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The federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires certain businesses to make accommodations for people with disabilities, both online and in-store. Failure to comply with these regulations can result in lawsuits up to $50,000 depending on the state and it is common for attorneys to seek out non-compliant businesses.

These regulations ensure that individuals with a physical or mental impairment that limits one or more major life activities are able to fully utilize your website and physical location.

 

Please Note: The system inherently helps you with ADA compatibility by adding ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) labels to areas such as the newsletter module and website forms. This allows those areas to be read aloud by screen readers and other assistive technology.

 

Who does this apply to?

The ADA requirements are broken into two categories: Title I and Title III of the ADA are the ones most applicable to small private business owners.

 

ADA Title I Compliance

The ADA defines " employer" as someone who:

• Engages in an industry affecting commerce.
• Is open 20 or more calendar weeks in the year.
• Employs 15 or more full-time employees each working day.

If you do not meet this criteria, then you do not have to comply with Title I.

 

ADA Title III Compliance

This pertains only to businesses that are considered "public accommodations". Generally only the following business types are affected although a full list can be viewed here.

• Places for lodging: hotels, motels, inns, or other facilities that provide accommodations for transient guests

• Places serving food or drinks: restaurants, bars, bakeries, grocery stores, or other facilities serving food and/or beverages

• Places for sales and rentals: any retail stores or shopping center offering to sell or rent goods

• Places for public gatherings, entertainment or otherwise: theaters, concert halls, stadiums, auditoriums, lecture halls, convention centers or other facilities used for public gatherings

• Places for exercise or recreation: gyms, recreational centers, spas, golf courses, bowling alleys

• Places of service: banks, laundromats, barber shops, insurance agencies, and other facilities that serve the public

• Places for public transport: taxi, train, bus, ferry, or other terminals, depots, and stations

• Places for public display of art or collections: museums, libraries, galleries

• Places of public recreation: parks, zoos, amusement parks

• Places of education: nursery, elementary, secondary, undergraduate, and postgraduate schools

• Places for social services: food banks, shelters, adoption agencies, or other facilities offering a social service

If your business falls under either Title I or Title III of the ADA and you do not believe you are compliant, consult with a disability lawyer and explore your options.

 

Tips for Being Compliant

Brush up on Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) here. WCAG outlines a set of standards to help you create and evaluate the accessibility of your online content. Adhering to these guidelines makes your website more inclusive. Websites have a number of suggested methods for remaining ADA Compliant. They are listed below:

• Make all functionality available from a keyboard (automatically done through the Rain POS software).

• Provide users enough time to read and use content.

• Don’t design content in a way that is known to cause seizures or other physical reactions.

• Provide ways to help users navigate, find content, and determine what location of the site they are currently accessing.

• The language of the page should be programmatically identifiable (automatically done through the Rain POS software).

• Navigation should be consistent across the website (automatically done through the Rain POS software).

• Areas of the website that require user input (like contact forms) should have ample instructions included.

• Provide text alternatives for non-text content using captions and other alternatives.

• Design your website using colors and fonts that are easier to see.

• Maximize your content for assistive tools.