Demand Our Access

In this episode, Desiree and I discuss those terrible accessibility overlays that promise to make websites more accessible while actually doing little to improve accessibility. As Desiree’s demonstration shows, these overlays are hard to use, don’t behave consistently, and provide little in the way of greater access.

Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Introduction In the last episode of the Demand Our Access podcast, I discussed Texas v. Becerra, a lawsuit seeking to have Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) declared unconstitutional. If you want to learn more about the lawsuit, please listen to that episode or read the transcript of what I said about the lawsuit. During the questions and comments portion of that episode, there was a lot of interest in advocating for the protection of Section 504. So, this episode will present strategies those of you living in the 17 states can take to try to protect Section 504 and things those of us who don’t live in one of those 17 states can do to be heard. Before discussing how we can advocate to protect Section 504, I will discuss the next episode and let you know how you can contact me. The Next Live Episode The next live episode will take place on Saturday, April sixth at 2:00 PM EDT. In that episode, I am planning to continue my revisited look at Title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act, primarily covering state and local governments. Comments and Questions If you have any comments and/or questions about the Demand Our Access project, you can fill out the contact form on the Demand Our Access website or you can email me at Jonathan@DemandOurAccess.com. How You Can Advocate for Section 504 If You Live in One of the 17 States As a reminder, the 17 states suing to have Section 504 declared unconstitutional are as follows: Alabama Alaska Arkansas Florida Georgia Indiana Iowa Kansas Louisiana Missouri Montana Nebraska South Carolina South Dakota Texas Utah West Virginia Contacting Your Attorney General If you live in one of the 17 states, the best thing you can do is contact your attorney general and let them know why you support Section 504 and that you want them to withdraw from the lawsuit. In order to make contacting your attorney general easier, I have worked with ChatGPT to create a table of contact information for the 17 attorneys general involved in the lawsuit. The table provides the name, mailing address, phone number, and website for each attorney general. I didn’t include an email address and/or contact form, because those methods of contact weren’t consistent enough among the attorneys general for them to be easily included in a table. if you would rather send an email or complete a contact form, visit your attorney general’s website to see how you can do that. I’m not going to read the names of the attorneys general and their individual contact information. The table of contact information will be provided at the end of the transcript when this episode is posted to the Demand Our Access website. What to Say Obviously, you should voice your support in a way that is comfortable for you and that reflects your voice. So, I can’t tell you exactly what to say when contacting your attorney general. Also, I can’t provide a different script for every possible method of communication you may use to contact your attorney general. So, I have developed a short sample script that works whether you contact your attorney general over the phone, through email, by using a contact form, by writing a letter, or even if you meet them. Before providing the script, I want to make one important point: the more personal your appeal the more likely it is to be heard. That doesn’t mean you should provide health information or anything else that you typically don’t provide strangers. What it means is that the more you can demonstrate how Section 504 has personally helped you, the more impactful your support of Section 504 will be when offered to your attorney general. I say that because attorneys general hear from lots of people every day. Much of what they receive is from people who are simply regurgitating what one organization or another has told them to say by providing a template or sample script. While that will be what you will also be doing, you can make your support of Section 504 more impactful by adding some of your personal experience with Section 504 to what I will provide here. In my view, the more personal information about how Section 504 has been a positive in your life really matters in this case because your attorney general doesn’t understand the benefits to those of us with disabilities that have been gained as a result of Section 504. Even worse, they believe it shouldn’t exist. This means convincing them to stop opposing Section 504 is an uphill job. The more they come to believe their voters support Section 504 for personal reasons, the better the chance they will realize their opposition to Section 504 is not smart. Before providing the script of what you could say, I want to make one more important point: please contact your attorney general. Even if you aren’t comfortable sharing any personal experiences, contact them. Even if you don’t really know how Section 504 has benefited you, contact them. Even if all you are comfortable doing is using the below script, contact your attorney general if you live in one of the 17 states and ask them to withdraw from Texas v. Becerra. The Script For the purposes of developing a script, I’m pretending my name is John Smith, I live in Waterloo, Iowa, and that I’m calling the office of the attorney general of Iowa. Obviously, you should edit the script as necessary if you don’t live in Iowa. Now for the script: My name is John Smith. I’m a resident of Waterloo. In the last election, I voted for Attorney General Bird. As a person with a disability, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 has helped me achieve things I would have never achieved without it. I’m calling to ask Attorney General Bird to please withdraw our state from Texas v. Becerra. If Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is declared unconstitutional, those of us with disabilities will have even a harder time realizing our potential. Something like that is all you need to do to let your attorney general know Section 504 is important to you and that you want your state to withdraw from the lawsuit. But I will include a script that has more personal details, in case that’s helpful to those of you who would be comfortable sharing some personal information. A More Personal Script My name is John Smith. I’m a resident of Waterloo. In the last election, I voted for Attorney General Bird. As a blind person, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 has helped me achieve things I would have never achieved without it. When I was a child, my public school education was more accessible to me than it would have been had Section 504 not been the law. As an adult, Section 504 allows me to request accommodations from federal agencies I wouldn’t be able to request without Section 504. As a resident of Iowa, Section 504 means I can better participate in all programs offered by our state in ways I could never participate without Section 504. I’m asking Attorney General Bird to please withdraw our state from Texas v. Becerra. If Section 504 is declared unconstitutional, those of us with disabilities will have a much harder time reaching our potential. As you can see, the more personal script is longer. It’s longer because it highlights ways Section 504 helps those of us with disabilities. If the generic examples I included in the more personal script doesn’t apply to you, or if you can think of state-specific examples that would resonate better with your attorney general, feel free to replace them with ones that better fit your life and represent the programs offered by your state that are more accessible to you because of Section 504. If you’re having trouble coming up with more personal ways Section 504 has helped you, discuss it with others in your state. Maybe others have ideas that sound better to you than what I included as examples here. Other Things to Try I have listed three items in this section based on the impact I believe they would have. The three things you can also try to protect Section 504 if you live in one of the 17 states are as follows: Organize a protest Contact the media Tell your community Organize a Protest If you aren’t comfortable with the word “protest” think of what you will be organizing as an event in Support of Section 504 and the civil rights of those of us with disabilities. To be effective, this kind of protest, obviously, needs many participants. So, contact groups of which you are a member and/or those groups with which you have an affiliation and gage their interest. This could be as simple as a local chapter of ACB or a state affiliate of ACB deciding to organize a local event in support of Section 504. This could be ACB chapters and affiliates working in a cross-disability manner with other organizations of those of us with disabilities. Consider Blinded Veterans of America, Paralyzed Veterans of America, and others. To give your protest even more of a chance at success, contact groups not specifically dedicated to increasing accessibility to those of us with disabilities. Think about teachers organizations and teachers unions. Maybe look at organizations of local government workers. In short, think which groups would be affected if Section 504 was declared unconstitutional and see if they want to work on a protest in support of Section 504. Lastly, look at organizations in your community that may already be organizing protests in opposition to what is happening politically. Maybe there is a local organization of democratic socialists. Maybe there is a group affiliated with the Democratic Party that is active in your community. You don’t have to agree with everyone who is interested in supporting Section 504 on every issue or even most issues. the only thing that matters here is building support for Section 504. Contact the Media Write letters to your local newspaper. Tell them how and why you support Section 504. The language from the sample scripts discussed above would be good starting points for letters to your local papers. Call local and/or national talkshows and educate hosts and listeners about Section 504 and why you support it. Contact local reporters, especially those covering politics and human interest stories, and see if they are interested in helping you spread the word about the threat to Section 504. Talk to Your Community Tell your family, friends, and members of any community groups of which you are a member about the threat to Section 504. See if they would be interested in coming to your protest or contacting the media too. The more people who know about and understand the threat to Section 504 and the civil rights of those of us with disabilities the better! How you can Advocate if You Don’t live in One of the 17 States Contact the Department of Justice The Department of Justice still has not said how it is going to participate in the lawsuit. Even though getting the Department of Justice to side with those of us with disabilities is a long shot, it’s a shot worth taking. The threat to our civil rights is so real that I believe we should do all we can to try to protect Section 504 and through it our civil rights. The Department of Justice has a Contact Us page you can use to find a link to a web form, a mailing address, a phone number, and more ways to make contact with them. The current