Section 508

What is Section 508?

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was the first U.S. legislation to address government aid to the disabled, mainly in the form of grants, but also in coordinating government programs, conducting research, and training for those with impairments. In 1998, President Bill Clinton signed into law amendments to the Rehabilitation Act, enacting Section 508. Section 508 requires access to electronic and information technology provided by the Federal government. This means that federal employees with disabilities are able to do their work on accessible technological devices, and individuals with impairments can (a) apply for a federal job and (b) use an agency’s website to access information like everybody else.
On January 18, 2017, the U.S. Access Board published a final revision to Section 508, updating accessibility requirements for information and communication technology (ICT). This rule thoroughly defined accessibility terms, including websites, cell phones, tablets, etc., stipulating the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) as the conformance standard.

What does ICT include?

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is any equipment or system that is used to create, convert, duplicate or access information and data. Examples of ICT include, but are not limited to:

• Telephones, smartphones, and mobile devices
• Televisions, DVD players, and videotaped productions
• Internet and Intranet websites
• PDF documents
• Content on DVDs and CDs
• On-line training
• Webinars and teleconferencing
• Technical support call centers
• Remote access websites and tools
• Tablet, laptop, and desktop computers
• Software and operating systems
• User guides for software and tools
• Copiers, printers, and fax machines

Who must comply with Section 508?

Contrary to common knowledge, Section 508 is not restricted to federal agencies. Compliance is required by:

1. Federal, state, and local government agencies
2. Recipients of federal funds like universities, health care services, associations, museums, national parks, etc.
3. Contractors and third-party workers who provide services to government agencies or bodies that receive federal funds

High-profile civil rights lawsuits were filed against the Department of Homeland Security, Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of California, Berkeley, and the Small Business Association, among others.
For failing to adequately caption videos, for instance, the University of California, Berkeley, made a controversial decision to strike down thousands of educational videos from the public eye in 2017.The consequence of these accessibility-related lawsuits brought into the light the difficulties organizations face when required complying with digital accessibility standards. High Web accessibility standards require technological expertise, financial investment that can amount to tens of thousands of dollars, and valuable time.

How is Section 508 enforced?

Section 508 lawsuits come into effect if the organization under contention does not resolve the complaint or fix the problem within 30 days of being notified.
Deborah Walsh, Director of Legal Operations at Dept. of Justice / Civil Rights Division’s Disability Rights Office says that “several recent settlements have ranged from $100,000 to $200,000 depending on a number of factors including how serious and pervasive the violations were.”
Section 508 lawsuits result when a person with a disability files suit against another entity because that entity either fails to make their websites accessible or to comply with Title parts of the ADA (American with Disabilities Act).

Section 508 is enforced in three ways:

1. A federal agency may enforce compliance if it determines that an entity is violating Title III of the ADA (which refers to Section 508)
2. Private entities may sue an entity for Section 508 violations
3. A person with a disability can file suit for Section 508 violations

For achieving those standards, the legislation labels WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA as the conformance standard for digital accessibility.
Note that WCAG is not officially coded into the law, as it is created by an independent, international body of Web developing experts. Hence Section 508 uses the “conformance” (conforming to a certain standard) terminology instead of “compliance.”
While this causes some legal ambiguity, the best solution for anyone looking to comply with Section 508 is to conform his or her digital assets to WCAG 2.0 Level AA Success Criteria. In fact, we at EqualWeb transform your websites to the latest WCAG 2.1 compliance standards; putting you ahead of the legislative procedure, providing liability protection, and creating an all-inclusive browsing experience for the disabled.

Section 508 compliance testing: automated, manual, or hybrid?

An automated scan of your website can identify a stream of accessibility issues that would take a huge amount of time and effort to identify manually.Nevertheless, there are situations where it is necessary to conduct manual accessibility testing in order to make your solutions workable for real human beings with disabilities. These include compatibility with screen readers and other assistance tools, including keyboard navigation, access to the programming language, and more.