The Pellucid Perspective - August 2024 - 4

LEGAL MATTERS
to " publicly facing websites " - both governmental and privately
owned domains.
Apparently, aided and abetted by congresional inactivity and
hazy DOJ guidance; some lawyers have already rubbed the lamp
and decided that the ADA applies to virtually any website without
a private login. In the midst of my research, the Wall Street Journal
published "" Law Firm Specializes In Small Disability Cases " on
July 15, 2024. In 2023, there were about 4,400 web-accessibility
cases filed in the US. About 25% of those were brought by a small
New York law firm " against businesses that sell everything from
electric bicycles to cooking kits for children " . Whether it's coincidence
or karma, it looks like the genie has already escaped. " The
demands are priced at less than it would cost to respond to the
complaint. That's the business model " , said Peter Braun, a Maine
lawyer who has defended some of these cases.
Our Denver area client did find a relatively new POS/Tee
Sheet/Golf Management System (GMS) platform that offers
ADA accessible services. However, based on the DOJ April
guidelines, the client indicated that they were going to reissue
their GMS RFP to a wider number of vendors because they have
fewer than 50,000 people and may be exempt based on the DOJ
population exception.
The DOJ may have exempted smaller municipalities, but
courses owned by the City of Denver are not. The same will be
true for the City of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Lake County
Forest Preserve District in the Chicago area and countless other
large cities that own golf courses. The question of responsibility
will get more complicated when 3rd Party Management Companies
are involved.
Beyond that complication is that web-accessibility includes
any external links contained on a website. Booking engine links,
online stores and other 3rd Party services that are tied to a public
domain site also need to be ADA compliant. One website operator
cited in the WSJ article chose to eliminate all external links on
his site; an approach that will not work for most golf courses that
rely on external reservation links.
The next logical question is how to make a website " accessible " .
As the WSJ article and our own inquiries discovered; there
is a whole network growing up to address the issue. We found
and looked at several companies offering solutions - AccessiBE,
Browser Stack, Deque, EquallyAI, UsableNet and UserWay Accessibility.
Some are priced based on the unique number of pages
with others based on monthly Page Views. Others offer both consulting
assessments and the solutions necessary to become accessible.
Depending on the situation, these various approaches go from
reasonable to expensive. A couple of the newer options are using
AI to manage the continual updates necessary as web pages are
added or changed. The companies using AI appeared to be more
Your Passion. Our Purpose.
Built on a passion for golf and exceptional service, we provide
custom experience management solutions that deliver unparalleled
results and drive community impact.
www.kempersports.com | ph: (847) 850-1818
4 The Pellucid PersPecTive
August 2024
https://www.kempersports.com/
The Pellucid Perspective - August 2024

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