Two bills recently introduced in California’s legislature aim to protect rental housing providers and other business owners from frivolous web accessibility lawsuits, while offering a clear opportunity to rectify any alleged violations. 

Plaintiffs’ attorneys have been contacting landlords throughout California, alleging violations of accessibility requirements under California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act and the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. 

In California, website accessibility lawsuits can bring minimum penalties of $4,000 per violation, creating an incentive for “drive by” lawsuits. In 2019, web accessibility federal lawsuits hit record numbers, with 11,053 suits filed in federal court. California led the way with 4,794 web accessibility lawsuits. 

AB 1757, brought forth by the Assembly Judiciary Committee, aims to provide a legal presumption that business websites adhering to the World Wide Web Consortium’s W3C Standard comply with accessibility requirements under both state and federal law. While no federal or state laws currently set standards for website accessibility, the W3C Standard serves as an international industry guideline and has been the compliance standard for state-operated websites for the past five years, since its adoption by the state in 2018. A copy of the W3C Standard can be accessed here. 

AB 1404 by Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo, D-Los Angeles, emphasizes fairness by allowing rental housing providers the time and guidance needed to align their websites with the W3C Standard. Importantly, this bill would require, when a civil complaint is served on a business alleging a website accessibility violation, that a plaintiff also provides a notice informing the business that it may not be liable for any damages if its website is revised to conform with the W3C Standard. This bill would become operative only if AB 1757 is also enacted. 

To enhance the accessibility of a company website, owners may consider various measures. Adding captions to videos can help viewers with poor hearing; utilizing voice recognition tools can assist those with visual or physical impairments; employing plain English instead of complex sentences and jargon can aid those with cognitive difficulties. Collaboration with the company that designed the website may be essential. Should concerns arise regarding accessibility compliance, specialized coding changes or a complete site overhaul may be necessary.