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ADA Litigation Against Bank & CU Websites is Rising

About ADA

In recent years, since the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, courts throughout the country have ruled that accessibility laws also pertain to a company’s website. Companies have been held financially liable for difficulties that disabled visitors experience online.

Federal law requires financial institutions make their websites ADA compliant, regardless of whether a date has been set for compliance.

Waiting any longer to make your site ADA compliant could have costly consequences since thousands of legal demand settlement letters have already been sent to financial institutions by law firms representing private litigants. These law firms have become increasingly aggressive in recent months in pursuing financial institutions that are not compliant with web accessibility.

The consequences of failing to comply with the ADA requirements.

  • High legal costs

  • Civil Penalties of
    up to $110,000

  • Bad publicity and
    ruined reputation

Everything You Need to Know about ADA

History
Demand Letters
Civil Penalties
Our Solution

The Power of ADA

Since 2000, when Bank of America agreed to improve its user experience for visually impaired people as part of a settlement, other accessibility claims have been settled by Fleet Bank, Washington Mutual, Sovereign Bank, First Union, Bank One, HSBC, and credit reporting agencies Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. The National Association for the Deaf and the National Federation for the Blind have a few recent victories as well, mostly against giant firms like Hilton Worldwide, Schwab, Netflix, and Target, that all settled when judges rejected assertions that their websites were beyond the reach of the ADA.

There are nearly 10 million visually impaired Americans and roughly 1.5 million people use assistive technology, such as screen readers, to access websites and communicate online. This is a large group of people who are very well organized with powerful trade groups.

Without showing any progress to move their websites towards ADA compliance, financial institutions may risk regulatory intervention at the state or federal level with the imposition of a corrective action plan and heavy fines. There is also the risk of advocacy groups filing complaints and suits for ADA non-compliance that may result in large settlements and unfavorable publicity for small community banks.

Costly Consequences

Under the ADA, federal law requires financial institutions make their websites accessible and ADA compliant. Ensuring your website complies with the ADA standards is of utmost importance for your success.

Waiting any longer to make your site ADA Compliant could have costly consequences. Law firms representing private litigants have sent thousands of legal demand settlement letters to financial institutions. These law firms have become increasingly aggressive in punishing financial institutions for inaccessible websites.

A Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation spurred on by advocacy groups and litigation can be just around the corner for your website. It’s a very lucrative business for plaintiffs’ attorneys who want to line their pockets, so financial institutions need to take proactive steps now to move their websites towards ADA compliance to save them the cost of pricey litigation.

Serious Issues for Your Bank

Does your bank’s website comply with the ADA? In the past year the Department of Justice (DOJ), special interest groups, and enterprising law firms have threatened lawsuits against hundreds of banks related to ADA website violations and filed suits against many, costing community banks like yours thousands of dollars in legal fees and settlements.

For example, a federal court decides your bank or credit union website violates Title III of the ADA, which relates to public accommodation, your bank could be fined civil penalties of up to $55,000 for the first violation and $110,000 for any subsequent violation.

Banks and credit unions that do not have ADA-compliant websites can face serious issues, and if unaddressed, your financial institution is exposed not only to high costs but also to bad publicity. All that it takes is one frustrated user of your bank’s website partnering with a disability rights advocacy group or an amenable attorney to bring a case against your institution. What’s more, geographic restrictions do not exist for where the internet is concerned. A plaintiff using your bank’s website in another state could file a lawsuit in that jurisdiction, which would be even more costly for you to defend.

Our Solution to Your Problem

In the near future, experts predict a sharp rise in cyber accessibility claims with lawsuits against banks and credit unions. As such, financial institutions should make their websites ADA compliant as soon as possible. We have the solution with our BankSITE® ADA Accessibility Module. This module helps us address all your relevant issues in a proper way because our end goal is to solve your issue in the best way possible with our expertise and experience over the years in this area.

