Legal Issues - Accessibility Legislation & Guidelines

Legal Issues - Accessibility Legislation & Guidelines

1. Accessibility legislation

   • Disability Discrimination Act
     • The act was expanded in 2005
       • To prevent educational institutions from discriminating
       • To include people with HIV
       • To include people with multiple sclerosis
       • To include people with cancer
       • Mental illness doesn't have to be clinically well-recognised
       • Club memberships cannot discriminate
       • Job advertisements cannot publish discriminatory adverisements
     • It covers
       • Treating someone less favourable due to their disability
       • Failing to make reasonable adjustments to allow access to goods, services and facilities
       • Subjecting someone to harassment for reasons relating to their disability
     • It was brought into act in 1995
       • It was designed to prevent businesses and governments from discriminating against the disabled
         • Both physical and mental impairments
   • Equality Act
     • To prove that someone has a disability they have to show
       • If it is a mental or physical impairment
       • If the act doesn't automatically cover it, then they have to show how it affects their everyday life
         • Not how they received their impairment
     • Business have been badly affected as IT systems can create barriers for the disabled
       • If a business is found breaching the act then they will be punished through paying damages and having to make alterations to mkae everything accessible
     • Changes include
       • 3 different type of discrimination was added
         • Associated Discrimination
           • Discriminating against someone as their family member is disabled
         • Indirect Discrimination
           • Company policy applies to everyone but negatively affects someone who has a disability
         • Perceived Discrimination
           • Discriminating someone for thinking they have a disability but in reality they haven't got one
       • Also covers disabilities from the past that lasted more than a year
     • It was brought into act in 2010
       • It has replaced the Disability Discrimination Act
         • With 115 new legislation including Sex Discrimination Act, Equal Pay Act and Race Relations Act

2. Accessibility Guidelines

   • British Standards Institute (BSI) Codes of Practive
     • Web Accessibility Codes of Practice
       • Defined to meet the requirements set in the equality Act
       • 16 steps to meet requirements
     • An organisation who defines national standards for best practise in a number of areas
       • Wide range in IT Accessibility
   • Open Accessibility Frameworks (OAF)
     • 6 steps to ensure accessibility
       • Creation
         • 1. Define Accessible
           • Physical World - Door should be wide enough to fit through a wheelchair
           • ICT World - High contrast themes and large font sizes
         • 2. Stock Elements
           • Physical World - Building materials are available (wide door frames)
           • ICT World - User interface elements are accessible (desktop menus)
         • 3. Dev. Authoring Tools
           • Physical World - People are provided with physical tools
           • ICT World - People should be provided with authoring tools to develop accessibility
       • Use
         • 4. Platform Support
           • ICT World - Platforms should be accessible and run assistive technology
           • Physical World - Buildings should be easily located and accessible
         • 5. The App Itself
           • Physical World - Buildings should be accessible
           • ICT World - Applications are more accessible
         • 6. Assistive Technology
           • ICT World - Distribution of assistive technology (screen readers)
           • Physical World - Distribution of assistive devices (hearing aids)
     • Released by AEGIS in 2008
       • It was released to make sure any IT system is accessible
         • Including mobile or web-based systems
   • Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
     • WCAG 2.0 replaced 1.0 in 2008 and it has 12 guidelines instead of 14
       • 4 categories
         • Perceivable
           • 4 guidelines
             • Text alternatives for non-text content
             • Captions and other alternatives for multimedia
             • Content can be presented in different ways without losing content
             • Easier to see and hear content
         • Operable
           • 4 guidelines
             • Functional from a keyboard
             • More time to read and use content
             • None of the content causes seizures
             • Help is provided for users to make navigation and finding content easier
         • Understandable
           • 3 guidelines
             • Text is readable and understandable
             • Content appears and operated in a predictable way
             • Helps users avoid and correct mistakes
         • Robust
           • 1 guidelines
             • Maximise compatibility with current and future user tools
     • It was released by the business in the Word Wide Web Consortium
     • WCAG 1.0 was released in 1999 with 14 guidelines
       • It was released to make web pages accessible

3. It was designed to prevent discrimination against people with disabilities

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