attorney general is Pamela Bondi. A Script for Contacting DOJ I have written this script so it will work whether you call, complete the contact form, or send a letter. Obviously, if you are sending a letter through the mail, you will need to format appropriately. All I’m providing is what could be the main text of your letter. My name is John Smith. I’m a resident of Winchester, Massachusetts. I’m writing to ask Attorney General Bondi to defend Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 in the lawsuit Texas v. Becerra. As a person with a disability, I have benefited greatly from the rights afforded me by Section 504. As a child, I benefited from a more accessible education because of Section 504. Thanks to Section 504, I can get accommodations from federal agencies I wouldn’t get without Section 504. Since Section 504 is the law, I can receive accommodations from the state of Massachusetts I wouldn’t receive without Section 504’s protections. If the Department of Justice doesn’t defend Section 504, those of us with disabilities will be less likely to reach our potential. That’s about all you need to do to let the Department of Justice know you support Section 504 and that you want them to defend it in court. If you are willing, your examples could be less generic than mine were. Here, I was only trying to put together something that would work for most people. Again, the more specifics you provide about your life, without sharing things you wouldn’t share with strangers, the better. Other Things You can do if You Don’t Live in One of the 17 States If you don’t live in one of the 17 states, you can still contact the media and educate your community about the value of Section 504. If you want to contact the media, I would focus on national outlets. For newspapers, think papers like the New York Times, USA Today, and the Washington Post. For talkshows, I would focus on shows with a national reach too. For those of us not living in one of the 17 states, focusing on national media makes sense because there is a chance our thoughts will reach people in the 17 states. There is also a chance our support of Section 504 will be received by politicians and Department of Justice staff living and working in the DC area. Conclusion This is the end of my thoughts on how you can advocate for Section 504. If you have any questions about your advocacy efforts, please contact me. Thank you for listening to this episode of the Demand Our Access podcast. I appreciate your support. Table of Attorney General Contacts State Attorney General Phone Number Address Website Alabama Steve Marshall (334) 242-7300 501 Washington Avenue, Montgomery, AL 36130 www.alabamaag.gov Alaska Treg Taylor (907) 465-3600 P.O. Box 110300, Juneau, AK 99811-0300 law.alaska.gov Arkansas Tim Griffin (501) 682-2007 323 Center Street, Suite 200, Little Rock, AR 72201 arkansasag.gov Florida Ashley Moody (850) 414-3300 The Capitol, PL-01, Tallahassee, FL 32399-1050 myfloridalegal.com Georgia Chris Carr (404) 656-3300 40 Capitol Square SW, Atlanta, GA 30334 law.georgia.gov Indiana Todd Rokita (317) 232-6201 Indiana Government Center South, 302 W. Washington St., 5th Floor, Indianapolis, IN 46204 www.in.gov/attorneygeneral Iowa Brenna Bird (515) 281-5164 Hoover State Office Building, 1305 E. Walnut Street, Des Moines, IA 50319 www.iowaattorneygeneral.gov Kansas Kris Kobach (785) 296-2215 120 SW 10th Ave., 2nd Floor, Topeka, KS 66612 ag.ks.gov Louisiana Elizabeth B. Murrill (225) 326-6705 1885 N. 3rd St., Baton Rouge, LA 70802 www.ag.state.la.us Missouri Andrew Bailey (573) 751-3321 Supreme Court Building, 207 W. High St., P.O. Box 899, Jefferson City, MO 65102 ago.mo.gov Montana Austin Knudsen (406) 444-2026 Justice Building, 215 N. Sanders, Helena, MT 59601 dojmt.gov Nebraska Mike Hilgers (402) 471-2682 2115 State Capitol, Lincoln, NE 68509 ago.nebraska.gov South Carolina Alan Wilson (803) 734-3970 P.O. Box 11549, Columbia, SC 29211 www.scag.gov South Dakota Marty Jackley (605) 773-3215 1302 E. Highway 14, Suite 1, Pierre, SD 57501 atg.sd.gov Texas Ken Paxton (512) 463-2100 300 W. 15th Street, Austin, TX 78701 www.texasattorneygeneral.gov Utah Sean D. Reyes (801) 538-9600 Utah State Capitol Complex, 350 North State Street, Suite 230, Salt Lake City, UT 84114 attorneygeneral.utah.gov West Virginia Patrick Morrisey (304) 558-2021 State Capitol, 1900 Kanawha Blvd E., Charleston, WV 25305 ago.wv.gov

Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. The Next Episode The next episode of the Demand Our Access podcast will take place on Saturday, March first. In that episode, I will continue our second look at Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (Title II). If you have any questions or comments about this episode or Demand Our Access in General, I would love to hear from you. You can email me at Jonathan@DemandOurAccess.com. You can also complete the contact form on the Demand Our Access website. Introduction Title II primarily sets forth the requirements state and local governments are supposed to follow to ensure their activities, programs, and services are accessible to those of us with disabilities. Unfortunately, their isn’t a single state or local government complying with Title II. Even worse, most state and local governments are demonstrably out of compliance with Title II. This deliberate noncompliance with Title II on the part of every state and local government adds to the discrimination faced by those of us with disabilities on a daily basis. Since we all need to interact with our state and local government, their lack of compliance with Title II causes us lots of stress and difficulty. For those reasons, I chose Title II to be the first topic I discussed through the Demand Our Access podcast. Over the last roughly 2.5 years, I hope my ability to teach important legal concepts has improved. So, I thought it would be good if I revisited Title II now. Much of the substance covered here will be very similar to what was covered more than two years ago. But I am, hopefully, presenting the information in a way that makes it easier to understand. Episode Roadmap I am covering these topics in this episode because they are the foundation of compliance under Title II. In the next episode, I will cover more of the information you will need to effectively request an accommodation or modification from your state or local government. If terms like accommodation and modification don’t mean anything to you now, they should when I finish our revisited two-part look at Title II. Below are the eight topics I will cover in this episode: Code of Federal Regulations Defining a Public Entity Project Civic Access ADA coordinator Notice of rights Grievance procedure Self-evaluation Transition plan Title II Revisited Code of Federal Regulations Laws don’t often contain all their legal requirements. Congress regularly directs federal agencies to develop or promulgate what the law will require. Under the ADA, several federal agencies have responsibility for developing guidance as to what it means to comply with the ADA. When an agency has responsibility for clarifying what compliance with section(s) of the ADA means, they have enforcement power over those section(s). The Department of Justice (DOJ) has primary responsibility for establishing what guidelines for compliance under title II. DOJ also has primary enforcement power over Title II. When a federal agency establishes what constitutes compliance, those requirements are published in the Code of Federal regulations. When I cite to a section of law (either during the episodes or on the website) I will almost always be citing to the Code of Federal Regulations. Often, the Code of Federal Regulations is referred to as C.F.R. When I refer to a section of C.F.R, I’m referring to a section in the Code of Federal Regulations. For the rest of this episode, I’m not going to mention any section in the Code of Federal Regulations. I’m not mentioning specific sections of the Code of Federal Regulations here, because I have realized mentioning the citations is very distracting for listeners. Even though I won’t mention the citations to the Code of Federal Regulations, they will be provided when the text of this episode and this accompanying audio file are posted to the Demand Our Access website as a podcast episode. Defining a Public Entity A public entity is defined in 28 C.F.R. § 34.104. Section 35.104 is the list of definitions under the ADA. The definition of public entity has three parts: any state or local government any department, special purpose district, or instrumentality of state, states, or local government the National Railroad Passenger Corporation and other commuter authorities All public entities with at least 50 employees should appoint their own ADA coordinator and have their own grievance procedure. Most local governments, if they have an ADA coordinator at all, do not have one in every agency or department. Project Civic Access Project Civic Access is the primary way the Department of Justice (DOJ) enforces Title II. It has conducted audits of communities in all 50 states, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico. It has done more than 200 audits in total. The agreements are posted online to help communities come into compliance with the ADA. The settlement between DOJ and the City and County of Denver, Colorado is representative of what is typically covered. The settlement includes: notice grievance procedure ADA coordinator physical accessibility of facilities accessible web content emergency preparedness If none of the concepts mentioned in the Denver settlement make sense to you, I hope you will have a better understanding of them when I finish these two episodes. While Project Civic Access, especially now, may not do anything to hold state and local governments accountable, I believe it’s important to understand what DOJ has already established as the issues it’s most interested in state or local governments meeting. Even if DOJ won’t help you now, the language in Project Civic Access settlements can assist you when advocating with your state and local government. ADA Coordinator Information about the requirements for an ADA coordinator, to provide public notice of rights, and grievance procedures can be found in Chapter Two of DOJ’s Title II Tool Kit. The requirement for an ADA coordinator is established in 28 C.F.R. § 35.107(a). Public entities with at least 50 employees must designate a “responsible employee”. Most people refer to the responsible employee as an ADA coordinator. The ADA coordinator is supposed to investigate and resolve complaints filed under Title II and ensure compliance with Title II. The law does not specifically list any qualifications an ADA coordinator must have. Every public entity is required to notify the public of their ADA coordinator and provide that person’s contact information. One critical concept to remember about the requirement for all public entities to have an ADA coordinator is that a public entity is defined, in part, as the agencies, departments, and instrumentalities of a state or local government. If a state or local government took its compliance with Title II seriously, all of its agencies, departments, and instrumentalities with at least 50 employees would designate a qualified ADA coordinator. Sadly, most state and local governments, if they designate anyone as the ADA coordinator, they only designate one person to be the ADA coordinator for the whole state or local government. Notice of Rights Notice of rights is established in 28 C.F.R. § 35.106. The notice requirement applies to all public entities regardless