What is 508 compliance and why does it matter?
Jan 30, 2022 · The Department of Homeland Security is committed to providing free online training resources to assist with creating, validating, and remediating accessible electronic content for conformance to the Section 508 standards. The new DHS Training self-enrollment portal lets students create accounts, register and enroll in courses online.
Where can I get Free Section 508 training?
What documents fall under Section 508?
What is the difference between Section 508 and the ADA?
What happens if you are not 508 compliant?
WCAG 2.0 and Section 508 Non-Compliance Penalties Fines up to $55,000 for the first violation and $110,000 for each subsequent violation. Those who receive Federal funding could have those funds revoked for being in non-compliance. It's not anything you want to ignore.
Is 508 compliance mandatory?
December 12, 2017 - You may wonder if non-federal websites are required to comply with the Revised 508 Standards. Since Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 only applies to federal agencies, the short answer is no.Dec 12, 2017
Why do documents need to be 508 compliant?
Section 508 requires that the federal government procure, create, use and maintain ICT that is accessible to people with disabilities, regardless of whether or not they work for the federal government.Jan 18, 2022
Do all websites have to be 508 compliant?
All federal, state and local government websites are required to meet accessibility standards under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which was updated in 2001 to include internet and intranet information and applications.Sep 4, 2020
How do I make a document 508 compliant?
How to make PDFs 508 CompliantStructure the original source code properly. For example, suppose you are using Microsoft Word to create the document. ... Use a PDF writer or PDF converter that supports ISO standards and web accessibility. ... Run an Accessibility Check. ... Document the properties. ... Provide an alternative version.May 11, 2017
How do I make my website 508 compliant?
How to make your website 508 compliant?Navigation and accessibility using the keyboard. ... Alternative text for images. ... Transcript or captions for videos/audios. ... Screen reader capability. ... Alternative text for videos. ... No time limits. ... Color and contrast. ... Avoid flickering objects on the screen.Aug 26, 2021
Is Times New Roman 508 compliant?
Currently, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 does not specify the requirements for choosing an accessible website typeface. However, the US Department of Health & Human Services unofficially recommends the following fonts for PDF files: Times New Roman, Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, and Calibri.May 20, 2017
What is meant by 508 compliance?
508 Compliance is shorthand for a law that requires federal government websites to be safe and accessible for people with disabilities. This law covers a range of issues related to assisting people with different kinds of disabilities.Sep 11, 2017
What is Section 508 and why is it important?
What is Section 508? Section 508 is part of a 1998 amendment to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. It requires all Federal electronic content to be accessible. The U.S. Access Board is an independent Federal agency which develops and maintains standards that must be met to achieve 508 compliance.
Can I be sued if my website is not ADA-compliant?
–meaning ignorance of ADA requirements is not an acceptable excuse in the eyes of the law. You can't be sued for a noncompliant website, then claim you were unaware of your obligation to provide digital accessibility.Jul 21, 2021
Do B2B websites need to be ADA-compliant?
B2C and B2B organizations and ADA are essential for the continued success of your business and to ensure that you meet the needs of everyone who visits your company website.Sep 17, 2020
How do I make my website ADA-compliant?
How to develop an ADA-compliant websiteCreate alt tags for all images, videos and audio files. ... Create text transcripts for video and audio content. ... Identify the site's language in the header code. ... Offer alternatives and suggestions when users encounter input errors. ... Create a consistent, organized layout.
Why did the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) file lawsuits against Harvard University and MIT?
In 2015, the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) filed lawsuits against Harvard University and MIT, which are both government-funded institutions. The NAD accused them of violating Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act because they didn’t provide accurate and comprehensive captioning for online course materials.
What is Section 508?
Section 508 requires that any technology that’s used by a federal agency or department has to be accessible to people with disabilities. It applies both to tech used by federal employees, and tech used by members of the public who are interacting with the government agency.
How many ADA lawsuits have been filed?
A steady stream of lawsuits and court rulings over the last few years has confirmed that ADA applies to websites and online portals just as much as to physical stores and offices, stretching to over 2,000 ADA lawsuits filed in 2018 and tens of thousands of demand letters.
