be unethical marketing to
anybody else?

Nevertheless, making your web site or other electronic media accessible is
just a smart thing to do, and it raises a lot of important design issues
that put the focus on the user. From my perspective, the issue of universal
usability (aka accessibility) is a great tool; it helps me get the
unconverted members of development teams (and among the folks higher up who
approve development projects) to focus attention on usability issues in
which they are often otherwise uninterested. We're going through a rebuild
right now so our web site will be accessible. But this time, instead of
finding myself fighting constant battles to justify more usable and
accessible ways of doing things, it's a breeze.

Somewhat related: a great editorial on universal design of Metropolis
Magazine appeared a couple months back:
http://www.metropolismag.com/html/content_0802/pub/index.html

   John McCrory
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   Vera Institute of Justice
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