ADA, WCAG 2.0 & SECTION 508 COMPLIANCE
CITIES: 3 Easy Steps to City Website Accessibility for WCAG 2.0 AA. Beginning January 18, 2018, all federal, state and local websites must meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0 AA) adopted as part of updates to existing federal laws governing equal access to government services – Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Jurisdictions that do not comply with these guidelines risk lawsuits from private citizens, as well as legal action by the Department of Justice, which has taken the position that websites offering goods or services to consumers are places of public accommodation and must be accessible to the disabled. Here are three key website content areas where agencies can make adjustments to help their customers find and understand the information they need from their local government’s website – regardless of age or disability. Read more
[EFFICIENTGOV.COM]
ECOMMERCE: Online Retailers Beware: Court Holds Website Violates ADA Despite Lack of Physical Store . Courts across the country continue to weigh in on the issue of website accessibility. Last week, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire denied a motion to dismiss filed by online food delivery servicer Blue Apron. In denying the motion, the court found that Blue Apron’s website is a place of public accommodation – despite the fact that Blue Apron operates only online and has no traditional brick and mortar locations. Read more.
[LEXOLOGY.COM]
CAREERS & WORKPLACE: Websites Are the Next Frontier of ADA Compliance. While the DOJ continues to delay the rule-making process and the roll out of any final rules, companies should beware. Federal court lawsuits based on alleged website inaccessibility have spiked since the beginning of 2015 with several hundred filed against a wide spectrum of businesses – from retailers to restaurants – that provide public accommodation. Find out more
[BIZJOURNALS.COM]
WEBSITE AUDITOR: The Hot Job Title You Want. “The web accessibility compliance auditor is a field that every computer science and information systems student should think of pursing,” says Dr. James Logan, who is the quality assurance manager for Georgia Institute of Technology’s Enterprise Information Systems. “It really is just an extension of information systems. The field has so many opportunities for web developers.” Read more
[BLACKENGINEER.COM]
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NOW ON SLIDESHARE: Tech Update Summary from Blue Mountain Data Systems October 2017 https://www.slideshare.net/BMDS3416/tech-update-summary-from-blue-mountain-data-systems-october-2017.
IT SECURITY SUPPORT: Blue Mountain Data Systems is actively involved in implementing FISMA and NIST standards with Federal Civilian Agencies. Due to our extensive experience in this area, Blue Mountain has developed processes and organizational techniques to help ensure security deliverables are completed on time, and performed in the most efficient manner possible. We ensure that NIST-800-53 control requirements are treated consistently during definition, analysis, implementation, auditing, and reporting phases of a system. Find out more about Blue Mountain Data Systems IT Security Support Services. Call us at 703-502-3416.
REGISTER NOW: Website Accessibility Auditor: Learn How to Test Websites for Accessibility. This 2-day online instructor-led hands-on course covers essential design, coding, and testing procedures for Web designers and developers who want to be sure the sites they create or maintain are accessible to as many people as possible. Class participants will learn how to test a website for accessibility, based on Section 508 Compliance & WCAG 2.0 Standards…Levels A, AA & AAA. This class will also include a discussion of the recently-released WCAG 2.1 draft and what the current proposed changes mean for people with disabilities and website accessibility auditors. Register now.
BLUE MOUNTAIN DATA SYSTEMS HAS THE EXPERIENCE: 1994 to Present – U.S. Dept. of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration. Responsible to the Office of Technology and Information Systems for information systems architecture, planning, applications development, networking, administration and IT security, supporting the enforcement of Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act — ERISA. Within the EBSA, Blue Mountain is responsible for design, development and support for its various enforcement database management systems, as well as all case tracking and customer service inquiry systems. Blue Mountain also provides IT security services to the EBSA, in the form of FISMA Assessment and Authorization, System Security Plans, Risk and vulnerability assessments, monitoring and investigation support. Read more.
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