ADA Compliance Refresher for California Wineries

In light of several recent lawsuits being filed against wineries in California, Wine Institute recommends that wineries review their websites and apps to ensure compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines for accessibility for blind or visually impaired persons, using the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

Members are requesting an assessment of risk if their websites are not accessible to people with disabilities under the ADA. The ADA does not specifically address website accessibility. However, the ADA makes it illegal for any government or business to provide goods and services to the public that are not also accessible to people with disabilities. In the ADA lawsuits, plaintiffs are claiming that disability-based discrimination that applies to a place of public accommodation also applies to the website which advertises that place.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) withdrew its federal guidelines on how to make a website ADA compliant in December 2017. However, DOJ has previously argued in enforcement actions that companies can comply by making their websites conform to the World Wide Web Consortium standards, which can be viewed here. While federal law does not state that implementation of WCAG 2.1 AA automatically means a website is ADA compliant, the complaints filed against California wineries all seek relief that would require the wineries to comply with WCAG 2.1 AA.

WCAG 2.1 AA includes many different accessibility criteria. For the visually impaired, making sure that websites are compatible with available screen-reading software employed by users to access website content is a key issue in the California winery lawsuits. The software reads alternative text, a requirement of the WCAG guidelines. Essentially, alternative (alt) text is a function within the HTML code that describes the function and appearance of an image or object on a given page. That screen reading software only functions correctly if the website incorporates certain screen-reading compatible features, such as alternatives text for images and videos.

Another government resource for guidelines, testing and tools can be found at the Section 508 website.

Please note this communication is not legal advice. Wineries should consult with an attorney on any legal questions regarding federal and state accessibility compliance, as well as with their IT vendors and professionals to determine if their websites and apps have implemented accessibility features per the WCAG 2.1 AA. Attorneys with ADA experience include:

James L. Rockney
Reed Smith LLP
Reed Smith Centre, 225 Fifth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA, 15222
Phone: (412) 288-4046
Email: jrockney@reedsmith.com

Kristina M. Launey
Seyfarth
400 Capitol Mall
Suite 2350
Sacramento, CA 95814-4428
Phone (916) 498-7034
Email: klauney@seyfarth.com