Since the beginning of his term, the Trump administration has been trying to weaken any and all DEI initiatives. Perhaps due to political pressure, or because it’s now more acceptable, several companies have been abandoning their own DEI policies. Recently, newly appointed Attorney General, Pam Bondi, circulated a memo within the Department of Justice that suggests that accessibility will be included under that DEI umbrella. The memo stated that the DOJ “investigate, eliminate, and penalize illegal DEI and DEIA preferences, mandates, policies, programs, and activities in the private sector and in educational institutions that receive federal funds.” The A in DEIA, of course, refers to Accessibility.
At this point, it’s not completely clear how this policy might shake out. But the supposed intent is to prevent “discriminatory” hiring practices due to DEIA policies. If we think about this in the context of digital accessibility, these new policies shouldn’t have any impact on existing web accessibility law. I say shouldn’t because we really can’t say with any certainty how far the administration may go to weaken accessibility protections to ease the burden on businesses. But beyond the direct effect of these new policies, there are a number of indirect consequences that could stem from this.
The future of accessibility lawsuits
Federal ADA Lawsuits may fall
Accessibility lawsuits can be filed in state or federal courts. Of the 4,000 digital accessibility lawsuits that were filed in 2024, 60% were in federal courts. In federal cases, they frequently come about when an individual brings a complaint to the Department of Justice. It is also possible that the Department of Justice could file suit against a business on their own, but that is far less likely. The other 40% of accessibility lawsuits are filed by individuals through independent law firms.
The law itself (Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act) is fairly unambiguous about providing equal access to everyone. Additionally, “the Department has consistently taken the position that the ADA’s requirements apply to all the goods, services, privileges, or activities offered by public accommodations, including those offered on the web.” However, this Department of Justice is far different than previous administrations. And while the DOJ has historically interpreted Title III of the ADA to include websites, it isn’t explicitly stated in the law. So, it is possible that this DOJ could decide that websites are exempt from Title III regulations.
Another possibility regarding accessibility lawsuits is that the DOJ could simply deprioritize the enforcement of accessibility violations. While we don’t know that this will occur, we also shouldn’t ignore the possibility that it could.
State ADA Lawsuits are on the rise
As noted above, 40% of the 4,000 accessibility lawsuits in 2024 were through state courts – namely California and New York. And this marks and uptick from previous years. And considering what we described above, expect this trend to continue with state lawsuits accounting for an increasing percentage of accessibility claims.
Additionally, several states have their own accessibility laws that are independent of federal law. And many of these state laws do include explicit language about digital accessibility and WCAG compliance. So, while there remains some wiggle room within the federal law about website and app accessibility, that flexibility does not exist with most state laws.
DEIA is the new Boogeyman
We are less than a month into the second Trump administration, and DEI (and now DEIA) has become a frequent target in several different contexts. Yes, most of the DEIA complaints thus far are in relation to hiring policies. But DEIA is the latest scapegoat and we shouldn’t think that it will stop at hiring practices. Now that the ‘A’ is part of the DEIA equation, look for accessibility to come under the microscope. So it would be naive to assume that accessibility laws and regulations will be respected as they have in previous years. If it becomes apparent that accessibility requirements are hindering businesses, we should expect that efforts will be made to weaken those requirements. And the federal ADA law does not have specific language about digital accessibility. So I imagine that WCAG compliance will come under fire at the federal level.
But the fact remains that several states do have clear requirements regarding digital accessibility. And, just as it’s naive to assume this administration won’t attack accessibility laws, it would be equally naive to assume that future administrations won’t course correct. Being able to conduct business online is increasingly essential for businesses and consumers alike. It’s not reasonable to prevent a segment of the population from being able to interact with a business’ digital entity. Not to mention, it’s just bad business to prevent anyone from purchasing or utilizing your services. So it seems likely that, at some point, the ADA will get an update to explicitly include digital accessibility requirements. But that probably won’t happen soon.
In Closing
Some businesses may look at this as an opportunity to kick the can down the road. That perhaps they can avoid having to make their website accessible for a while longer. But for what? Whether you can escape litigation (maybe) for now, the key consideration here is accessibility. It’s not just that it’s the law, it’s that you’re making your website and business accessible to everyone. Is it worth saving a few bucks in the short term by not paying to make your website accessible, when you’re losing who knows how much money by turning people away?
