What does accessibility mean in today’s working world? Accessibility is about ensuring that your workplace is disability-inclusive. But in today’s modern workplaces, accessibility is more than just physical accessibility. It’s increasingly important that companies put an equal focus on digital and content accessibility.
For your employees with disabilities, accessible content can have an immense impact on their productivity and work performance. In this article, we’ll discuss the legal requirements, implications and best practices for ensuring content accessibility for individuals with disabilities.
What Is Content Accessibility?
Accessible content is meant to be usable and understandable by everyone, including those with visual, auditory, motor, or cognitive impairments. It means that every employee or candidate can engage with your company’s communications. By making your content accessible, everyone can interact with it regardless of their abilities.
Some examples of accessible content include screen reader-friendly text, captions for videos, and alternative text descriptions for visuals. You can also offer accessible applications that make technology programs more usable for people with disabilities. An example of this would be text-to-speech software.
In the workplace, accessible content is critical to recruiting, onboarding, training, and daily workflows. Removing barriers to content and communication allows all employees, candidates or prospective employees to equally engage with your resources. In turn, this helps build a more inclusive environment and shows candidates that your company values providing the same opportunities for all employees.
Legal Requirements for Accessibility
There are a number of laws that require companies to meet certain levels of accessibility standards. Here’s a look at how these laws relate to content accessibility.
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act “prohibits private employers, state and local governments, employment agencies and labor unions from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in job application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, job training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment.”
This part of the law also defines reasonable accommodation to mean “adjustments or modifications provided by an employer to enable people with disabilities to enjoy equal employment opportunities.” Employers are required to make reasonable accommodations for qualified applicants or employees so long as the accommodation does not impose "undue hardship" on the employer’s operation. Reasonable accommodations under ADA Title I can include content accessibility such as sign language interpreters, text-to-speech software, and more.
- Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Sections 504 and 508)
Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 establish accessibility requirements for federal agencies and contractors. Section 508 outlines requirements for equitable access and use of electronic information technology for people with disabilities. Section 504 requires federal agencies to provide content accessibility where necessary to ensure equal opportunity for people with disabilities to participate in their programs and benefit from their services.
These requirements also apply to private sector employers contracting with federal agencies and are overseen by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. Additionally, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act prohibits employment discrimination against people with disabilities by federal contractors or subcontractors.
Equal Employment Opportunity laws were created on the principle that all people should have access to the same opportunities. More specifically, they prohibit discrimination in employment practices on the basis of race, sex, religion, color, national origin, physical or mental ability, medical condition, ancestry, or age. EEO principles include fair treatment, protection from retaliation, reasonable accommodation and anti-harassment policies.
Through the lens of disability, EEO supports content accessibility in hiring processes and workplace communication. Through content accessibility, all candidates and employees are given access to the same opportunities and receive fair treatment.
Key Areas Impacted by Accessibility Laws
So where should you start when it comes to content accessibility? There are a few key places to focus on.
- Your external website and internal employee websites or communication channels should be accessible to people of all abilities. You can do this by making sure your websites and any digital applications employees use for payroll, etc., follow the Website Content Accessibility Guidelines.
- Make sure your facilities have content accessibility based on the needs of your employees. For example, installing braille signage, providing text-to-speech software or screen readers, or having interpreters available during interviews.
- Create a dedicated team or employee resource group (ERG) to keep up to date with the latest thinking and best practices around accessibility, educate others, and advocate for impactful policies within the organization (learn more about Day & Zimmermann’s ERGs here).
- There are also ways you can make meetings and virtual events accessible, which our ADAPT ERG wrote about here.
Content accessibility is critical for any company looking to position itself as an employer of choice. When all employees are included and heard, it strengthens team culture and improves employee productivity. By understanding the legal requirements around accessibility, you can ensure your company is compliant and a more inclusive place to work.