Issue 23 January 27 2022 Skip to main content

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 Access Ready Inc., a nonprofit cross disability advocacy organization promoting a policy of inclusion and accessibility across information technology through education and best practices has partnered with Top Tech Tidbits, the world's #1 online resource for current news and trends in adaptive technology. Adaptive Technology refers to items that are specifically designed for people with disabilities. Adaptive Technology is a subset of Assistive Technology. Adaptive Technology often refers specifically to electronic and information technology access. Founded in 2018, Access Ready publications reach out to over 100,000 professionals in the business, government, nonprofit and media sectors each month. Sign up and review the archive at https://accessready.org.

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2021 YEAR END REPORT - APP & WEB ACCESSIBILITY LAWSUITS BREAK RECORDS

Our annual report is out and below are the highlighted trends we are seeing along with some color behind the numbers. This report is now in its fourth year and is published twice a year. The data is used by over 200 different news and content outlets along with being used in key cases including the Domino's cases noted in front of the Supreme Court. Digital Lawsuits have helped bring significant attention to the need to ensure all digital experiences should be usable by all. The UsableNet research team monitors and documents all digital accessibility-related lawsuits where a website, mobile app, or video content is the subject of a claim in federal court under the ADA or in State court under ADA-related laws

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FORUM SHOPPING FOR A WEBSITE LAWSUIT OVER THE HOLIDAYS? LOOK NO FURTHER THAN THE SDNY.

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FIVE 2022 ACCESSIBILITY TRENDS

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CRYSTAL BALL 2022: MORE AGGRESSIVE DOJ ENFORCEMENT, MORE LAWSUITS, AND MAYBE A NEW RULEMAKING.

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Government Spotlight

DOJ ALLEGES THAT CHICOPEE, MASSACHUSETTS, HOUSING AUTHORITY AND ITS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DISCRIMINATED AGAINST TENANTS ON THE BASIS OF RACE, NATIONAL ORIGIN AND DISABILITY

The Justice Departmentís Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Massachusetts announced today that they have filed an amended complaint alleging that the Chicopee Housing Authority and its Executive Director, Monica Blazic, violated federal law by discriminating against residents based on race, national origin and disability. These allegations, which are significantly broader than those in the original complaint, include claims under the Fair Housing Act (FHA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act. The original complaint, filed in April, alleged that the defendants had discriminated against one tenant because of her disability.

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Education Accessibility

 DOJ FINDS THAT MANSON YOUTH INSTITUTION VIOLATES THE U.S. CONSTITUTION AND THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT

The Department of Justice Civil Rights Division announced today that it has concluded an investigation into whether Manson Youth Institution is violating the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) with respect to children in the facility. The departments investigation concluded that there is reasonable cause to believe that Mansons isolation practices and inadequate mental health services seriously harm children, under age 18, and place them at substantial risk of serious harm.

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WHAT IS SECTION 508 COMPLIANCE?

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Current Legal Actions

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SUES OPHTHALMOLOGY PRACTICE WITH 24 FACILITIES FOR DISCRIMINATING AGAINST INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES WHO USE WHEELCHAIRS

The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against Barnet Dulaney Perkins Eye Center PC (BDP), an optometry and ophthalmology medical provider, for discriminating against patients who, because of their disabilities, need assistance in transferring from their wheelchairs to the surgical table for outpatient eye surgery. BDP operates 24 facilities in Arizona. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for Arizona, alleges that BDP violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by refusing to provide patients with disabilities the transfer assistance they need assistance that is routinely provided by healthcare providers across the country.

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Business Accessibility

 WEBSITE ACCESSIBILITY PROBLEMS CREATE LEGAL PERIL FOR ONLINE RETAILERS

New research shows the ways lacklusteróor nonexistentóaccessibility features on retailer websites continue to make retailers vulnerable to a growing wave of web accessibility lawsuits. And so far, the courts are not offering much guidance to retailers. The number of such lawsuits in the United States exceeded 10 per day in 2021, a 15% increase compared with 2020, according to a year-end analysis from UsableNet Inc., a web accessibility technology provider. In total, the research found, U.S. plaintiffs filed 4,055 web accessibility lawsuits in 2021, up from 3,503 in 2020.

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INDUSTRY LEADING HR AND PAYROLL COMPANY ADP WORKS WITH LIGHTHOUSE TO ENHANCE ACCESSIBILITY OF PRODUCTS TO BLIND USERS

In December 2021, the LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired of San Francisco and blind LightHouse staff members reached an agreement with the Professional Employer Organization ADP TotalSource to enhance the accessibility and usability of the ADP Workforce No solution to LightHouse staff who are blind or have low vision and use screen-reading software to access digital content. LightHouse, a 120-year-old nonprofit which supports and promotes the independence, equality, and self-reliance of people who are blind or have low vision in northern California, uses ADP TotalSource products for its human resources and payroll needs.

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HOW AND WHY WORKPLACE TECH IS BECOMING MORE INCLUSIVE

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ACCESSIBILITY AWARENESS IS ON THE RISE, BUT IS IT TURNING INTO ACTION?

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HOW AN AMAZON RESEARCHER WHO IS BLIND ADVOCATES FOR CUSTOMERS WITH DISABILITIES

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THE TECH INDUSTRY'S ACCESSIBILITY REPORT CARD FOR 2021

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Across the world, people are using more technology and using it more often, especially at work. This has led to a push from technology companies to make their products more accessible and inclusive. Sanaz Ahari, senior director of product at Google, oversees communications products across Google Workspace and Android, including email, videoconferencing, and collaboration tools. During the pandemic, we had consumers relying on [our tech], and we had educators relying on it, in addition to people at work, Ahari told Fortune. The products look nothing like they did [compared with] March of last year.

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Healthcare Accessibility

CDC DIRECTOR APOLOGIZES TO DISABLED COMMUNITY OVER INSENSITIVE REMARKS

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MEDICARE PLANS TO RESTRICT ACCESS TO CONTROVERSIAL, PRICEY ALZHEIMER'S DRUG ADUHELM TO PATIENTS IN CLINICAL TRIALS 

Medicare plans to cover the controversial, pricey Alzheimers drug Aduhelm, but only for certain patients enrolled in clinical trials, the agency announced on Tuesday. The proposed move would likely mean some patients will not be able to access the Biogen drug, which is the first Alzheimerís treatment approved in nearly two decades. Since it got the green light this summer, doctors and scientists have raised questions about whether it actually works, government watchdogs have begun investigating whether the Food and Drug Administration followed proper procedure to approve it

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Accessible Technology

TOP TECH TIDBITS 

The world's #1 online resource for current news and trends in adaptive technology.

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