UPDATED: Your RE/MAX site is compliant and handled by Reliance, however we still may be contacted. If you have another site that you manage on your own please let us know, but you will need to follow up with your own webmaster for compliance, testing and revisions if necessary.
If you receive a notice on your personal website or your RE/MAX Website, please contact us IMMEDIATELY.
Good Morning:
Brokers in Jefferson City and in Moberly have received letters from the law firm Schultz & Associates in Chesterfield regarding their websites, on behalf of Pursuit of Respect, Inc. (POR), a Florida not-for-profit civil-rights organization, which advocates for the full & equal protection and participation of persons with disabilities living throughout the United States, including Missouri (See attached letter). The firm makes the claims that the agents/brokers’ websites “present substantial errors and challenges to accessibility for blind & visually impaired users.” They requested remediation to the broker’s website in 14 days from the date of the letter. The law firm appears to be starting to send these letters to brokers whose companies start with the letter A. Please let me know if you receive any of these letters and do not ignore them.
NAR has been notified of the letters and issued the following comments and information/recommendations if your company receives a similar letter:
- NAR states there has been increased activity in this area over the past several years stating broker and agent websites do not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
- There is a growing amount of caselaw that has held that websites much be accessible to comply with the ADA. The wrinkle is that there are currently no specific rules or regulations about what an accessible website must look like to be compliant. Most courts, and the DOJ, have generally required compliance with WCAG 2.0AA as the standard for accessibility.
Suggested steps from NAR if you receive such a letter and risk reduction tips for accessibility, including NAR resources on this topic:
- Contact your E&O carrier to report the letter and see if or how they want to respond specifically to the letter.
- Contact your website provider to work with them to address the accessibility issues; as well as indemnification in contracts.
- Contact your legal counsel.
- Consult a website accessibility expert to create a plan for addressing website accessibility issues.
- Include an accessibility statement on your website, along with contact info, where individuals with disabilities may report difficulty accessing the website and seek additional assistance accessing information or services. Feel free to review and copy: https://www.nar.realtor/accessibility
- Window to the Law: ADA and Website Accessibility Update
- Window to the Law: Accessible Websites and the ADA
- NAR’s ADA Topic page is available here: https://www.nar.realtor/americans-with-disabilities-act-ada
- Two case summaries on website accessibility:
Thanks for reading,
Brian Toohey, MBA, RCE, ePro
Chief Executive Officer
Columbia Board of REALTORS®
(573) 446-2408
Brian@cbormls.com
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