Litigation surrounding the accessibility of online services continues to evolve. On January 15, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the website and mobile app of Domino's Pizza must comply with...more
1/21/2019
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Dominos ,
Due Process ,
Public Accommodation ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Title III ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
Courts across the country have increasingly held that the websites of certain businesses that provide goods and services to the public are covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). ...more
12/13/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Public Accommodation ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Title III ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
Last week, the U.S. Department of Education released a proposed rule to amend the regulations implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX)....more
11/19/2018
/ Clery Act ,
Colleges ,
Department of Education ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender-Based Violence ,
OCR ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Universities
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently revealed the agency's proposal to narrow the legal definition of sex under Title IX, the federal civil rights law that bans discrimination based on sex in...more
10/26/2018
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
LGBTQ ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
Protected Class ,
School Restrooms ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
Most websites for housing providers and other businesses should be accessible to individuals with disabilities. But how is this enforced? ...more
10/9/2018
/ Affordable Housing ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Community Development ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Failure to Comply ,
Housing Market ,
Low Income Housing ,
Low-Income Issues ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
Businesses, including various employers and financial service providers, continue to face potential litigation over the accessibility of their websites to individuals with disabilities. ...more
Employers across the country continue to face potential litigation over the accessibility of their websites to individuals with disabilities. The increase in website accessibility litigation under the Americans with...more
8/24/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Public Accommodation ,
Title III ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites ,
Winn-Dixie Stores
BarBri, Inc., a provider of review courses and materials for law school graduates preparing for the bar exam, earlier this month entered into a consent decree to resolve claims that its online and app-based content was not...more
2/1/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Consent Decrees ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Law School ,
Mobile Apps ,
Online Courses ,
Online Education ,
Public Accommodation ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Title III ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions recently announced that the Department of Justice (DOJ) rescinded 25 guidance documents that the department deemed unnecessary, inconsistent with existing law, or otherwise improper....more
1/4/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deregulation ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Executive Orders ,
Guidance Update ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Burden ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Service Animals ,
Title II ,
Title III ,
Trump Administration
On September 22, 2017, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a "Dear Colleague Letter" that withdrew two key Title IX documents issued during the Obama administration—a Dear Colleague Letter...more
9/27/2017
/ Colleges ,
Dear Colleague Letter ,
Department of Education ,
Educational Institutions ,
Federal Funding ,
Gender-Based Violence ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Universities
Two federal courts in New York recently joined the growing list of those finding that Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) does apply to websites. Both courts denied motions to dismiss by businesses that had...more
On July 20, the Trump Administration posted its first Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. For the first time, the Agenda included a list of “inactive” actions to notify the public of regulations “still...more
8/3/2017
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deregulation ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Public Accommodation ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Title III ,
Trump Administration ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
Following a two-day bench trial, a federal judge in Florida issued a decision on June 12, 2017, finding that the website of grocer Winn-Dixie must comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) because the website is...more
6/30/2017
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Grocery Stores ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Public Accommodation ,
Rewards Programs ,
Title III ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites ,
Winn-Dixie Stores
The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has announced the resolution of two Title IX sexual violence complaints filed against a private university in Ohio. In the resolution letter and agreement, which...more
The U.S. Departments of Justice and Education have withdrawn existing guidance on transgender students and issued a new Dear Colleague Letter calling into question whether Title IX requires that schools permit students to use...more
3/10/2017
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Dear Colleague Letter ,
Department of Education ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discrimination ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
LGBTQ ,
School Restrooms ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title IX ,
Transgender
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a consent decree to resolve allegations by a blind student regarding the accessibility of a university's website and other technologies. The DOJ requires the university to pay...more
After years of decisions in which the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) criticized colleges' and universities' handling of claims filed by individuals alleging sexual assault on campus, OCR now...more
The U.S. Supreme Court today affirmed the University of Texas at Austin's admissions program, which permits consideration of an applicant’s race as one of a number of factors in admissions decisions. Justice Kennedy authored...more
6/24/2016
/ Affirmative Action ,
College Admissions ,
Colleges ,
Diversity ,
Educational Institutions ,
Fisher v University of Texas ,
Race Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Strict Scrutiny Standard ,
Universities ,
University of Texas
The U.S. Departments of Justice and Education issued a joint Dear Colleague Letter on May 13, 2016, clarifying that Title IX prohibits discrimination based on gender identity, including transgender status. The guidance states...more
5/16/2016
/ Dear Colleague Letter ,
Department of Education ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Educational Institutions ,
FERPA ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
LGBTQ ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Transgender
Following years of delay, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is requesting comment on more than 120 questions regarding the proposed web accessibility rule under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Though...more
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to certain entities providing goods and services to the public. In the context of interactions with the public, mortgage lenders have obligations to ensure that information...more
The U.S. Department of Education is creating a Student Aid Enforcement Unit to respond to allegations of illegal actions by higher education institutions. The announcement closely follows the Department's and Federal Trade...more
The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently made announcements that signal the government’s continued focus on ensuring that colleges and universities comply with Title IX's...more
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Kent State University (KSU) reached a $145,000 settlement over claims of discrimination under the Fair Housing Act (FHA) on January 4, 2016. In 2014, DOJ initiated a lawsuit against...more
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has published its Fall 2015 Statement of Regulatory Priorities and announced that its much-anticipated rulemaking on web accessibility under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) will...more