of number of employees The notice should include the following: employment effective communication reasonable modifications no surcharges filing complaints The notice Should be published in all facilities, on the website, and included in event notices. The notice must be available in alternative formats The notice of rights, when offered, can be an important step to advocating for greater access. This is because a proper notice of rights will help you understand what your rights are and how your state or local government hopes to ensure it follows the law and effectively accommodates you. Unfortunately, many communities don’t publish a notice of rights. Others publish a combined notice of rights that generically states the state or local government will comply with several civil rights laws, but provides little or no specifics about compliance under any of those civil rights laws. Other state or local governments publish a notice of rights and then do little to ensure it’s followed. No matter what, looking for your state or local governments notice of rights is a good place to start. If they don’t have one, or if it lacks specifics, you have issues to raise at the beginning of your advocacy efforts. Grievance Procedure The grievance procedure requirement is established in 28 C.F.R. § 35.107(b). Every public entity with at least 50 employees is required to adopt and publish a grievance procedure. The grievance procedure is to allow for the “prompt and equitable” resolution of complaints filed under Title II. The DOJ sample grievance procedure calls for the following: the complaint filed preferably in writing date of and description of the problem should be submitted by the grievant or their designee within 60 days of the discrimination Meeting within 15 days of complaint being received Offer an appeal process All correspondence from the state or local government to you about your complaint are to be provided in accessible (alternative formats) One compliance mistake almost all state and local governments make is their failure to ensure every agency, department, or instrumentality meeting the definition of a public entity has its own grievance procedure. Since many public entities also don’t have their own ADA coordinator, the responsibility for investigating and resolving complaints for an entire state or local government usually falls on one person. One way we could raise the issue of noncompliance with Title II on the part of our state and local governments would be to figure out if they have a grievance procedure. If they only have one for the entire state or local government, filing a number of complaints under their grievance procedure would highlight the insufficiency of their efforts to comply with title II. Filing with the state or local government directly won’t result in you collecting damages, but it should result in them better accommodating you. If they do it correctly, it should also result in them making changes so they better follow the law. Self-evaluation The self-evaluation is an examination of a public entity’s activities, programs, and services for accessibility to people with disabilities. The self-evaluation requirement is established in 28 C.F.R. § 35.105. The Deadline for completion of self-evaluations on the part of state and local governments was January 26, 1993. It is required of all Public entities regardless of number of employees. People with disabilities must be given a chance to comment. If there are more than 50 employees, the self-evaluation must be available for public inspection for three years. The documentation made available to the public is to include: list of people consulted facilities inspected description of completed modifications If a Self-evaluation was completed under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, it is sufficient. There is no requirement for updating the self-evaluation. Transition Plan The transition plan is a public entities schedule to remove physical barriers that must be removed to achieve programmatic access. . The transition plan is established in 28 C.F.R. § 35.150(d). Public entities with 50 or more employees must complete a transition plan. Transition plans were to be completed by July 26, 1992. All barriers were to be removed by July 26, 1995. A transition plan should do the following: identify physical barriers Describe how barriers will be removed Set forth a schedule of barrier removal A transition plan should name the person in charge of compliance with the transition plan. To my knowledge, there isn’t a single state or local government that has removed all physical barriers to access. Most of them haven’t completed their transition plan. Even when a state or local government has completed their transition plan, it’s very unlikely they are constantly checking to ensure new physical barriers to access haven’t been created since their facilities were studied for accessibility as a part of the transition plan process. Advocating Under Title II In case you’re interested in advocating for greater access with your state and/or local government, check out the episode called Advocating for Our Rights Under title II of the ADA. In that episode, I walk through specific steps you can take when advocating under Title II. Conclusion This completes our revisited look at basics under Title II. I will be back on March first to continue our look at Title II. Thank you for listening to the Demand Our Access podcast. I very much appreciate your support.

Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Briefly Explaining Accessibility Overlays So we are all on the same page, I want to briefly describe the kinds of overlays involved here. Several companies, including AccessiBe, have been marketing overlays to government agencies, businesses, and nonprofits. In marketing these overlays, these companies, including AccessiBe, are selling the myth that installing these overlays will make websites fully compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). The idea is that if these overlays are used, websites will fully comply with WCAG and the websites will be fully accessible. As anyone who uses assistive technologies knows, these overlays don’t make websites fully usable to those of us who use assistive technologies. As the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) mentions in its document explaining the proposed consent agreement discussed soon, AccessiBe’s Access Widget doesn’t even create compliance with WCAG. How you can Comment on the Proposed Fine of AccessiBe Explaining AccessiBe AccessiBe is an Israeli company that develops and sells what it calls AccessWidget. AccessiBe has been promoting the idea that all companies, government agencies, and nonprofits need to do to is install AccessWidget and their websites will be accessible to everyone. Currently, AccessiBe’s website boasts that more than 100K websites have been made accessible to everyone through the use of AccessWidget. The current price for using AccessWidget is $490 annually for sites with less than 1,000 pages. For websites with less than 10,000 pages and for premium add-ons, the current annual cost for AccessWidget is $1,400. For sites with less than 100,000 pages and for premium add-ons, the current annual cost is $3,490. The FTC’s Fine On January sixth, the Federal Trade Commission announced a proposed consent agreement with AccessiBe and asked for public comment. Under the terms of the proposed consent agreement, AccessiBe would be fined $1 million for alleged violations of law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or practices. Speaking about AccessiBe’s actions, the FTC’s analysis of the proposed consent agreement says the following: This matter involves AccessiBe’s marketing and sale of a web accessibility software plug in called AccessWidget. AccessiBe represented that AccessWidget could make any website compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (“WCAG”), a comprehensive set of technical criteria used to assess website accessibility. AccessiBe advertised these claims on its website and social media, as well as in articles that were formatted as impartial and objective reviews on third-party websites. AccessiBe also failed to disclose its material connections with the publishers of those third-party articles. The proposed complaint alleges that AccessWidget did not make all websites WCAG compliant, and that the company’s claims were false, misleading, or unsubstantiated. The proposed complaint also alleges that formatting the third-party articles and reviews as independent opinions by impartial authors and publishers was false and misleading, and that AccessiBe’s failure to disclose its material connections with the publishers of those articles was deceptive. The proposed order contains provisions designed to prevent AccessiBe from engaging in these and similar acts and practices in the future. Provision I prohibits AccessiBe from representing that its automated products, including accessWidget’s artificial intelligence and other automated technology, can make any website WCAG compliant, or can ensure continued compliance with WCAG over time as web content changes, unless the company has competent and reliable evidence to support the representations. Provision II prohibits AccessiBe from misrepresenting any fact material to consumers about any of the company’s products or services, such as the value or total cost; any material restrictions, limitations, or conditions; or any material aspect of its performance, features, benefits, efficacy, nature, or central characteristics. Provision III prohibits AccessiBe from misrepresenting that statements made in third-party reviews, articles, or blog posts about its automated products, including accessWidget’s artificial intelligence and other automated technology, are independent opinions by impartial authors; that an endorser is an independent or ordinary user of the automated product; or that the endorser is an independent organization or is providing objective information. The proposed consent agreement has several additional provisions. I am not going to read the rest of them here. If you’re interested, a link to the whole analysis from the FTC will be in the show notes when this episode is posted to Demand Our Access. A Comment I Previously Submitted. Here is a comment on the proposed consent agreement I submitted prior to recording this demo. As a totally blind person, I’m so glad the FTC has taken action against AccessiBe. Overlays, like AccessiBe, cause those of us who use assistive technologies to use the web more problems than they solve. There are two primary reasons why AccessiBe causes those of us who use assistive technologies more problems than they solve: they give website owners a false sense of compliance; and they are frustrating for those of us who use assistive technologies to use. Thanks to the deceptive marketing practices of AccessiBe, businesses and government agencies have been convinced to believe that installing AccessiBe’s overlay will actually make all of their site and related sites accessible. As the settlement demonstrates, the vast amount of third-party content necessary to effectively use the services offered by most businesses and government agencies will not be affected by AccessiBe’s technology unless the third-parties use the tool as well. For this reason, I’m very much looking forward to sharing the final settlement with my water company. It’s third-party portal is not accessible, even though the water company has put AccessiBe’s tool on its primary website. AccessiBe and all of the other overlays promising WCAG compliance