A good chunk of our clients come to us after they’ve entered into a settlement agreement with a plaintiffs’ law firm. The website accessibility lawsuit is over and now they just need help meeting the various terms and conditions under the settlement agreement. Here are some of the common settlement terms:
- Hire an independent consultant
- Make your website WCAG 2.1 AA conformant
- Publish an accessibility statement
- Use an automated scan and send reports on a monthly basis
- Train your staff on WCAG
- Audit your website quarterly or bi-annually
- Provide documentation of your efforts and progress
The good news is we can provide all of the above and ensure you meet all of the conditions for your ADA website settlement agreement.
Here’s a quick explainer on how we can help with each item.
Table of Contents
Hiring an Independent Consultant
Accessible.org can serve as your independent consultant for your settlement agreement. We’ve worked with countless organizations that have been sued or received demand letters, so we’re very familiar with typical settlement terms.
You can hire us to advise you every step of the way through your project.
Making Your Website WCAG 2.1 AA Conformant
This is the biggest requirement. We’ll start by conducting a thorough and comprehensive manual audit to identify all accessibility issues, then provide clear remediation recommendations. We also offer technical support hours to help your developers implement fixes correctly, and we’ll validate those fixes to ensure they meet WCAG standards.
Publishing an Accessibility Statement
Most settlements require you to publish an accessibility statement within a specific timeframe. We can create a custom, professionally written statement that includes all of the standard considerations, including your commitment to accessibility. Moreover, we can work with your counsel and project leaders to ensure the statement aligns perfectly with your organization’s policy.
Automated Scanning and Monthly Reports
Many settlements require regular automated scanning and reporting. We can use two of the most popular scans, WAVE and/or AXE, to scan your website and report on results. Our Accessibility Tracker software ($49/month) can streamline this process, using your real audit report rather than an automated scan so your reporting is accurate and reflects your true accessibility status.
Training Your Staff on WCAG
Our WCAG Course is designed specifically to satisfy settlement training requirements while actually teaching your team what they need to know. For $99 per license, staff members get comprehensive training on all WCAG 2.1 AA success criteria through both video and text explanations.
The training includes a certificate of completion, and staff will have lifetime access to the materials – no ongoing subscriptions required. We offer both individual and bundled licenses for teams with three or more members.
Quarterly or Bi-Annual Audits
Most settlements require ongoing audits to ensure WCAG 2.1 AA conformance is maintained. Our audit services are 100% manual and conducted by technical accessibility experts using a variety of methodologies: screen reader testing, keyboard testing, visual inspection and code inspection. Our audit reports include comprehensive documentation of findings along with remediation recommendations. You can further document issues and fixes with Accessibility Tracker
Audits typically cost between $2,500 and $7,500 depending on your website’s complexity and scope, but we offer a discounted rate for the prepurchase of multiple audits for the same digital asset.
Documentation of Efforts and Progress
Documentation of your efforts and progress is key. Our Accessibility Tracker software centralizes all your accessibility documentation in one place – progress tracking, validation records, monthly status reports, and complete audit history. This creates a clear record of your good-faith efforts of not only meeting settlement obligations, but potentially compliance with laws and regulations.
Why Work With Us
Our founder, Kris Rivenburgh, is an attorney and author of The ADA Book, and we’ve helped hundreds of organizations through ensuring settlement terms are met. We offer straightforward pricing with no hidden costs, and and always look for our clients’ best interests when advising.
Do you need help meeting your settlement agreement?
We invite you to reach out. Once we receive your email, we’ll be right back with you.
