SECTION 508 COMPLIANCE, ADA & WCAG 2.0
ACCESSIBLE DIGITAL WORKPLACE: We Need to Build Accessibility Into Our Digital Workplaces. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, one in five people have some form of physical or cognitive disability. And yet as of 2016, only 17.9 percent of people with disabilities were employed, compared with 65.3 percent of people without a disability. Nevertheless chances are at least one person in your organization probably has some form of disability. And the disabilities, such as dyslexia and color blindness, are not so obvious. Read more
[CMSWIRE.COM]
508 REFRESH: How Does the Refreshed Section 508 Rule Affect Your Agency? This article focuses on what changed in the refresh and how the refresh affects agency systems. The good news is that if agencies complied with the original Section 508 rule, then they are ahead of the game concerning the refreshed rule. Simply put – agencies that were compliant are still compliant because there is a “safe harbor” clause embedded in the new rule that exempts existing or “legacy” IT from having to meet the refreshed rule. Keep in mind, though, that new or updated web pages created after the new rule went into effect must comply with the new rule by January of 2018. Read more
[GCN.COM]
LEGAL: Is Your Company Website Sufficiently Accessible to the Disabled? Over the last two years, there have been an increasing number of lawsuits filed over the alleged failure of websites to accommodate persons with disabilities. According to a recent New York Times article, since January 2015, at least 751 website accessibility lawsuits have been filed under Title III. The vast majority of these suits have targeted retailers and restaurants. Now, other entities, such as academic institutions, are coming under fire, and we anticipate litigation to increase in 2018 impacting all industries. Read more.
[LEXOLOGY.COM]
ACCESSIBLE WEB DESIGN: How to Accommodate the Dyslexic Reader. Dyslexia is a general term for disorders that involve difficulty in learning to read or interpret words, letters, and other symbols, but that do not affect general intelligence. It is the most common cause of reading, writing, and spelling difficulties. Of people with reading difficulties, 70-80% are likely to have some form of dyslexia. It is estimated that between 5-10% of the population has dyslexia, but this number can also be as high as 17%. Here are some CSS tips to consider when designing web content to accommodate the dyslexic reader. Read more.
[ACCESSIBLEWEBSITESERVICES.COM]
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NOW ON SLIDESHARE: Tech Update Summary from Blue Mountain Data Systems December 2017 https://www.slideshare.net/BMDS3416/tech-update-summary-from-blue-mountain-data-systems-december-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 also includes 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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