U.S. Department of Justice Delays Website Accessibility Rule

The U.S. Department of Justice recently announced that it will again delay the release of website accessibility regulations for places of public accommodation. The regulation is now scheduled to be released in fiscal year 2018.

Although the Department of Justice has not implemented regulations governing website accessibility, it has been undertaking compliance reviews of websites and entered into consent decrees requiring that websites comply with voluntary guidelines established by an international website standards organization. Similarly, private plaintiffs have been filing lawsuits as part of an effort to expand the legal requirements through litigation and settlement agreements.

These enforcement efforts are expected to increase even in the absence of clear requirements for website accessibility.