are frustrating to use for those of us who use assistive technologies because they change the way we typically navigate web content. Depending on the overlay being used, we have to memorize different keystrokes. In some cases, we need to activate a menu and choose different options. Both of these requirements make navigating web content slower and less efficient for those of us who use assistive technologies than web navigation is for those who don’t use assistive technologies. Also, use of overlays, like AccessiBe, will never make web content as accessible and usable as is content coded for accessibility and tested by native users of assistive technologies for usability. Not addressed by this settlement because it’s beyond the scope of this settlement is the reality that strict compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines doesn’t actually ensure web content is fully accessible and/or usable. Even if AccessiBe was able to make all web content compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, it would not be able to promise to make all web content fully accessible to and/or usable by those of us who use assistive technologies. I thank the FTC for taking this important action on behalf of those of us with disabilities. I’m hopeful this action will help businesses and government agencies understand that there is no substitute for coding web content for accessibility and for having native users of assistive technologies test important content for usability. Commenting on the Proposed Consent Agreement Tips To Remember Before demonstrating how you can comment, I want to share a few tips that may help you figure out what to say: You don’t need to write a book or be overly technical. Even if a previous commenter has said what you were thinking of saying, we are helped by the number of comments submitted. Any constructive feedback helps. This is a relatively easy way to have your voice heard and for you to make a difference. Deadline for Commenting Comments on the proposed consent Agreement must be filed no later than 11:59 PM EST on February fifth. In order to file a comment on the proposed consent agreement, we will use the Regulations.gov website. For the purposes of this demo, I am using a PC running Windows 11, Microsoft’s Edge browser, and version 2025 of the JAWS for Windows screen reader. My operating system, web browser, and screen reader are all up to date. The Comment I will Post for This Demo I have chosen to post this comment as a part of the demo, because I hope it shows people they don’t need to write several paragraphs, quote the agreement, or use technical language. The key is simply to share any feedback you have about the proposed consent agreement. The Text of the Comment Being Posted I briefly mentioned this in a previous comment, but it deserves its own comment. The focus of the harm done to those of us with disabilities by AccessiBe, and the rest of the accessibility overlay industry, shouldn’t be limited to how overlays, like AccessWidget, don’t actually provide compliance with WCAG. It’s very important that people without disabilities recognize the cognitive overload these overlays force us to experience. Having to learn new keystrokes and/or having to select different menu options depending on the overlay being used is a barrier people without disabilities don’t experience. If websites were accessible and usable, we could navigate all websites in a similar manner. With the prevalence of these overlays, we have to take all kinds of additional steps we don’t have to take when sites are coded correctly. We have to take all of these extra steps, and as the FTC found, the extra steps don’t result in accessibility, never mind usability. Now for the Demo I have pasted the comment I just read to my clipboard. When I get to the comment field, I will paste it in there.

My Mastodon Handle In case anyone is interested, I joined Mastodon. My handle is @JonathanSimeone@caneandable.social. All of the posts I make to the Demand Our Access website will automatically be shared to my Mastodon account. I look forward to meeting you on Mastodon. Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Introduction In this episode, I will briefly recap Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (Title I) before discussing steps you should take in case you face discrimination at work. If you have any comments or questions about this episode, you can complete the contact form on the Demand Our Access website, or you can email me at Jonathan@DemandOurAccess.com. For more information about Title I, visit the page called ADA Title I Information. If you are concerned as to how recent political events will affect the ability of people with disabilities to have concerns of discrimination addressed by the federal government, I will be covering that in the next episode. That episode will be live on ACB Community on Saturday, December seventh at 2:00 PM EST. It will be posted to Demand Our access shortly after it is presented live. As I have said several times before, there is no way to cover this kind of material without using words like "impaired" that many of us in the disability community don’t use. I’m using words like "impaired" here because those are the words used in the law. Whether we like it or not, when communicating about the law we are required to use terms that are outdated. Maybe someday the ADA will be revisited and the updated law will provide for meaningful enforcement and be written in modern language. For now, we have to discuss the law as it has been written. Briefly Recapping Title I Our brief recap of Title I is based on the rules defining compliance with Title I as set forth by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 29 C.F.R. § 1630. To make this presentation easier to follow, I’m not going to mention the exact citations to different sections of the Code of Federal Regulations. If you are interested in the citations, you can find them in the episodes where I discussed Title I. I decided that the term "covered entity", while used in the Code of Federal Regulations, may be too confusing for people just learning about Title I. So, I have decided to replace the term "covered entity" with the term "employer". While I’m doing this to make the presentation easier to follow, it must be remembered that not all employers are covered by Title I; for example, if an employer employs fewer than 15 employees that employer is not covered by Title I. If you heard either of the episodes where I discussed Title I in greater detail, some of this will be review for you. I have included what I believe are some of the most important things to know about our rights under Title I here so if someone listens to this episode prior to listening to the episodes on Title I, some of the information they will need is here. Important Concepts For an employer to be covered byTitle I, it must have at least 15 employees. The United States government is not subject to the provisions of Title I; however, Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 provides similar protections for federal positions. To be clear, state and local governments are covered by Title I. If you work or you are interested in working for a state or local government, what I am covering here applies to you. Private membership clubs (excluding labor organizations) are not covered by Title I. Religious institutions are covered by Title I. But they may give preference to people of their religion. Members of the clergy and people perform essentially religious functions are excluded from the protections of Title I. Discrimination Prohibited It is unlawful for an employer to discriminate on the basis of disability against a qualified individual in regard to the following: Recruitment, advertising, and job application procedures Hiring, upgrading, promotion, award of tenure, demotion, transfer, layoff, termination, right of return from layoff and rehiring Rates of pay or any other form of compensation and changes in compensation Job assignments, job classifications, organizational structures, position descriptions, lines of progression, and seniority lists Leaves of absence, sick leave, or any other leave Fringe benefits available by virtue of employment, whether or not administered by the employer. Selection and financial support for training, including: apprenticeships, professional meetings, conferences and other related activities and selection for leaves of absence to pursue training Activities sponsored by an employer, including social and recreational programs Any other term, condition, or privilege of employment The term "discrimination" under Title I includes but is not limited to the acts described in 29 C.F.R. 1630.4 through 29 C.F.R. § 1630.13. Again, visit the page ADA Title I Information to learn more. Contractual or Other Arrangements It is unlawful for an employer to participate in a contractual or other arrangement or relationship that has the effect of subjecting the employer’s own qualified applicant or employee with a disability to the discrimination prohibited by Title I. Contractual or Other Relationship Defined The phrase contractual or other arrangement or relationship includes, but is not limited to, a relationship with an employment or referral agency, labor union, including collective bargaining agreements, an organization providing fringe benefits to an employee of the employer, or an organization providing training and apprenticeship programs. The requirement that employers not discriminate through contractual arrangements or other relationships is important because of the number of relationships employers typically enter into that affect employees; for example, when an employer signs a contract whith a third party to manage the benefits the employer provides its employees, anything covered by that contract must be accessible. If an employer contracts with a third party for the use of an online portal where employees are to manage the benefits of their employment, the portal must be accessible. Relationship or Association with a Disabled Person It is unlawful for an employer to exclude or deny equal jobs or benefits to, or otherwise discriminate against, a qualified individual because of the known disability of an individual with whom the qualified individual is known to have a family, business, social or other relationship or association. The provision providing protections for those who have a relationship with a disabled person typically arises when an employer knows the family member of an employee has a disability requiring expensive health insurance. If the employer fires the employee to avoid the cost of their family member’s health care, the employer has violated Title I. Not Making Reasonable Accommodations It is unlawful for an employer not to make reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified applicant or employee with a disability, unless such employer can demonstrate that the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of its business. It is unlawful for an employer to deny employment opportunities to an otherwise qualified job applicant or employee with a disability based on the need of such employer to make reasonable accommodation to such individual’s physical or mental impairments. An employer shall not be excused from the requirements of this part because of any failure to receive technical assistance authorized by section 507 of the ADA, including any failure in the development or dissemination of any technical assistance manual authorized by that Act. An individual with a disability is not required to accept an accommodation, aid, service, opportunity