Legal Compliance Quick Reference

// ADA Web Accessibility Checklist

1. **Legal Basis:**
   - ADA doesn't explicitly mention websites
   - Courts have interpreted Title III to include websites
   - DOJ references WCAG 2.1 Level AA as standard
   - Follow WCAG 2.2 AA for best protection

2. **Who Must Comply:**
   ✓ Federal government (required by Section 508)
   ✓ State and local government (Title II)
   ✓ Public accommodations (Title III):
     - Retail stores and online shops
     - Hotels and booking sites
     - Restaurants and food delivery
     - Banks and financial services
     - Healthcare providers
     - Educational institutions
     - Entertainment venues
   ✓ Employers with 15+ employees (Title I)

3. **Compliance Requirements:**
   □ Meet WCAG 2.1 AA minimum (2.2 AA recommended)
   □ Provide alternative means of access if needed
   □ Respond to accommodation requests
   □ Document accessibility efforts
   □ Regular testing and monitoring
   □ Staff training on accessibility

4. **Risk Mitigation:**
   ✓ Accessibility statement on website
   ✓ Feedback mechanism for reporting issues
   ✓ Remediation plan for identified issues
   ✓ Regular audits (annual minimum)
   ✓ Third-party testing
   ✓ User testing with people with disabilities
   ✓ Documentation of compliance efforts

5. **Common Lawsuit Triggers:**
   - Missing alt text on images
   - Keyboard navigation failures
   - Poor color contrast
   - Unlabeled form fields
   - Inaccessible PDF documents
   - Videos without captions
   - CAPTCHA without alternative
   - Inaccessible checkout process

6. **Safe Harbor Provisions:**
   - Section 508: Agencies have 6 months to remediate
   - No federal "safe harbor" for private sector
   - Proactive compliance is best defense
   - Document good-faith efforts

<!-- Accessibility Statement (Required by EU Directive) -->

<section>
  <h1>Accessibility Statement</h1>
  
  <p>
    [Organization Name] is committed to ensuring digital accessibility 
    for people with disabilities. We are continually improving the user 
    experience for everyone and applying the relevant accessibility standards.
  </p>
  
  <h2>Conformance Status</h2>
  <p>
    The <a href="https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/quickref/">Web Content 
    Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)</a> defines requirements for designers 
    and developers to improve accessibility for people with disabilities.
  </p>
  <p>
    This website is <strong>[fully/partially] conformant</strong> with 
    WCAG 2.1 level AA. [Fully conformant means that the content fully 
    conforms to the accessibility standard without any exceptions. 
    Partially conformant means that some parts do not fully conform.]
  </p>
  
  <h2>Feedback</h2>
  <p>
    We welcome your feedback on the accessibility of this website. 
    Please contact us if you encounter accessibility barriers:
  </p>
  <ul>
    <li>Email: <a href="mailto:accessibility@example.com">
        accessibility@example.com</a></li>
    <li>Phone: +XX XXX XXX XXXX</li>
    <li>Postal: [Address]</li>
  </ul>
  <p>We aim to respond within [X business days].</p>
  
  <h2>Technical Specifications</h2>
  <p>
    Accessibility of this website relies on the following technologies:
  </p>
  <ul>
    <li>HTML</li>
    <li>CSS</li>
    <li>JavaScript</li>
    <li>WAI-ARIA</li>
  </ul>
  
  <h2>Assessment Approach</h2>
  <p>
    [Organization Name] assessed the accessibility of this website 
    by the following approaches:
  </p>
  <ul>
    <li>Self-evaluation</li>
    <li>External evaluation</li>
    <li>Automated testing</li>
    <li>User testing with people with disabilities</li>
  </ul>
  
  <h2>Date</h2>
  <p>
    This statement was created on <time>[Date]</time> using the 
    <a href="https://www.w3.org/WAI/planning/statements/">W3C Accessibility 
    Statement Generator</a>.
  </p>
  <p>Last reviewed on: <time>[Date]</time></p>
</section>

// VPAT® (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template)
// Format: WCAG 2.x Edition