Working with us is simple – we offer ADA compliance for credit unions and banks. We have been helping hundreds of banks stay ahead of the technology curve, and now we can provide your financial institution with peace of mind knowing that your website has been certified to meet WCAG 2.0 Guidelines with the goal of maintaining compliance standards as you update your website to meet the ADA standards.

The website that we create and host for your financial institution with our proactive ADA Accessibility Module will minimize the risk of accessibility litigation against your financial institution and protect your public image. For more information, please contact us today so your company meets the ADA requirements for credit unions and banks as soon as possible.

Partner with Us

We understand the banking industry, and the needs of small community banks. We are experts in bank website design, bank website development and hosting for banks.

We level the playing field for small community banks by offering handsomely designed and developed responsive bank websites practically overnight – at a price any small community bank can afford.

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ADA Website Compliance Checklist

Having a website that is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)) should be the highest priority for your financial institution. Web accessibility does more than protect you from expensive litigation and possible damage to your reputation. A website that employs universal design and follows accessibility guidelines creates an inclusive user experience for all your customers, giving you an edge over your competition.

How can you design your website to be ADA compliant? You can start with the strategies we’ve listed below.

Provide Alt Text for Images

Blind and visually impaired customers use assistive technology like screen readers to understand website content. Alt text allows all users to comprehend the purpose and context of images on the page.

Caption Video and Audio Content

Incorporating multimedia makes your website dynamic and interactive. Captions and/or a transcript make videos and audio accessible for deaf and hard-of-hearing customers. Users whose native language isn’t English can also benefit from being able to read the content. Don’t forget to give customers the ability to control the volume and playback of multimedia to avoid interference with assistive technology tools.

Pay Attention to Text Size and Line Spacing

For paragraph or body text, make sure your font size is large enough for legibility but small enough that the reader can scan a line of text comfortably without having to jump from line to line. Best practice is to limit each line of text to 45–75 characters, which is about 10–15 words. Leading or line spacing should be 1.5 times the height of the text. Paragraph spacing should be 1.5 times the line spacing.

Use Contrasting Colors

Color can cause issues for customers who are color-blind or have low vision. Your website colors should provide high contrast with each other, especially when you place text on a colored background. By correctly tagging colors in the HTML code, assistive technology can adjust them for accessibility. Another best practice is not to use color for emphasis. Instead, adjust the text size or style.

Write Descriptively

Web page titles, headings, form labels, and anchor text for hyperlinks should be meaningful and describe their purpose. Descriptive text makes the content more understandable for everyone and optimizes user experience.

Remember Your Audience

In addition to writing descriptively, write specifically for your audience. Avoid using technical or industry-specific jargon. Use everyday terms and keep sentences simple. If you use abbreviations or acronyms, be sure to spell them out the first time you use them.

Ensure HTML Code and Markup Language Are Complete and Error-Free

Web accessibility standards and assistive technology constantly evolve and change. Programming errors in the back end of your website could affect accessibility. Having clean code will keep your website in compliance with ADA guidelines.

BankSITE® Services’ Dynamic, Hassle-Free Solution

We understand maintaining an ADA-compliant website can be time-consuming. With our BankSITE® ADA Accessibility Module, we have helped hundreds of financial institutions achieve ADA compliance on their websites, saving them thousands of dollars in legal fees and penalties. BankSITE® Services has joined forces with AudioEye to take the guesswork out of web accessibility for you.

What is AudioEye?

AudioEye is a leader in digital accessibility software. Once we install the software on your website, the technology monitors your content for ongoing ADA compliance. If an error is detected, you can fix it immediately.

How the AudioEye Toolbar Works

AudioEye does more than continuously scan your website for accessibility. With the AudioEye Toolbar, your customers can customize your site to fit their individual needs. If a user encounters any issues, they can contact the AudioEye Help Desk.

For a demonstration of AudioEye in action, click the man in blue on the bottom right of your screen.

What You Get

Through our partnership with AudioEye, your website will be certified to meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standards. You can rest assured that your website is always optimized for assistive technology for an accessible user experience for everyone.



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