- U.S. Department of Justice may soon issue regulations mandating disabled accessibility for websites, a truly awful idea [WSJ, N.C. Journal of Law and Technology, Alexander Cohen, Atlas; one advocate’s view; our long-running coverage, and my two cents years back]
- Coming soon: 7% disabled-worker quota for federal contractors? [David Harsanyi, earlier here, here, etc.]
- “Disability Act Charges and Awards Skyrocket” [Corp Counsel]
- NYC: “Judge Raps Disability-Lawsuit Mill After ‘Client’ Disappears” [Daniel Fisher/Forbes, ABA Journal, John Andren/WLF, earlier on attorney Bradley Weitz]
- W.D. Va.: farmers’ markets covered by ADA as “places of public accommodations” [Bagenstos]
- Result under UK’s new version of ADA: teacher reinstated after arguing that mental disability caused him to keep student out drunk till 3 a.m. [Fox Rothschild]
- Hey, let’s start constitutionalizing disabled rights! What could go wrong? [Michael Waterstone via Bagenstos]
Filed under: ADA filing mills, constitutional law, disabled rights, racial quotas, web accessibility
8 Comments
Is Overlawyered wheelchair accessible?
Bob
Federal contractors are *experts* at fulfilling whatever BS requirements the government puts on contracts. Need more disabled employees? They’ll make sure every person with any potential condition gets declared as disabled. Didn’t alcoholism get ruled as a disability recently? Maybe a lot of federal contractors will end up with a lot of “alcoholics” on their payroll.
With legal constructs like ADA, to name one, government has become the ultimate mitigator of life, the country’s super-parent. They have created a belief in entitlements for some individuals and resentment and/or disregard in others, as every mis-fortune becomes the legal responsibility of other citizens.
I’ve always wondered why being a lawyer is not a disqualification for legislative office, especially at the federal and state levels, since letting lawyers be in the position of creating the raw materials of their own profession seems to be such an obvious conflict of interest. (Obviously, I’m not a lawyer, just another confused, frustrated, over-taxed, under-represented, worried citizen.)
So someone’s part-time-home-business website can be liable for not being accessible?
I’m sure nearly everyone with a website will get a demand letter and and offer to settle quickly. This won’t end well.
Mr. Smith also advises companies to ensure that people with motor disabilities can navigate websites without the use of a mouse, and to use plain language and a strong design to aid people with cognitive or intellectual disabilities.
Be careful, Walter. If the Justice Department gets its way, you can be sued for using multi-syllable words.
[…] the Obama administration appears to be planning to use the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to force many web sites to either accommodate the disabled, or shut down. Given the enormous cost of complying, many small […]
[…] the Obama administration appears to be planning to use the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to force many web sites to either accommodate the disabled, or shut down. Given the enormous cost of complying, many small […]
[…] Obama administration appears to be planning to use the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to force many web sites to either accommodate the disabled, or shut down. Given the enormous cost of complying, many […]