For business owners, understanding the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is essential to complying with the law. The ADA was approved to break down barriers and ensure that people with disabilities have equal access to a company's facilities, programs and services. According to the CDC, approximately 61 million people in the United States live with some form of disability. Enacted into law in 1990 to protect the rights of persons with disabilities, the ADA ensures that government entities and private companies make reasonable accommodations to provide persons with disabilities with usable access to their facilities, including access to workspaces.
It is perhaps one of the most important pieces of bipartisan legislation ever passed by the United States. This research brief provides highlights of current research affecting the implementation of the ADA in small businesses, focusing on Titles I and III, and provides on-the-ground examples of professionals working with small businesses and the ADA. To truly commit to diversity, both internally and externally, an ADA-compliant website is a simple and legally necessary step. Some states even offer additional state tax credits that can increase incentives that were made to encourage ADA compliance.
The Department of Justice monitors businesses for ADA compliance, from employee discrimination to compliance with ADA standards If your failure to comply with the ADA causes hardship for a person with a disability, they may have to pay high fines or face a injurious claim. They can help identify and implement best practices and techniques to equip your website to meet ADA standards. There are many examples of employee benefit claims you see online that emphasize the importance of partnering with a digital agency that has knowledge and experience around ADA compliance. Compliance with the ADA continues to gain support as more and more people recognize that a more accessible world benefits the entire community.
According to DBS, you can ensure that website accessibility is ADA compliant if it meets the standards outlined in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). By adhering to ADA standards, you not only include more customers in your base, but you also use the ADA to your advantage. Below are examples of ADA Centers that provide personalized information, guidance, and training on ADA related to small businesses. The harder you try to comply with the ADA, the more financial assistance you can receive and the lower the chance of an ADA violation.
You may wonder if it's really worth trying to work with ADA standards, but there are several reasons why compliance with this law is the only option.
