Livonia, Michigan (May 18, 2017) – CUSG (CUSG) announced the availability of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) preparation auditing for credit union websites. ADA compliance regulations are due for full publication in 2018, but with accessibility-related lawsuits already occurring at an alarming rate, CUSG is committed to protecting proactive credit unions from potential threats.
“Due to recent court rulings, credit unions have become a target for litigious attorneys in the ADA related area,” said Bruce A. Pearson, senior partner at Styskal, Wiese & Melchione, LLP, in Glendale, California. “It’s easy for these lawyers to conduct a brief website review and send a letter demanding that the credit union fix the website and pay some damages. While we don’t necessarily recommend that clients roll over and pay the demand, it’s better to avoid the demand altogether by being proactive– have your site scanned and then act on the report information in a timely fashion.”
The ADA regulations are designed to ensure that content on business websites is fully accessible to people with disabilities. The blind, for example, depend on a website’s compatibility with text-to-speech software or text-to-brail hardware, which requires special coding from developers. Credit unions who are unsure of their accessibility status likely remain inaccessible in at least some areas, creating a potentially serious risk, even before the formal release of ADA compliance details.
“CUSG is dedicated to the protection of credit unions,” said CUSG CEO Dave Adams. “Part of our mission to help credit unions serve, grow, and remain strong is to keep a watchful eye on potential risks, and to provide solutions before those risks bring any damage. CUSG has made preparation for the new regulations as smooth as possible.” CUSG offers general ADA compliance preparation audits for preexisting websites, as well as Website development services that include ADA audits as part of the development process.
