Chico’s FAS Website Accessibility for the Blind ADA Class Action

This is a civil rights case that centers around the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The complaint alleges that the website for Chico’s FAS, Inc. is not accessible to the blind or visually impaired.

The complaint alleges that Chico’s website, www.chicos.com, is a “place of public accommodation” under the ADA “because it serves to augment its locations by providing the general public information on various locations and educating the general public as to its goods, and also to provide the general public with the ability to purchase goods.” It is also “a service, privilege, or advantage related to” Chico’s products and offerings. As such, the complaint says, it should be accessible. 

The legal definition of blind is having a visual acuity equal to or less than 20 x 200. Some blind people have partial vision; others have none. However, they are still able to use websites if the websites with screen readers, like the JAWS system, and keyboards, provided that the websites are properly prepared. 

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) publishes a 2.o version of its Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0) that are widely used by businesses and government entities to ensure that visually-impaired people can use their websites. 

A number of things are necessary for that. For example, images and other visual information must have an alternative text equivalent (alt-text), and functions must be able to be performed via keyboards. 

The Chico’s website has a number of barriers to use by the visually-impaired. 

• Lack of alt-text, so that such things as images and buttons cannot be read.
• Empty links that don’t contain text, where the function of the link isn’t presented.
• Redundant links, or adjacent links that go to the same URL address, which is confusing and requires extra navigation time.
• Linked images without alt-text.

The complaint quotes the ADA as saying, “In the case of violations of … this title, injunctive relief shall include an order to alter facilities to make such facilities readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.” The complaint notes that this may require the services of a qualified consultant. 

The complaint does not ask for monetary penalties except for attorneys’ fees and the costs of the suit. Its main purpose is to obtain a permanent injunction requiring Chico’s to correct the deficiencies of the website and then continue to maintain it as accessible to the visually-impaired. The complaint was filed by the plaintiff “individually and behalf of all other individuals similarly situated,” but it does not otherwise define a class. 

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Civil Rights
Tags: Americans with Disabilities Act, Blind or Visually Impaired, Civil Rights