Best accessibility policies Most companies have an accessibility policy and diversity policy guiding how they work with and accommodate job applicants and employees with disabilities. Successful companies know that a diverse workforce provides insights that furnish unique and creative approaches to problem-solving. While most accessibility policies include basics like prohibiting discrimination on the basis of ability, gender, religion, etc., the more successful corporations take additional measures to ensure they have a diverse and unique workforce. IBM IBM has a… Continue Reading Accessibility Policy and Diversity in the Workforce
5 Key Elements of Accessibility Culture
| Tammy Albee
Accessibility culture is a growing and necessary component of corporate infrastructure. But what should it look like? It has standards Companies with accessibility culture have chosen a standard to follow that provides guidelines for accessibility compliance. It could be Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), or the US Section 508 guidelines, regional standards such as the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), or maybe it’s the EU Directive. Whatever the chosen standard, it is made available publicly for all employees… Continue Reading 5 Key Elements of Accessibility Culture
5 Steps to Creating a Digital Accessibility Plan
| Ryan Pugh
Your company’s digital accessibility plan is an important tool for inclusion and compliance with ADA and 508 policies. It is the roadmap that defines the specifics for your accessibility policy or statement. Your accessibility plan can be part of your equal opportunity or your non-discrimination policy. Or it can stand on its own if those policies already exist and you don’t want to combine them. Step One: Choose a Standard The first step is to choose a standard or standards… Continue Reading 5 Steps to Creating a Digital Accessibility Plan
Digital accessibility is now an issue that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. Lawsuits, stricter accessibility laws, and the simple math of neglecting as much as 25% of the market mean it’s not something any savvy organization can afford to ignore or postpone. As with many facets of any well-run organization such as diversity, customer service, and marketing, accessibility should be integrated into an organization’s culture. Without executive-level leadership, accessibility cannot be properly addressed. Accessibility culture needs to… Continue Reading A Practical Guide to Creating Digital Accessibility Culture
Image recognition is a rapidly evolving technology that uses artificial intelligence tools like computer vision and machine learning to identify digital images. In order to do this, the images are transformed into descriptions that are used to convey meaning. A simple explanation of how it works is that image examples and definitions (said definitions set by humans) are given to the computer, and then the computer is provided with more image examples to identify in repeating tests until the computer… Continue Reading Can Image Recognition by Artificial Intelligence Replace Alt Text?
SEO and Accessibility – Improve One with the Other
| Nina Overdorff
Search engines and assistive technologies, such as screen readers and connected Braille displays, are designed to detect digital content. Accessibility and SEO go hand in hand. Both search engines and assistive technology rely on digital coding to understand content such as documents and websites on a computer screen. Screen readers and search engines are not human beings, and cannot hear audio content, see pictures, or understand visual elements such as columns, tables, charts, infographics, or even lists. They both rely… Continue Reading SEO and Accessibility – Improve One with the Other
Structured negotiation for accessibility lawsuits is a new solution for organizations. In recent years, accessibility lawsuits have been increasing at a staggering rate. ADA Title III Website Accessibility Lawsuits filed in Federal Court 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 4,436 4,789 6,601 7,663 10,163 11,184 (Estimated: 5,592 as of June 2019) Source: Seyfarth & Shaw LLP These numbers, combined with the recent decision of the Supreme Court, have many businesses and organizations worried. In the case of Robles vs. Domino’s,… Continue Reading Structured Negotiation: A New Solution to Accessibility Lawsuits
PDF Conversion Pricing- Am I Getting a Good Deal?
| Nina Overdorff
Making your website accessible is non-negotiable. Ensuring that both your physical and virtual locations are welcoming and accessible to all of your potential visitors is both good business and legally required, especially considering that as much as 25% of the population lives with a disability. One of the more time-consuming aspects of accomplishing website accessibility is PDF conversion. A large percentage of PDF files are not accessible to assistive technology users because their content is not digitally tagged. If you’ve got… Continue Reading PDF Conversion Pricing- Am I Getting a Good Deal?
Robles vs. Domino’s Pizza Explained: No Published Guidelines Doesn’t Mean No Standards
| Nina Overdorff
It’s been nearly four years since Domino’s was first challenged with a lawsuit when California plaintiff Guillermo Robles, who is blind, was unable to order a pizza because the website was inaccessible to his assistive technology. In hopes of reaching as many customers as possible, one would think that Domino’s would simply have fixed the problem and moved on. But for both the Robles and Domino’s, the situation went deeper than just a pizza order. Robles vs. Domino’s Pizza claimed… Continue Reading Robles vs. Domino’s Pizza Explained: No Published Guidelines Doesn’t Mean No Standards
Today’s Special: Inaccessible Restaurant Websites
| Nina Overdorff
Why do inaccessible restaurant websites matter? It’s pizza night. You pull out your phone or sit down with the laptop to order your favorite half pepperoni, half mushroom with extra cheese. You choose the saved delivery address, use your saved credit card or Paypal, and type in the promo code that gives you a free dessert, while getting loyalty credit towards your next free pizza. In 30 minutes or less, your hot gooey pizza is at the door, and your… Continue Reading Today’s Special: Inaccessible Restaurant Websites