When was the Rehabilitation Act passed?
The first piece of law was the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
Does the ADA prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities?
The ADA prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in private entities that are classified as “public accommodations” as well as in federal agencies and bodies. Both acts relate to accessibility for people with disabilities, but there are important differences between them.
Why is the U.S.A. Learns website not inaccessible?
In 2009, the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) filed an administrative complaint with the United States Department of Education. The NFB ’s claims that one of the Department’s websites called the U.S.A. Learns violates Section 508 because it’s inaccessible to blind people who use text-to-speech technology or Braille displays to access information.
What is content accessibility?
Content accessibility. All official agency content that’s aimed at the general public has to be accessible in forms that accommodate different disabilities, including visual impairments, hearing difficulties, deafness, and cognitive, language, and learning disabilities. Synchronization.
What is the Department of Homeland Security?
The Department of Homeland Security is committed to providing free online training resources to assist with creating, validating, and remediating accessible electronic content for conformance to the Section 508 standards.
What is Section 508?
What is a Section 508 Program? This course provides an overview of federal agency 508 programs, and how they help agencies deliver accessible technology products and services to employees and the public. (30 minutes)
What is Section 508 compliance?
Home> Blog> Section 508 Compliance: Don’t Make These 6 Mistakes. Compliance with Section 508 means your organization is following a specific amendment of the Rehabilitation Act that requires information and communication technology (ICT) to be accessible. The Rehabilitation Act is a federal law protecting the rights of people with disabilities.
When was Section 508 first published?
The original Section 508 standards were first published in 2000. Technology has advanced exponentially in the years since then. The United States Access Board recently published an update to Section 508’s ICT accessibility requirements to respond to changing technologies and functionalities. The update takes into account a wide range of disabilities. It also considers the assistive technologies that are used by many people with disabilities to read digital files, go online or fill out forms. And it ensures consistency with other accessibility guidelines that exist today.
Is Section 508 required for ICT?
However, you need to know that Section 508 compliance and ICT accessibility are very often listed as requirements in other situations, such as state funding of schools. Compliance with Section 508 is also mandatory for any ICT procured by the federal government. If you’re a supplier, a lack of compliance automatically rules out the possibility ...
What is the Rehabilitation Act?
The Rehabilitation Act is a federal law protecting the rights of people with disabilities. Section 508 of the act addresses ICT used by, or procured by, the federal government, its departments and its agencies. ICT can include websites, computer software, multimedia presentations, spreadsheets and internal documents.
Does Section 508 apply to PDF?
Don’t assume that only your PDF documents or only your online images have to be converted into accessible formats, and that Section 508 compliance doesn’t apply to your videos files or your PowerPoint presentations. In the same vein, don’t assume that only online public documents need to be accessible, but not your internal training materials or job postings. Section 508 doesn’t exempt certain files and formats. If Section 508 applies to your organization, it likely applies to all of the ICT that your organization produces or uses.
What is web accessibility?
Web accessibility also draws in new customers who don’t have disabilities, as the Web Accessibility Initiative of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has shown. Accessible websites are more easily found through search engines, for instance, and are more effectively used by a variety of different people. 3.
The Original Rehabilitation Act
In the early 1970s, American lawmakers started to become more aware of the need for legislation that requires the accommodation of citizens with disabilities. The first piece of law was the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This law was mainly concerned with the ways that the government would support people with disabiliti…
Update to Section 508
- Over 20 years, the Rehabilitation Act was amended to address technology and accessibility. This is Section 508.Section 508 requires that any technology that’s used by a federal agency or department has to be accessible to people with disabilities. It applies both to tech used by federal employees, and tech used by members of the public who are interacting with the government ag…
Latest Revision of Section 508
- In March 2017, the U.S. Access Board published a final updatefor Section 508’s accessibility requirements for information and communication technology (ICT). The update was intended to provide a stricter definition of “accessibility,” and to bring the requirements in line with the radically new technology of the 21st century. There are 4 major changes in the 2017 revision: 1. …
What Are The Differences Between Section 508 and Ada?
