California Website Accessibility Laws

California is one of the leading states in terms of ADA compliance. Today, there’s no shortage of legislation promoting equal accessibility to digital resources, such as the Unruh Civil Rights Act, California Disabled Persons Act (CDPA), and other acts promoting ADA compliance and digital accessibility for individuals with disabilities.

Keep reading to learn more about California website accessibility laws with a focus on the ADA, California Unruh Civil Rights Act, and the benefits/guidelines on how businesses and organizations can improve their website accessibility.

Overview of California Website Accessibility Laws and Their Significance

California website accessibility laws are designed to allow equal access and full and equal enjoyment to individuals with disabilities, prevent discrimination, and mitigate the legal risks businesses and organizations can accrue from non-compliance. Website accessibility laws also help promote social responsibility by showcasing an organization’s commitment to ADA compliance by serving all of its citizens, no matter their race, gender, or ability.

Arguably, two of the most critical pieces of legislation promoting California website accessibility are the ADA and the California Unruh Civil Rights Act.

What is the ADA?

Established in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) seeks to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities by allowing them equal access to all aspects of the public sphere, such as transportation, public accommodations, tenant law, employment, and much more. It ensures that they are treated on an equal playing field relative to their able-bodied counterparts, preventing discriminatory practices.

ADA compliance and California accessibility laws also extend to digital properties like websites and mobile apps, where reasonable accommodations must be made for the impaired. Any ADA-compliant website has several measures to promote accessibility and provide equally effective communication, such as larger cursors, inverted colors, readable fonts, adjusted brightness and contrast settings, captions, and other online tools that assist individuals with disabilities in understanding web content.

Another ADA responsibility is ensuring legal protections for individuals with disabilities. If you’ve experienced any acts of discrimination, there are several avenues to seek legal protection, such as through state courts, the U.S. Department of Justice, or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC); the latter two are federal agencies that ensure that individuals with disabilities receive the same rights and access non-disabled people enjoy.

What is the California Disabled Persons Act (CDPA)?

No conversation about California ADA compliance is complete without referencing the California Disabled Persons Act (CDPA). 

Enforced by various California state agencies, this act prevents discrimination against people with disabilities in areas such as public housing, accommodations, transportation, employment. Think of them as advocates, assisting individuals with disabilities in airing their concerns to government agencies, initiating website accessibility lawsuits, and taking other measures to protect their rights under ADA compliance in California law.

If you violate the California Disabled Persons Act (CDPA), you can expect some serious consequences. Individuals with disabilities whose accessibility rights are infringed upon could file website accessibility lawsuits, resulting in civil penalties for businesses and organizations. Additionally, there could be injunctive relief, allowing the defendant time to come into compliance. For example, this might involve installing a handicap ramp near an entrance or designating a minimum number of parking spots as handicap spaces.

What is the California Unruh Civil Rights Act?

Enacted by author Jesse M. Unruh in 1959, the California Unruh Civil Rights Act is one of the most aggressive civil rights laws in the United States. Specifically, it establishes protected classes based on race, religion, marital status, and several other characteristics, banning discrimination against individuals based on said characteristics. For example, one cannot be denied a job opportunity based on race or gender.

Failure of California businesses and organizations to comply with the Unruh Civil Rights Act will result in heavy damages, including, but not limited to, potential lawsuits, attorneys’ fees, penalties, and statutory damages awarded as part of public or private website accessibility lawsuits. However, there are some exemptions.

Although complying with the Unruh Act focuses primarily on eliminating discrimination in public venues, it also extends its oversight to digital properties. Any digital property without ADA compliance can lead to lawsuits and other legal obligations.

Legal Implications and Consequences of Non-Compliance

In California, any business or organization that fails to comply with the ADA can expect serious consequences. For starters, lawsuits can be filed by advocacy groups, federal government entities, and other organizations, including the California Commission on Disability Access (CCDA). The CCDA works to enforce and advise state agencies on policies, collaborates with disability advocacy groups, and engages in various activities to ensure the representation of individuals with disabilities throughout the state.

Another consequence of non-compliance is reputational damage. Ignoring ADA compliance poses significant reputational risks, potentially tarnishing your image in the eyes of stakeholders, brand representatives, customers, and all parties associated with your business. Furthermore, if your business has recently secured a government contract, non-compliance may jeopardize it, thereby limiting your expansion opportunities.

Various entities, including disabled individuals, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), the California Commission on Disability Access (CCDA), among others, have the authority to file private lawsuits for non-compliance.

Tips and Best Practices for Website Accessibility

Here is some helpful guidance for improving your website’s accessibility and complying with accessibility laws in California and American accessibility legislation guidance: 

Alternative Text for Images

Also referred to as “alt text,” this feature is crucial for visually impaired users who rely on screen readers. Alt text provides additional context when images cannot be seen, consisting of short, descriptive text that conveys the image’s content. It is one of the most basic web content accessibility guidelines out there. 

Captions and Color Contrast

Another essential accessibility feature is captions, which provide transcripts of audio content for the hard of hearing or deaf. Best practices dictate that captions should be fully synchronized and match the on-screen content. Additionally, attention should be paid to color combinations and adherence to WCAG guidelines, which specify minimum contrast ratios and alternative methods for conveying key information without relying solely on colors.

Semantic HTML

By applying semantic HTML elements to your web page, it allows screen readers and other assistive technologies to better present content to individuals with disabilities.

Even simple elements like <article> and <header> play a significant role in improving a website’s accessibility by ensuring that assistive technologies can identify key content. Additionally, headings enable individuals with disabilities to better understand what’s more important to read, and specific paragraph elements are responsible for breaking up text into easy-to-comprehend paragraphs. All of these features enable individuals with disabilities to better digest content and enjoy equal and full participation.

Transcripts

One of the most useful tools for the deaf and hard of hearing is transcripts, which allow content from audio and video to be converted to text so that they can have an alternative source of information. By having a written record of spoken content, it will better enable people to engage. 

Keyboard Accessibility

It’s a web accessibility compliance standard to ensure that all operations on a website can be conducted using your keyboard. Not all individuals with disabilities can use a mouse effectively, and the keyboard is easier to manipulate for them. By relying on only a few keys, all interactive elements on the page should be able to be engaged with.

A Word on Accessibility

To increase compliance with California website accessibility laws, consider Accessibly. Accessibly is a web accessibility widget designed to enhance ADA and WCAG compliance across websites and platforms. It offers various tools for individuals with disabilities to access content more effectively, making websites accessible for all. Some prominent features include:

• Increasing the size of text on the web page
• Increasing the size of the cursor
• Inverting all colors on a web page
• Offering color contrast selections
• Increasing or decreasing the brightness of a web page
• … and dozens more

Accessibly complies with WCAG 2.1 standards and is compatible with over ten platforms, including Spotify, Squarespace, Joomla, Webflow, WooCommerce, and Magento.Do you want to make your site ADA-compliant and comply with California’s digital accessibility laws without the use of web developers or website developers? Don’t settle for an inaccessible website. Try the Accessibly widget with a free 7-day trial. Signing up and downloading the widget takes less than a minute.