California Website Accessibility and Compliance Software

If you’re responsible for website accessibility in a California state agency or entity, you must comply not only with the federal law – Section 508 – but also with the state law – California AB 434. Similarly, if you operate a business in California, you must comply not only with the ADA (federal) but also with the Unruh Civil Rights Act (state).

Some interpretations of the law argue that the Unruh Act even applies to out-of-state businesses that have customers in California but no physical presence in the state. For example, a 2020 lawsuit (Thurston v. Fairfield) in the Court of Appeals of California determined that a Georgia-based online retailer fell under the jurisdiction of the Unruh Act. Read more about how the Unruh Act was used in a digital accessibility lawsuit for another out-of-state business.

Effective July 2019 onwards, California AB 434 requires that all websites of state agencies and entities must be accessible to users of all abilities. Specifically, websites must conform (at minimum) to Level AA of the W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0. Even before the introduction of California AB 434, Californian state agencies and entities were required to comply with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act – a federal law applicable to all agencies in receipt of financial assistance from the federal government.

So, even though local (county and municipal) government organizations are not required to comply with California AB 434, they almost certainly fall under the jurisdiction of Section 508. And as Section 508 also requires conformance to Level AA of WCAG 2.0, this effectively puts all government organizations in California under the same legal obligations to ensure online accessibility.

The Unruh Civil Rights Act was updated in 1992 to include people with disabilities in the list of those entitled to full and equal accommodation. At the same time, the act adopted the standards set by the ADA, so that failure to achieve ADA compliance also equals failure to comply with Unruh – a fact repeatedly confirmed by judges in California.

Many U.S. courts have consistently ruled that websites are included among these places of public accommodation. This was tested at the highest level in 2019, when the U.S. Supreme Court denied petition from Domino’s Pizza, letting stand the two lower court rulings that the ADA does indeed apply to the accessibility of websites.

A successful ADA lawsuit pays no damages to plaintiffs – they receive only their legal fees. By contrast, each violation of Unruh entitles the plaintiff to damages ranging from a minimum of $4,000 up to three times the actual damages incurred, which can include emotional distress.

For businesses concerned about the financial risks around Unruh compliance there is at least one comforting precedent: a 2018 California state court ruled that “repeated visits to the same inaccessible website [did not] establish a separate offense within the meaning of the Unruh Act.” (Thurston v. Midvale Corp.).

AudioEye’s hybrid platform combines intelligent, automated compliance software with certified accessibility experts and testers to give you the best chance of complying with any relevant legislation: California AB 434, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Unruh Civil Rights Act, and Titles II and III of the ADA.

AudioEye’s holistic approach includes automated and manual identification and assistive technology testing, accessibility reporting, ongoing maintenance and monitoring, web personalization tools, training resources, and AudioEye Trusted Certification.