Section 508 is an amendment to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This piece of legislation presented by the United States General Services Administration (GSA) ensures access to information for individuals with disabilities.
Why worry about Section 508/WCAG 2.0 compliance?
What’s the big deal anyway, right? One word, discrimination. The Rehabilitation Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in any program or activity that receives financial assistance from a federal agency. To protect the rights of its users there are step by step directions for filing a complaint for noncompliance on several websites. If the E&IT is not brought into compliance the individual is able to file a civil action in Federal Court for non-compliance.
what is the purpose of 508 compliance?
Since 2007, the GSA Buy Accessible-Governance team began the process of reviewing random solicitations to determine how well federal solicitations met the Section 508 compliance requirements. The result of these reviews allows the government the opportunity to recognize best practices. Section 508 compliance ensures accessibility of content but not just online electronic content. This includes more than just websites, it includes all office documents (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and PDF) as well as applications and multimedia.
how CQ fluency ensures regulatory compliance for equal end-user experiences
If there is legislation in place to safeguard the rights of those with disabilities and ensure access to information is readily available to all why then would some agencies be non-compliant? The number one reported issue was lack of resources followed closely by lack of general awareness. CQ fluency is here to help and can make the transition from noncompliant to compliant seamless. Connect with our team of regulatory compliance experts today to ensure you are in full alignment with Section 508/WCAG 2.0 requirements.