or benefit which such qualified individual chooses not to accept. However, if such individual rejects a reasonable accommodation, aid, service, opportunity or benefit that is necessary to enable the individual to perform the essential functions of the position held or desired, and cannot, as a result of that rejection, perform the essential functions of the position, the individual will not be considered qualified. An employer is required, absent undue hardship, to provide a reasonable accommodation to an otherwise qualified individual who meets the definition of disability under the actual disability prong or the record of a disability prong under the definition of disability. Someone who is regarded as having a disability is not entitled to reasonable accommodations under Title I. Retaliation and Coercion Retaliation It is unlawful to discriminate against any individual because that individual has opposed any act or practice made unlawful by Title I or because that individual made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing to enforce any provision contained in Title I. If you face discrimination at work, the retaliation provision is important because it protects any coworkers who tell the truth about the discrimination you are facing. Coercion, Interference, or Intimidation It is unlawful to coerce, intimidate, threaten, harass or interfere with any individual in the exercise or enjoyment of, or because that individual aided or encouraged any other individual in the exercise of, any right granted or protected by Title I. This means an employer cannot bully you to prevent you from advocating for the rights you have under Title I. What to do When you Face Discrimination at Work A Note About Me I am not going to share everything about my situation now, but I believe you should know that I was recently laid off by my former employer. One of the reasons I believe I was laid off is their inability to accommodate me. Since I have been facing discrimination since I began working for them in March of 2018, I have been following the practices outlined below for years. Because I have documented much of the discrimination I have faced, I believe I have a good chance at having the EEOC determine that my former employer discriminated against me based on my status as a disabled person. I will provide more details of the discrimination I faced in future episodes. Things to do as Soon as You Apply Here are things every employee and job applicant with a disability should remember: Discrimination does not need to be intentional. Since most employers are not familiar with their responsibilities under Title I, my advice is to prepare as if you will face discrimination. When something does not work as you think it should, save all related emails and documents. If things are not going well, do as much of your communicating with your boss or human resources in writing. If your boss or human resources schedules a meeting with you to discuss something related to an accommodation, confirm your take-aways from the meeting in writing. If someone says something that sounds like discrimination, confirm what they said in writing. If you are part of a union, report the discrimination you are facing to a shop steward. At the first sign of trouble, don’t run to the EEOC. Don’t wait too long to run to the EEOC. Let’s unpack some of these points. Intentionality This may be hard for some to understand, but I believe we are better off assuming we will face discrimination at some point and preparing to defend ourselves if it happens. As I said before, discrimination under Title I does not need to be intentional to be discrimination. This does not mean you should be expecting everyone to constantly discriminate against you; instead, the idea of preparing to defend yourself against discrimination is an acknowledgment that most employers are not familiar with their responsibilities under Title I. Even if an employer has no intention of discriminating, they may do so accidentally. Whether the discrimination you face is intentional or not, it is still discrimination. When you face discrimination, you have a right to have your discrimination remedied. Save Related Information There are many ways people communicate at work. Whether it be through email, Teams chats, or the sharing of documents, and more, there are many ways workplace communications are sent. How you communicate at work depends a lot on choices made by your employer. No matter how you communicate at work, you should develop a strategy for keeping communications that address any potential discrimination you face at work. As soon as I started working for my previous employer, I knew there was going to be trouble. Critical online tools employees are expected to use were not accessible. Most employee trainings were not accessible. Almost no one working in human resources had any idea of my rights as a disabled person under Title I. Understanding these realities and accepting that I may someday face discrimination that would be so severe that I would need to file with the EEOC, I began keeping all emails related to the discrimination I faced. I kept the emails I believed I would need by forwarding them to my personal email and moving them to a special folder in my personal inbox. When I wound up having to file with the EEOC, I had dozens of emails and documents going back more than six years to prove the discrimination I had faced. Communicate in Writing As often as you can, you should get important things related to potential discrimination put in writing. If someone tells you why a certain accommodation cannot be provided, send them an email as close to the meeting’s ending as you can summarizing what you believe were the key points they made during the meeting. Ask them nicely to confirm whether your summary of the meeting is accurate. Tell them if they do not correct anything, you will proceed as if your understanding of the meeting is agreed to by them. By telling them no response will be considered an acceptance of your summary, you increase the chances that important information will be available in writing for you to use to strengthen your complaint. Tell Your Union If you are lucky enough to be a member of a union, you should reach out to your union when you are facing discrimination at work. Union’s have many tools such as unfair labor practices, grievances, and appeals to civil service review boards that may be able to help resolve your discrimination. Even better, the union will provide assistance and, where possible, may even fund actions that could help you. Every contractual relationship between a union and an employer is different. But if you are a member of a union, there is a good chance your union may be able to help. My union has filed unfair labor practices against my employer, they have also filed with the Civil Service Review Board, and they organized a show of support at an employer-sponsored picnic. In short, my union has been a stong supporter of me and is strongly advocating on my behalf. Don’t Run to the EEOC For many reasons, filing a complaint with the EEOC and/or a state or local agency that accepts complaints under Title I should not be the first thing you do when you face discrimination at work. Here are some of the reasons why this kind of complaint should not be filed right away: Filing an external complaint really escolates the tension between you and your employer. *Filing too early prevents you from putting together a stronger case if you wind up needing to file. The EEOC and its local partners take a long time to investigate. In most cases, the EEOC will not represent your if you wind up needing to sue your employer. Don’t Wait Too Long to File In my case, I waited too long to file my complaint with the EEOC. I had, what seemed at the time, good reasons for waiting. But had I filed earlier, I don’t believe there is any chance my former employer would have taken the illegal actions it wound up taking to terminate me when it had no grounds to terminate me. I say that because had my former employer been under an ongoing investigation for the consistent discrimination it subjected me to, it would have been extremely unlikely to commit even more violations that would immediately be scrutanised by the EEOC. Deciding When to File On one hand, I have told you not to file too quickly. On the other hand, I have told you not to wait too long to file. So, how do you decide when is the right time for you to file an external complaint against your employer? The answer is that you should file an external complaint against your employer when it becomes obvious to you that no internal action is available that may reduce the discrimination you are facing. Here are questions to ask when determining whether it is time for you to file an external complaint: Does your employer have a policy for how it will address requests for accommodation made under Title I? Is anyone trained on the policy for addressing accommodations requests under Title I? What happens when you file a request under Title I? If things aren’t going well, does your employer have an internal complaint procedure? Have you tried to use your employer’s internal complaint procedure? Did your employer’s internal complaint procedure result in actions being taken to reduce the discrimination? If your employer has no procedures for how it will address requests for accommodation made under Title I, things are unlikely to get much better. If you file an internal complaint about the discrimination you are facing and going through the process does nothing to materially reduce the discrimination you are facing, it is unlikely any additional internal processes will result in change. Going through an internal complaint process that results in no meaningful change in your circumstances is a great way to show discrimination if you wind up filing with the EEOC or a relevant state or local agency. Final Thoughts Abelism is alive and well. Through ableism, we often face discrimination. The workplace, because most of us have difficulty finding work, is often a place where we face discrimination. The purpose of this episode isn’t to scare people. Nor is it intended to make you feel like every employment setting will be hostile. The purpose of this post is to be very frank about the reality of disability discrimination in the workplace and to hopefully help some of you begin to figure out how you will address the discrimination you are facing on the job. Far from suggesting you file with the EEOC a week after you being a new job, I hope you will take from this episode the need to be realistic about the discrimination you may face at work. If you begin saving emails and documents that could be used if a complaint is eventually filed, you will be glad you were prepared. In the meantime, showing proof of the discrimination you are facing could encourage your employer to do better–reducing the chances that you will need to file an external complaint. Simply put, once things don’t feel right you should begin preparing as if things will go very badly. But before you take the huge step of turning your employer in to an external agency to investigate, you should work within the systems, such as they are, that have been established by your employer. The more internal steps you take to resolve the discrimination you are facing, the better the chance you will never need to file. If you wind up filing, your efforts to resolve the discrimination internally will really add to your case. Conclusion Thanks for listening to this episode of the Demand Our Access podcast. I really appreciate your support.