Product Information:
  Name: [Product Name]
  Version: [Version Number]
  Date: [Report Date]
  Contact: [Contact Information]

Evaluation Methods:
  - Automated testing: axe DevTools, Lighthouse
  - Manual testing: Keyboard navigation, screen readers
  - Screen Readers: NVDA 2024.1, JAWS 2024, VoiceOver macOS 14
  - Browsers: Chrome 120, Firefox 121, Safari 17, Edge 120

Conformance Level:
  [X] Supports (fully meets the criterion)
  [ ] Partially Supports (some functionality meets the criterion)
  [ ] Does Not Support (does not meet the criterion)
  [ ] Not Applicable

Table 1: WCAG 2.2 Level A Success Criteria
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Criteria │ Conformance │ Remarks                        │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 1.1.1    │ Supports    │ All images have alt text       │
│ 1.2.1    │ Supports    │ Transcripts provided           │
│ 1.2.2    │ Supports    │ Captions on all videos         │
│ 1.3.1    │ Supports    │ Semantic HTML throughout       │
│ 2.1.1    │ Partially   │ Some custom widgets need work  │
│ 2.1.2    │ Supports    │ No keyboard traps detected     │
│ ...      │ ...         │ ...                            │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Table 2: WCAG 2.2 Level AA Success Criteria
[Similar structure]

Known Issues:
  1. Custom dropdown keyboard navigation (2.1.1)
     - Impact: High
     - Remediation: Planned for v2.1
     - Timeline: Q2 2024

  2. Some charts lack text alternatives (1.1.1)
     - Impact: Medium
     - Remediation: In progress
     - Timeline: Q1 2024

Legal Disclaimer:
  This document is provided for informational purposes only. 
  [Organization] makes no representations regarding accuracy or 
  compliance with any specific regulations.

// Accessibility Audit Report

Executive Summary:
  - Audit Date: [Date]
  - Pages Tested: [Number]
  - Overall Status: [Pass/Fail/Partial]
  - Critical Issues: [Number]
  - WCAG Level: AA
  - Conformance: [XX]%

Methodology:
  1. Automated Testing:
     - Tool: axe DevTools
     - Pages scanned: 50
     - Issues found: 127

  2. Manual Testing:
     - Keyboard navigation: All pages
     - Screen reader: NVDA + Firefox
     - Color contrast: All text elements
     - Zoom testing: 200% and 400%

  3. User Testing:
     - 5 users with disabilities
     - Tasks: Navigation, form completion, checkout
     - Success rate: 80%

Issues Summary by Severity:

Critical (Must Fix - WCAG A Violations):
  1. Missing form labels - 15 instances
     Impact: Screen reader users cannot complete forms
     WCAG: 1.3.1, 3.3.2, 4.1.2
     Remediation: Add <label> elements with for attributes
     Effort: 4 hours
     Priority: 1

  2. Keyboard traps in modal - 3 instances
     Impact: Keyboard users cannot exit modals
     WCAG: 2.1.2
     Remediation: Implement focus trap with Esc key
     Effort: 8 hours
     Priority: 1

High (Should Fix - WCAG AA Violations):
  3. Insufficient color contrast - 47 instances
     Impact: Low vision users cannot read text
     WCAG: 1.4.3
     Remediation: Darken text or lighten backgrounds
     Effort: 12 hours
     Priority: 2

Medium (Recommended - Best Practices):
  4. Non-descriptive link text - 23 instances
     Impact: Reduced context for screen reader users
     WCAG: 2.4.4
     Remediation: Update link text to be descriptive
     Effort: 6 hours
     Priority: 3

Recommendations:
  1. Immediate: Fix all Critical issues (estimated 2 weeks)
  2. Short-term: Address High priority items (estimated 1 month)
  3. Long-term: Implement accessibility testing in CI/CD
  4. Ongoing: Train development team on accessibility

Next Steps:
  - Create Jira tickets for all issues
  - Assign owners and deadlines
  - Schedule follow-up audit in 3 months
  - Update accessibility statement