Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

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Private Businesses, Organizations, Schools (open to the public)

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• ADA Title I (employees)

  • All employers or businesses with 15 or more full-time employees.

  • Title I prohibits employment discrimination, requiring employers to make reasonable accommodations for qualified candidates and employees with disabilities (including accessible website, inclusive candidate journey, company portals, employee communication, recruitment, hiring, promotions, training, pay, social activities, etc).

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• ADA Title III (businesses)

  • All businesses open to the public need accessible websites.

  • Title III states all businesses and nonprofits open to the public must make reasonable adjustments to provide full and equal enjoyment of their goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations to people with disabilities.

  • Examples of businesses and orgs under Title III include stores, banks, restaurants, hotels, travel services, hospitals, medical services, private schools, theaters, taxis, shuttles, gyms, sports, service businesses, software companies, etc.

  • Title III prohibits discrimination based on disability, including in areas of digital communication and online business spaces like websites.

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Public Agencies, Schools, Departments, Entities, Authorities

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State and Local governments:​

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• ADA Title I (employees)

  • ​Employees of state and local governments, employment agencies, and labor unions are protected under the ADA.

• ADA Title II​ (government)

  • Title II covers all activities of state and local governments (regardless of entity size or receipt of federal funding).

  • ​Title II prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in all public services, programs, and activities (including public education, employment, transportation, recreation, health care, social services, courts, voting, town meetings, etc).

  • Authorities and agencies are also required to ensure public communication is equally effective for disabled citizens as for non-disabled citizens (including digital communications and websites).

• ​States and cities have their own laws

  • California Unruh Civil Rights Act

  • New York State Human Rights Law

  • New York City Human Rights Law

  • Search by state/city for more laws.

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Section 508 Amendment to the Rehabilitation Act

 

Federal government:

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• US Federal law covering electronic information and communication technology (ICT).

• Members of the public (including those with disabilities) must have equal access to information and services from a federal department or agency.

• Federal employees with disabilities must have equal access to information and services.

• See Section 508 federal site.

Accessible Canada Act (ACA)

• Federal accessibility law in Canada enacted in 2019.

• ACA applies to technology platforms, information, or communications.

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Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA)

• Enacted in 2005 by the provincial government of Ontario.

• AODA requires the websites of Ontario-based organizations under this law to meet specific web accessibility guidelines.

• See AODA government site.

European Accessibility Act (EAA)

• A landmark law passed by the European Union (EU) in 2019 to require accessibility for digital products and services.

• EAA includes important enforcement dates beginning 2025.

• EAA requires certain everyday products and services to be accessible for persons with disabilities.

  • "The European Accessibility Act will make life easier for at least 87 million people – almost one in five Europeans – who have disabilities, including many older people, and for those who have a temporary impairment" (quoted from EAA official EU site).

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EN 301 549​

• EN 301 549 is an EU policy document published in 2014 by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) and updated in 2019 to incorporate the WCAG standards for web accessibility.

• EN 301 549 covers all ICT (Information and Communication Technology) products and services, to enable their use by persons with disabilities.

• "EN 301 549 can be applied to any type of ICT-based products and services. This includes software (web pages, mobile applications, desktop applications), hardware (smartphones, personal computers, information kiosks) and any combination of hardware and software." (quoted from ETSI.org)

• See EN 301 549 government site.

Equality Act 2010

• This law protects people from discrimination in the UK.

• Equality Act 2010  also applies to websites in the UK.

Look up accessibility laws by country

• W3C maintains an international list of digital accessibility laws, sorted by country (click button: Find Global Laws).​​