About Me It has been more than two years since I shared a little about me in one of these episodes. So, I am going to do it here for the benefit of people who have started listening since I last shared a bit about myself. Education and Certifications I have a law license from Massachusetts. I am a certified ADA coordinator. I am a certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies’. I am a member of the ADA Trainer Leadership Network. Professional Background I am the disability analyst for Portland Parks & Recreation in Portland, Oregon. Previously, I was the ADA Title II disability policy analyst in Portland’s Office of Equity and Human Rights. I was a contract attorney for Disability Rights Advocates in Berkeley, California. I was a staff attorney for the then American Bar Association’s Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law. A Few Personal Things I was born totally blind. I am a member of the American Council of the Blind. I live in Oregon with my wife Desiree and the two youngest of my three stepdaughters. I an a huge sports fan, especially baseball. I am an avid reader and writer. While I enjoy learning about assistive technologies, I know Desiree knows more about them than me. I love animals. We have two cats, Rain and Yoyo. Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Resources The provisions of Section 504 are set forth in 10 C.F.R. § 4. The Department of Justice’s Guide to Disability Rights Laws has a good description of Section 504. The Department of Education also has an informative page on Section 504. As always, any resources discussed in this episode will be linked to when the episode is posted to the Demand Our Access website. Section 504 Introduction Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) is a landmark civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It was designed to ensure those of us with disabilities are not excluded from, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination under any program or activity that receives federal financial assistance. Section 504 laid the foundation for future disability rights legislation in the United States, most notably the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). History of Section 504 The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was signed into law by President Richard Nixon on September 26, 1973. Although the act as a whole aimed to provide support for people with disabilities in areas such as employment and independent living, it was Section 504 that specifically addressed civil rights. The language of Section 504 was groundbreaking, as it introduced the concept of accessibility for people with disabilities into federally funded programs and activities, essentially stating that people with disabilities should be treated the same as those without disabilities. Section 504 was modeled after earlier civil rights laws, such as Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in federally funded programs. By extending civil rights protections to people with disabilities, Section 504 marked a turning point in the disability rights movement. While the law was passed in 1973, its implementation was delayed for several years due to opposition from various government agencies. It wasn’t until a series of protests by disability rights activists, including the historic 504 Sit-ins in 1977, that regulations enforcing Section 504 were issued by the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Crip Camp If you want to learn more about the sit-ins that were responsible for the federal government finally issuing regulations under Section 504, I highly recommend the documentary Crip Camp. Crip Camp, released in 2020, is maybe the only documentary that tries to tell the story of the civil rights movement of those of us with disabilities from our perspectives. If you know of another documentary I should watch that tells our story largely in our voices, please let me know. Definition of a Qualified Individual with a Disability Under Section 504, a person with a disability is defined as any individual who: Has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities Has a record of such an impairment, or Is regarded as having such an impairment. If the three-prong definition of a person with a disability under Section 504 sounds familiar, it should. The ADA and Section 504 both define a person with a disability the same way. A “qualified” person with a disability is someone who meets the essential eligibility requirements for the receipt of services or participation in programs or activities. This means those of us with disabilities must be qualified to participate in the specific program or activity, regardless of our disability. Still, reasonable accommodations must be made to ensure we are not excluded from programs due to our disability. Example A nonprofit receives federal funding to run a program of adult swimming lessons. Since the nonprofit has accepted federal money to provide the swimming lessons, the swimming lessons are covered by Section 504. In developing the swimming lessons, the nonprofit restricts access to the lessons to those who can get in and out of the pool independently. A person who walks with crutches but has the ability to move their body with their arms registers for swimming lessons. When they arrive for their first lesson, the nonprofit tells them that in order to qualify for swimming lessons, students must be able to independently get in and out of the pool. The nonprofit is violating the disabled person’s rights under Section 504 if the disabled person can prove they can effectively learn to swim with their limited mobility. As long as the disabled person can swim, inaccessibility (like pools not equipped with lifts) cannot be used as a reason for excluding the disabled person from the swimming lessons. This is because the ability to independently access and leave the pool may not be directly related to the ability to swim. In order for a person with a disability to be excluded, the qualifications for participation must be directly related to the abilities necessary to effectively participate. Bonus points to those of you who remember that the disabled swimmer in this example would also have rights under Title III of the ADA. Comparison with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) While Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) both aim to prevent discrimination against those of us with disabilities, there are key differences between the two laws. Scope of Coverage Section 504 applies only to programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance. This includes public schools, universities, hospitals, and any other institutions funded by federal dollars. The ADA, passed in 1990, is broader in scope. It covers employment (Title I), state and local government services (Title II), public accommodations (businesses and nonprofits) (Title III), and telecommunications (Title IV). Entities covered by the ADA are covered by the ADA whether they receive federal funds or not. Enforcement Section 504 Section 504 is enforced through the agency that provides federal financial assistance to the program or institution in question. Compliance is monitored by the individual agencies with enforcement power under Section 504, and failure to comply can result in the loss of federal funding. Example A hospital receives federal money from the Department of Health and Human Services to assist with the funding of its daily operations. By accepting the federal money, the hospital becomes responsible to comply with the Section 504 regulations adopted by the Department of Health and Human Services. Agencies with Enforcement Power Under Section 504 Enforcement of Section 504 is carried out by various federal agencies, depending on the specific program or institution involved. Some key agencies responsible for enforcing Section 504 include:1. Department of Education (Office for Civil Rights, OCR): Responsible for ensuring that public schools, colleges, and universities that receive federal funding do not discriminate against students with disabilities. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): Enforces Section 504 in programs such as hospitals, clinics, and social services that receive federal funding. Department of Labor (DOL): Enforces compliance in employment and training programs that receive federal funds, ensuring that people with disabilities have equal access to vocational services and employment opportunities.4. Department of Transportation (DOT): Ensures that federally funded transportation services, such as public transit systems, do not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD): Enforces Section 504 in federally funded housing programs to ensure that people with disabilities have access to fair and equal housing opportunities. Each of these agencies has the authority to investigate complaints, ensure compliance, and impose corrective actions or sanctions, including the withdrawal of federal funds if necessary. The ADA Depending on the facts of a case, many federal agencies can technically enforce the ADA. But the ADA is primarily enforced by the Department of Justice. The most notable exception is that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) oversees enforcement of Title I of the ADA. Conclusion This concludes our look at Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Thank you for listening. I appreciate your support.

Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Advocating for Our Rights Under Title III Introduction As a refresher, Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (Title III) applies to businesses and nonprofits. In this episode, I will briefly recap important concepts under Title III. I will then discuss the steps I take when I need to advocate with a business or a nonprofit under Title III. I will also include a sample writing you can use when you need to advocate under Title III. Although the sample I am including will be intended to be written, if you are more comfortable talking to someone about your rights under Title III, the sample text I have included could be used as talking points for you in a discussion that takes place over the phone or in-person. As always, I will include important links when this episode is posted to the Demand Our Access website. If you have any questions or comments about this episode, you can feel free to reach me through the contact form at the Demand Our Access website, or you can email me at Jonathan@DemandOurAccess.com. Recapping Title III Since this is intended to be a vrief recap of Title III, I am going to focus on which entities are covered by Title III and provide a quick reminder about surcharges. I have made the entities covered by Title III the focus of this brief review, because you need to understand which entities are covered by Title III prior to contacting a particular entity to advocate for rights. If you want to learn more about Title III, please check out Basics Under Title III and Basic Under Title III continued. Coverage General Provisions Title III covers: Places of public accommodation Commercial facilities Examination and courses related to applications, licensing, certification, or credentialing for secondary or postsecondary education, professional, or trade, purposes Title III also covers private entities primarily engaged in transporting people, but those regulations are produced by the Department of Transportation and will not be discussed in this episode. Public Accommodations The whole range of Title III requirements apply to entities the Department of Justice calls public accommodations. In order to be considered a public accommodation an entity must be private and it must own, lease, lease to, or operate a place of public accommodation. Defining a Place of Public Accommodation A place of public accommodation is a facility whose operations: Affect commerce And fall within one of the following 12 categories: Places of lodging (e.g., inns, hotels, motels) (except for owner-occupied establishments renting fewer than six rooms Establishments serving food or