Common Questions
about
Section 508 and AutoComply

1. What is Section 508 of American's with Disabilities Act (ADA) ?
2. How many people are on the Internet with Disabilities?
3. Which organizations are required to make their websites compliant?
4. What happens if we don't make our website compliant?
5. Our company has Hardcopy Braille literature as an alternative to our website, is that enough?
6. Can we make our website compliant manually?

1. What is Section 508 American's with Disabilities Act (ADA) ?

This legislation became effective June 2001. Section 508 standards require websites of federal agencies, contractors, and suppliers to be compatible with devices used by people who are disabled (see www.section508.gov & www.icdri.org/SL508overview.html). One class of these devices is screen readers which are used by people who are blind to 'SPEAK' website content out loud. An improperly designed website renders these devices virtually useless.

2. How many people are on the Internet with Disabilities?

The US Department of Commerce Bureau of Census states the following national statistics:
- 13 million people use assistive technology for anatomical, mobility, hearing, vision and speech disabilities
- 52% of people with disabilities are active in the U.S. workforce
- 29%, or 20.3 million families in the U.S. have at least one family member with a disability

3. Which organizations are required to make their websites compliant?

Many think that only Federal agencies are required to make websites compliant? But Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act extends the coverage to other organizations

State Governments, County governments, city goverments, and local municipalities:

"Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act requires State and local governments to ensure nondiscrimination based on disability in provision programs, services, or activities. This 'Program Access' is achieved when all programs, services, and activities are accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities when viewed in their entirety."
County of Los Angeles Office of Affirmation Action Compliance, 11/17/97

Corporations:

The need for compliance extends beyond county governments. The National Federation for the Blind has already successfully brought lawsuits against America Online (11/99), Bank of America (3/00), and four online tax services (4/00) for inaccessible designs. Settlement agreements were reached in all instances and all entities are now compliant. Making websites compliant is a sound business decision as well. According to the 1998 President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities: "Consumers with disabilities control more than $175 billion dollars in discretionary income. They, like all consumers, are more likely to patronize businesses where they feel welcome. Accessible stores, products and services, along with employees with disabilities, will help customers feel that their business is appreciated."

* Be proactive versus waiting until your company must be reactive and the cost to comply is possibly higher.

4. What happens if we don't make our website compliant?

The new legislation provides webusers a support for web users to file lawsuits against your organization. If after the compliant is filed, your site could face fines up $55,000 per violation.

5. We have Hardcopy Braille literature as an alternative to our website, is that enough?

Also the Department of Justice ruled that merely providing large print or Braille versions of website content is not deemed 'effective' accessibility to a website (see International Center for Disability Resources )

6. Can we make our website compliant manually?

Website designers can manually implement over 50 rules (see World Wide Web Consortium ) for each page of a website to make it comply with the new legislation. It is estimated that it takes an average of 2.5 hours per page to make it compliant manually. For dynamic sites, it takes 4 hours to make each template compliant. Manual implementation costs thousands of dollars of time and effort.