- The Rehabilitation Act of 1973is America’s oldest accessibility-related legislation. Thanks to 2 updates to Section 508, it requires all federal agencies and any bodies that accept federal funding to make their technology accessible to people with disabilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act(ADA) is a more recent piece of legislation that encompasses many aspects of accessibility. …
Section 508
- Strictly speaking, Section 508 is a set of rules for government entities, although it includes any organizationsthat receive federal funding. That means that government-supported institutions like museums or universities, medical centers that accept Medicaid or Medicare, and programs run by organizations that are partially federally funded all have to abide by Section 508, a requirement t…
Ada
- Unlike Section 508, the ADA affects the entire private sector. Businesses and places of work such as restaurants, hotels, theaters, doctors' offices, pharmacies, retail stores, museums, libraries, parks, and daycare centers are just some of the places that have to comply with the ADA. ADA requires businesses to make accommodations to their employees, and to their customers or us…
What Do Businesses Need to Do to Comply with Section 508?
- Section 508 originally did not lay out specific rules for web accessibility compliance, although companies can get clearer guidance from the U.S. Access Board, the federal agency devoted to accessibility issues. At the beginning of 2018, lawmakers added a rule to Section 508 that set the WCAG 2.0as the accessibility standard for Section 508 compliance, so most federal organizatio…
Section 508 Lawsuits
- A range of Section 508 lawsuits has been brought against various institutions over the past decade which tests the law in the real world. These lawsuits have revealed a lot about the applicability of Section 508.
Deciding You Don’T Need to Be Compliant
If you’ve concluded that your organization doesn’t need to concern itself with Section 508 compliance, you should reconsider. You may not be a federal agency that is directly covered by the legislation. However, you need to know that Section 508 compliance and ICT accessibility are very often listed as requirements in oth…
Underestimating The Business Opportunity
- This is a potentially enormous mistake. There are over 60 million Americans with disabilities, and there is profit to be made by courting their business. This target market has a spending power that is more than four times bigger than the tween market, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Thus, companies that make an effort to ensure their digital properties are fully accessib…
Assuming You Can Fall Back on The “Undue Burden” Argument
- Have you been skipping over Section 508 compliance because you’re convinced you could argue that accessibility would pose an undue hardship for your organization? Probably not a good idea. To succeed with this argument, you would have to prove that the cost of making your ICT accessible is exceptionally high, or that achieving accessibility is close to impossible. Yet there …
Failing to Ensure All Your Technology Is Compliant
- Don’t assume that only your PDF documentsor only your online images have to be converted into accessible formats, and that Section 508 compliance doesn’t apply to your videos files or your PowerPoint presentations. In the same vein, don’t assume that only online public documents need to be accessible, but not your internal training materials or job postings. Section 508 doesn’t exe…
Disregarding The Section 508 Updates
- The original Section 508 standards were first published in 2000. Technology has advanced exponentially in the years since then. The United States Access Board recently published an update to Section 508’s ICT accessibility requirements to respond to changing technologies and functionalities. The update takes into account a wide range of disabilities. It also considers the a…
Creating Errors with Accessibility
- If you’ve been taking steps to improve the accessibility of your digital properties, that’s a smart move. But it’s a wasted effort if it isn’t done properly. Without expertise, you may not realize you’re making accessibility mistakes. For example, it’s not enough to add alternative text to images. In order to be Section 508 compliant, that text must provide adequate descriptions of the images …
Check with The Experts
- Experienced, qualified consultants in digital accessibility can prevent you from making these and other mistakes with Section 508 compliance. Have questions about Section 508? They can answer those, too. Ask a consulting firm to tell you more about the business advantages of ensuring your digital properties are fully accessible, and delighting those of your customers wh…
An Innovative Solution
- eSSENTIAL ACCESSIBILITY has developed a comprehensive accessibility solution to help organizations follow the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and achieve and maintain compliance with standards and regulations. This includes integrating web compliance evaluation services with assistive technology to deliver a transformative experience for people with disabili…
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