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The National Federation of the Blind v. Target lawsuit was settled this past Wednesday on the following key terms:
- By February 28, 2009, Target.com will be fully accessible to blind users.
- Target will pay $6 million in damages to claimants.
The Web Standards Project's Matt May provides a detailed analysis of the case and what it should mean to companies, designers and developers … nay, everyone.
Aside from the ultimate issue that people of all types and abilities want to and should be able to use the web, Matt makes an extremely salient point. One to which I wish my own employer would take greater heed:
“Target will pay out well over $6 million in damages, when one-tenth — maybe even a hundredth — of that amount could have paid a dream team of accessibility-savvy designers ready to solve the actual issues at hand.”
Amen! Now let's see it happen. And it starts with fighting the good fight for accessibility:
- Persistently educating clients, employers and colleagues about the need for web accessibility.
- Educating ourselves and our colleagues about how to design accessible web sites and applications.
- Designing and implementing web-accessible sites supported with continual accessibility testing.
Update: 8/29/2008
After posting this article, a few of my favorite bloggers posted responses to the settlement:
- Jared Smith notes the settlement doesn't clarify the ADA in relation to the web.
- Bruce Lawson suggests the settlement should've been larger.
- Bob Easton believes the settlement is just right.
I encourage you to read these posts to get even more perspective.
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