After reviewing a brief history of the ADA and the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) interpretation that Title III’s public accommodation accessibility requirements apply to websites, we look at DOJ’s approach to enforcing the ADA during the Biden Administration. We also review recent ADA litigation trends, the 11th Circuit’s landmark Winn-Dixie decision and its likely impact on future ADA litigation, how businesses are approaching ADA compliance in the absence of clear DOJ guidance setting a technical accessibility standard, and the prospects for federal legislation that would create a safe harbor from litigation. … Continue Reading
Eleventh Circuit Overturns Landmark Accessibility Decision in Winn-Dixie, Determines Certain Websites Are Not “Public Accommodations” Covered by Title III of the ADA
On April 7, 2021, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Winn-Dixie Stores’ websites are not “public accommodations” and therefore are not subject to the accessibility requirements of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). The decision reversed a 2017 federal district court opinion – in what may be the only website accessibility case to ever go to trial – that required the grocery store chain to make its website accessible to individuals with visual disabilities. … Continue Reading
Businesses Now Face ADA Risk Related to COVID-19 Mandatory Employee Mask-Wearing Policies
A class action lawsuit filed in September 2020 against Nike alleging that its policy requiring retail employees to wear Nike-branded, opaque masks discriminated against deaf and hard of hearing consumers under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) deserves attention from retail banks and non-bank financial services companies with brick-and-mortar facilities open to the public. … Continue Reading