Website Compliance with the ADA: Gil v. Winn-Dixie Stores and a Web of Confusion for Businesses and Nonprofits
On May 5, 2021 by Schnader in Labor and EmploymentGary N. Smith, Brian M. Wallen and Lisa M. Brauner published a client alert, “Website Compliance with the ADA: Gil v. Winn-Dixie Stores and a Web of Confusion for Businesses and Nonprofits.”
Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) requires businesses and nonprofit organizations to provide disabled individuals the “full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of any place of public accommodation.” There is significant debate, however, as to whether websites are covered by the ADA. There is no regulatory guidance on this topic and courts have taken varied approaches to the issue.
The 11th Circuit recently weighed in with a decision in Gil v. Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. The appellate court reversed a district court decision which had found that Winn-Dixie discriminated against Juan Carlos Gil, a visually-impaired customer, in violation of the ADA, by not adapting its website to work with screen readers.