drink (e.g., restaurants and bars Places of exhibition or entertainment (e.g., motion picture houses, theaters, concert halls, stadiums Places of public gathering (e.g., auditoriums, convention centers, lecture halls Sales or rental establishments (e.g., bakeries, grocery stores, hardware stores, shopping centers Service establishments (e.g., laundromats, dry-cleaners, banks, barber shops, beauty shops, travel services, shoe repair services, funeral parlors, gas stations, offices of accountants or lawyers, pharmacies, insurance offices, professional offices of health care providers, hospitals Public transportation terminals, depots, or stations (not including facilities relating to air transportation Places of public display or collection (e.g., museums, libraries, galleries Places of recreation (e.g., parks, zoos, amusement parks Places of education (e.g., nursery schools, elementary, secondary, undergraduate, or postgraduate private schools Social service center establishments (e.g., day care centers, senior citizen centers, homeless shelters, food banks, adoption agencies Places of exercise or recreation (e.g., gymnasiums, health spas, bowling alleys, golf courses In order to be a place of public accommodation, a business does not need to be expressly named in the above list; rather, it needs to fall within one of the 12 categories listed above. So, a sporting goods store is a place of accommodation under the sales and rentals category even though sporting goods stores aren’t directly mentioned in the above list of places of public accommodation. Commercial Landlords and Tenants Both landlords and tenants are responsible for following Title III. But the law allows landlords and tenants to contractually determine their rights and responsibilities under Title III. That being said, if your rights under Title III are violated, you could, depending on the facts, sue either the landlord or the tenant and let them fight over who will pay. Religious Institutions Religious entities are exempt from the provisions of Title III. A religious entity under Title III is defined as "a religious organization or an entity controlled by a religious organization, including a place of worship." The exemption covers all of a religious organizations, activities whether they are religious or secular. Examples A religious institution runs a private school for members and nonmembers. Even though private schools are generally covered by Title III, the religious institution’s private school does not have to follow Title III. If a religious organization rents space for someone else to run a private school, the religious institution, as a landlord, has no responsibility under Title III. But the private organization running the private school would be subject to the requirements of Title III. If a religious institution donates space on its property to be used as a private school, neither the religious institution nor the private group using the donated space to run a private school is covered by Title III. The examples show that the only way a private organization that is not a religious institution can be subject to Title III is if the private organization rents or leases space from the religious institution. Private Clubs Strictly private clubs aren’t covered by Title III. Courts typically use the following five factors when determining whether a club is private and thus exempt from the provisions of Title III: Members exercise a high degree of control over club activities The member selection process is very selective Substantial membership fees are charged The entity operates as a nonprofit The club was not founded to avoid federal civil rights laws Facilities of a private club lose their exempt status to the extent they are made available to the public. Example A private country club rents to a private organization to run a day care center from its facility. The day care center accepts students whose families are members of the country club and from families who aren’t members of the country club. By allowing nonmembers of the country club to use the day care center, the private club has lost its Title III exemption for the portion of its facility used as a day care center. State and Local Governments Under Title III State and local governments aren’t subject to the provisions of Title III. As we saw in the episode called "Title II Basics" state and local governments are covered by Title II of the ADA. The reason I’m mentioning this in an episode about Title III is that facilities and programs can be subject to the requirements of Titles II and III. Examples A state’s parks department provides a restaurant in one of its parks. The state parks department contracts with a private corporation to manage the restaurant. Even though the parks department is not directly managing the restaurant, it is required to ensure that the restaurant complies with all of the relevant provisions of Title II. The corporation managing the restaurant is required to follow the provisions of Title III. A city owns an office building. It rents the first floor of the building as commercial space to a restaurant, news stand, and an office supply store. The entire building, because it’s owned by a city, is subject to the requirements of Title II. This means that the city, as a landlord, is required to ensure all of the commercial activities taking place on the first floor live up to the city’s responsibilities under Title II. A state and a private corporation enter into a joint venture to build a football stadium. The stadium is subject to the requirements of Titles II and III. To the extent that there is a difference in what is required as the stadium is constructed, the joint venture must use the requirement that would provide the most accessibility, whether the standard is found under Title II or III. Surcharges A public accommodation may not place a surcharge only on people with disabilities to cover the cost of accommodating them. Advocating for Our Rights Under Title III For those of you who listened to the episode on Advocating for Our Rights Under Title II, some of this will sound familiar. This is because to advocate for Our rights Under Title III, we will use the same three steps we use when we advocate for our rights Under Title II. Although the steps for advocating under Titles II and III are the same, the language we will use and the rights we have are a bit different. The three steps to advocate for our rights are as follows: Decide who to contact Prepare what to say Once your request is submitted Decide Who to Contact Deciding who to contact when you need to request an accommodation and/or modification from a business or a nonprofit can be difficult. Since I cannot imagine all of the different scenarios you will encounter with the numerous types of organizational structures that exist, I can only provide a few general pointers for you to consider when you need to advocate with a business or nonprofit. For simplicity’s sake, I am going to write the below tips as if they only apply to businesses. But do not forget you can follow the same steps when contacting a small or large nonprofit: If the business is a small local business, ask for the owner or manager. You can do this by visiting the business, calling the business, or maybe they have a website with a contact form or email address. If the business is a national chain, visit their website and/or their app. Depending on their commitment to access, their website and app may both be accessible and they may have information about ADA requests. If you cannot find a specific way to make an ADA request electronically, you can use generic contact forms or email addresses made available for public feedback. You can always call a national chain. Usually, a phone number is relatively easy to find. If there is a local store in you community, you can always visit the store and ask them for assistance. Maybe, the assistance they can provide is helping you make contact with someone in corporate headquarters who could be better able to help. The more expensive it will be to grant your request, the more likely it is that a larger business will be more likely to grant your request. Prepare What you Will Say Once you have decided who you will contact and how you will contact them, it’s time for you to decide what you will say. This applies whether you are making your request in writing, over the phone, or by visiting a store. To make this easier to understand, I’m going to walk you through an example. For our purposes, I am going to pretend I need to arrange shopping assistance at my nearest national chain grocer. I have decided to file this Title III request, because I have had a difficult time getting assistance when I go to this store and ask for shopping assistance. To avoid starting trouble, I will be contacting a fictitious national grocery chain named Bob’s Groceries (Bob’s). Looking at Bob’s website and app, which were both kind of accessible, I could not find any specific way to make a request under Title III. So, I have decided to submit my request through a contact form for people needing customer service. My Sample Title III Request I visit the Bob’s store at 321 Maple Rd. in Hanford, Washington. I’m writing to make a request for accommodation under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (Title III). Specifically, I need to be able to get shopping assistance from a category of staffer who understands the store’s layout and can effectively understand and speak English. I am making this Title III request because the shopping assistance I have been getting from the people paid to move the carts is insufficient. The last three times I have visited my Bob’s, I have left with the wrong amounts of items, I couldn’t get what I needed because my assistant couldn’t find them, and I have purchased food that was expired. These bad experiences have wasted my time and money, and could have resulted in me getting sick. Please contact me to discuss my request within five business days. In this example, I told them what store I shop at, notified them I am making a request under Title III, told them what I want from my request, and explained why I am making the request I am making. Since most of these forms have character and/or word limits, I kept my request to 149 words. Once Your Request is Submitted It’s hard to provide very specific advice as to how you should proceed once your request has been submitted. I wish we could assume your request will be forwarded to someone with the authority to actually address it and some degree of knowledge as to how it should be addressed. But that is not always true. It is impossible for me to go through all of the things that could happen once your request has been submitted. So, I want to share a few pointers for you to keep in mind once you start talking with a business or nonprofit about your request: Never forget you have a right to be accommodated and/or to have a policy, practice, or procedure modified to enable you as a disabled person to participate. Don’t forget they cannot ask intrusive questions about your disability. In almost every situation, it’s sufficient for you to let them know you are a disabled person. When you discuss the request, you will provide enough information to demonstrate your status as a disabled person. Be prepared to explain, to the best of your ability, why you need the accommodation and/or modification you are requesting. This means you should be able to generally explain what is inaccessible to you and why it’s inaccessible to you. Be prepared to explain how the accommodation and/or modification you are requesting will create the accessibility you need to participate. If your request is related to their inaccessible website, remember that the Department of Justice expects the website of Title III entities to be accessible to those of us with disabilities. Conclusion Thank you for listening to this episode of the Demand Our Access podcast. I appreciate your support. Don’t let them tell you to bring a friend to assist you. Unless it’s an emergency situation, they cannot rely on someone else assisting you.

Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Introduction In the nearly two years I have been working on the Demand Our Access Project, I have covered many different aspects of the law. As I have repeatedly said, I am doing the Demand Our Access project because I strongly believe the best way for those of us with disabilities to achieve more equitable outcomes in society is for us to understand and enforce the legal rights we have. So, it’s time for us to spend dedicated time discussing how to advocate for ourselves and our community by using the lega rights we do have to achieve better outcomes for us as individuals and for our community as a whole. This episode will be the first in a series of episodes where we discuss how to effectively advocate for better outcomes by using the legal rights we have covered in the previous episodes of Demand Our Access. Our first episode on advocating for our rights will cover state and local governments. Specifically, I’m going to go through the steps I take when I need to advocate for my civil rights with my state or local government. We are starting with state and local governments for three reasons: Those of us with disabilities have more protections when we face discrimination from a state or local government than we have when we face discrimination by a corporation. State and local governments are covered by Title II of the ADA (Title II), which was the first substantive topic I presented through the Demand Our Access project. Many in our community rely on state and local governments for critical services in ways they do not need to rely on corporations. Since basics under Title II of the ADA was covered nearly two years ago and because that episode didn’t expressly discuss accommodations and modifications under Title II, I’m going to briefly recap some of the rights afforded us under Title II. Then, I will move into the ways I advocate under Title II. I will include a sample request that I hope helps you understand how to make a request of a state or local government under Title II. Recapping Title II Since this is only a recap of our rights under Title II, I have chosen to cover only accommodations and modifications under Title II and effective communication under Title II. I have chosen these two topics because requests for accommodation and/or modification are how we get our rights under Title II and most requests for accommodation made under Title II relate to effective communication. This recap of our rights under Title II will not provide any citations to the law or Department of Justice guidance. To learn more about Title II, please check out the episode Title II Basics. Requests for Accommodation or Modification In putting together the Basics Under Title II episode, I decided not to cover requests for accommodation or modification. At the time, I believed people knew they had a right to request things of their local governments, and I didn’t want to make the episode any longer than it was already. Nearly two years later, I now believe that I need to provide people more exact language when helping them learn to get their rights met by state and local governments. The reason for my change of heart is simple: I have come to realize that the more knowledgeable you sound in your request the more likely you are to have your request effectively addressed. Requests for Modification I’m beginning with a discussion of modifications because they are more straightforward. When you request a modification, you are requesting a state or local government modify an existing policy, practice, or procedure to enable you as a disabled person to participate. Here are some examples of when you may need to request the modification of a policy, practice, or procedure from a state or local government: If a city has a policy that electric vehicles are not allowed in a park, someone using an assistive mobility device would have the right to have the policy modified so they can use their wheelchair in the park. If a state has a policy banning all animals from a museum, the handler of a service animal would need to request a modification to that policy allowing service animals to enter the museum. If a county has a policy requiring paper applications be completed by someone needing benefits, people with any number of disabilities would have the ability to request the policy be modified. Requests for Accommodation Requests for accommodation cover anything that does not involve the modification of a policy, practice, or procedure. Here are some examples of accommodations: If someone requests a sign language interpreter, they are requesting an accommodation. If someone requests an accessible electronic document, they are requesting an accommodation. If someone requests assistance in completing a print form, they are requesting an accommodation. If someone requests a public meeting be moved to a more accessible facility, they are requesting an accommodation. An Important Note on Modifications and Accommodations There may be circumstances when you need to request both a modification and an accommodation; for example, if a county does require the completion of a print form for someone to access benefits, a person with a disability may both choose to request a modification to the policy to ensure the county stops discriminating against people with disabilities. The person would then need to request an accommodation to ensure they can complete the inaccessible print form while the policy is being modified. Effective Communication I’m not going to cover everything under the effective communication requirement here. For more information about the effective communication requirement, please check out the episode Effective Communication Under Titles II and III of the ADA. The effective communication requirement is designed to ensure communication between state and local governments and people with disabilities is as effective for those of us with disabilities as it is for people without disabilities. Specifically, the law requires that we must be able to: Communicate with state and local governments Receive information from state and local governments Convey information to state and local governments That means that all information made available to the public is to be accessible to those of us with disabilities. All methods of accepting community feedback used by state and local governments must be accessible to us. Auxiliary Aids and Services What the ADA calls auxiliary aids and services (aids and services) are tools and/or assistance enabling those of us with disabilities to effectively communicate. The effectiveness of provided aids and services depends on our individual disabilities and the ways we individually choose to communicate. Examples of aids and services include but are not limited to the following: Providing a blind person an accessible electronic document Ensuring an online form is accessible to assistive technologies Providing a Deaf person a sign language interpreter Assisting someone with a mobility disability in completing a print form Primary Consideration One of the big differences between Title II and Title III, covering primarily corporations and nonprofits, is that state and local governments must give "primary consideration" to our requested methods of communication. This means the state or local government must honor our requested method of communication unless it can provide an equally effective method of communication or it can demonstrate that our requested method of communication would result in a fundamental alteration or an undue burden. I’m not going to discuss fundamental alterations and undue burdens here, because it is very unlikely that a state or local government would be able to prove that a requested method of communication would result in a fundamental alteration or undue burden. For our purposes, all you need to know is that in almost every instance a state and local government must communicate with you in the ways you desire to have them communicate with you. Companions People described by the law as companions also have rights. Typically, the issue of a so-called companion needing an accommodation under Title II arises when a parent with a disability needs to communicate with a state or local government on behalf of their child. The right of disabled parents to be accommodated holds whether the parent is individually accessing the particular activity, program, or service or if the child is accessing the activity, program, or service on their own; for example, if a blind parent wishes to register their five-year-old daughter for swimming lessons the registration process must be accessible whether the child has a disability or not. No Surcharges In finishing our recap of effective communication under Title II, I need to remind you that a state or local government cannot charge you for the provision of any aid or service. The cost of ensuring effective communication is entirely the responsibility of the state or local government. Advocating Under Title II Here are the steps I follow when I need to advocate with a state or local government for an accommodation and/or modification under Title II. Decide who to Contact Sadly, this step, depending on how much your local government is doing to follow Title II, will be relatively easy or extremely difficult. Some communities clearly list their ADA coordinator on their website. Some communities have a clear notice of rights under Title II that tells you how to request accommodations and/or modifications. But many communities, especially smaller ones, do not make this information available and are doing almost nothing to follow the law. To determine who to contact, I suggest the following ideas: Review the government’s home page for any mention of requesting an accommodation or a modification. Call your local government and ask how you can request an accommodation or modification under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. If your accommodation and/or modification is related to a specific event, see if information about the event lists a way of getting an accommodation. If it doesn’t, see if it lists a contact for questions related to the event. Assuming your community has a standard contact form and/or email address for public feedback, use those methods of communication to make your request. If you can do so relatively easily, visit your local government’s office and ask for assistance. Since all of us are different, I’m not going to recommend one point of initial contact over another. If you are more comfortable calling someone, find a number and call. If you are more comfortable writing out your request, use a contact form or an email address. If you enjoy directly talking to someone, visit an office. Of course, the options you have may be limited by accessibility. If the contact form is not accessible, you may need to call. No matter how you do it, you cannot make a request without contacting your local government. Prepare What You Will Say Once you know who to contact and you have decided how you will contact them, it’s time to decide what you are going to say. This applies whether you are making your request in writing, over the phone, or by visiting an office. To make this easier to understand, I’m going to go through a sample request. For our purposes, I am going to pretend I need an accommodation to complete an inaccessible registration form so I can register for a ceramics class offered by my local government’s parks and recreation department. I will be submitting my accommodation request through a generic contact form, because I was unable to figure out how to make direct contact with the people running the ceramics class. Here, I am assuming the form enables me to enter my name, phone number, and email address into separate fields. So, all I will share below is what I would enter in the comment field that I will use to make my request. My Sample Request for Accommodation As a person with a disability, I’m requesting assistance under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (Title II) to register for the ceramics class taking place at the Oaks Community Center and beginning on August fifth. I’m requesting an accommodation under Title II, because the registration form is inaccessible to those of us who use assistive technologies to access the web. Given the inaccessibility of the online registration system, I cannot independently register for the ceramics class I wish to take. Given that contact forms tend to have very limited space for comments, I tried to keep my request very simple and short. So, I only included the information I believe they most need. I made sure they understand I’m a person with a disability and that I’m requesting an accommodation under title II of the ADA. I told them the class I wish to register for, the location where it will be, and when it begins. I shared all of that information to assist them in figuring out who will be the best person to assist me in registering for the class. Finally, I told them a little bit about why I’m requesting the accommodation I’m requesting. This approach works well in making your initial request when you don’t know exactly who to contact and whether you are requesting an accommodation or modification. Once Your Request is Submitted It’s hard to provide very specific advice as to how you should proceed once your request has been submitted. I wish we could assume your request will be forwarded to someone with the authority to actually address it and some degree of knowledge as to how it should be addressed. But that is not always true. It is impossible for me to go through all of the things that could happen once your request has been submitted. So, I want to share a few pointers for you to keep in mind once you start talking with your state or local government about your request: Never forget you have a right to be accommodated and/or to have a policy, practice, or procedure modified to enable you as a disabled person to participate. Don’t forget they cannot ask intrusive questions about your disability. In almost every situation, it’s sufficient for you to let them know you are a disabled person. When you discuss the request, you will provide enough information to demonstrate your status as a disabled person. If you are requesting an aid or service to enable effective communication, the circumstances where the state or local government could deny your request are very rare. Be prepared to explain, to the best of your ability, why you need the accommodation and/or modification you are requesting. This means you should be able to generally explain what is inaccessible to you and why it’s inaccessible to you. Be prepared to explain how the accommodation and/or modification you are requesting will create the accessibility you need to participate. Don’t let them tell you to bring a friend to assist you. Unless it’s an emergency situation, they cannot rely on someone else assisting you.