Accessibility Laws Flashcards
What is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?
As a result of the tragedy and loss experienced during the Second World War, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948, in Paris, France. The document is known to be the first of its kind to establish fundamental human rights, for it declares rights that everyone in the world should have. It is also regarded as the foundation of international human rights law as numerous international treaties, constitutions, and other laws have elaborated on the rights contained in the document, especially accessibility laws.
The document consists of a preamble that spells out the reasons for the document and 30 articles that state fundamental human rights ranging from right to life, liberty, equality, spiritual and political freedoms, to social, cultural, and economic rights.
What is the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities?
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol (A/RES/61/106) was adopted on 13 December 2006 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, and was opened for signature on 30 March 2007. The Convention entered into force on 3 May 2008.
As an international ratified treaty, the UN CRPD is an instrument to push and monitor national legislation, administration and the implementation and provision of Accessibility, AT and universal design as integral parts and means to guarantee equal human rights to people with disabilities.
The Convention was negotiated during eight sessions of an Ad Hoc Committee of the General Assembly from 2002 to 2006, making it the fastest negotiated human rights treaty.
What are civil rights laws?
Civil rights laws take their cue from the Social Disability Model, and attempt to secure equal rights for people with disabilities by requiring social institutions (governments, corporations, educational institutions, individuals, etc.) to reduce or eliminate discriminatory disabling conditions in society.
Some disability civil rights laws include prescriptive guidelines or checklists for measuring accessibility in such areas as architecture and the built environment, employment and the workplace, educational settings, retail venues, hospitality and entertainment, etc.
In most cases, compliance with civil rights laws is not actively monitored or enforced by government officers. Citizens must file complaints, which then may go to court or may be settled out of court.
What is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)?
The ADA is a broad civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, architectural design, transportation, examinations and courses, and other services offering “public accommodation.” Even though the ADA says nothing about web accessibility explicitly, many of the web accessibility lawsuits in the United States invoke the ADA as the basis for the legal complaint, because of the language about “public accommodation.”
What does the ADA apply to?
Private entities that own, operate, lease, or lease to places of public accommodation. Essentially this refers to businesses and other organizations open to the public, with the exception of religious entities and private clubs.
Federal and state government entities.
Who enforces the ADA?
Consumers (people with disabilities) filing formal complaints.
What is the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA)?
The AODA “applies to every person or organization in the public and private sectors of the Province of Ontario, including the Legislative Assembly of Ontario” if the person or organization “provides goods, services or facilities… employs persons in Ontario… offers accommodation… owns or occupies a building, structure or premises… or is engaged in a prescribed business, activity or undertaking or meets such other requirements as may be prescribed.”
What is the Equality Act of 2010?
One of the main laws related to web accessibility in the UK is the Equality Act of 2010. The Equality Act is a broad law which prohibits discrimination in the workplace and in society in general on the basis of:
Disability Race or ethnic identity Sex Pregnancy or parenthood status Sexual orientation or identity Religion, belief, or lack of religion/belief
What is the Act on the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities?
One of the actions Japan took to eradicate social barriers for people with disabilities was establishing the Act on the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities in June 2013. The legislation prohibits discrimination based on disability and requires organizations and private entities to provide the necessary accommodations that remove the social barriers people with disabilities face.
What are procurement laws?
Procurement laws address disabilities at the point of purchase by ensuring that products and services meet accessibility standards.
What is Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act?
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act requires the U.S. federal government to take accessibility into account when procuring information technologies: websites, telephones, copiers, computers, and other technologies, including both hardware and software. The parts of Section 508 most relevant to web accessibility are “1194.21 — Software applications and operating systems,” “1194.22 — Web-based intranet and internet information and applications,” and “1194.31 — Functional performance criteria.”
In January 2017, Section 508 underwent a refresh that was many years in the making. A significant change is that the WCAG level A and AA guidelines are now incorporated by reference and required by Section 508. Prior to the refresh, Section 508 included its own list of requirements, which were a modified subset of WCAG 1.0 (not the current version of WCAG).
Who does Section 508 apply to?
US federal government entities only, but the effects of Section 508 have permeated the information technology landscape because so many businesses, non-profits, and local and state governments do business with the federal government. To sell to the federal government, private entities have to offer accessible products and services.
Who enforces Section 508?
Consumers (people with disabilities) filing formal complaints.
What is EN 301 549: “Accessibility requirements suitable for public procurement of ICT products and services in Europe”?
The European Union decided to create a set of standards for use in ICT (Information and Communication Technology) procurement legislation, similar to Section 508 in the United States. Mandate 376 established the initiative to create European accessibility procurement requirements, and the result is ETSI standard EN 301 549, titled “Accessibility requirements suitable for public procurement of ICT products and services in Europe”, published in February of 2014.
No government in Europe yet requires adherence to these standards (as of May 2014). Currently EN 301 549 is not a law anywhere, but the expectation is that European countries will begin to incorporate these standards into their own laws. Like Section 508, EN 301 549 covers a variety of technologies, not just the web. Portions of EN 301 549 that deal with the web refer to WCAG level AA.
What are technology and domain-specific laws?
While there is no single law that can be called information technology law, there are a number of laws that concentrate on various aspects of technology, such as data protection and privacy, intellectual property, hardware and software, telecommunications, and the Internet.
